Dec 19 New York will set up a commission to consider reparations for slavery By Maysoon Khan, Associated Press/Report for America The bill signing comes at a time when various places throughout the United States attempt to figure out how to best reckon with the country's dark past. Continue reading
Jul 03 King of the Netherlands formally apologizes for country's role in slavery on 150th anniversary of abolition By Ahmad Seir, Mike Corder, Associated Press King Willem-Alexander said, “I ask forgiveness for the clear failure to act in the face of this crime against humanity.” Slavery was abolished in Suriname and the Dutch colonies in the Caribbean on July 1, 1863. Most enslaved laborers were… Continue reading
Mar 28 Vice President Harris confronts painful past, envisions future during visit to Africa By Chris Megerian, Colleen Long, Associated Press Harris on Tuesday stepped through the black doors of a colonial-era seaside fort and down into the dungeons, touring a site where millions of enslaved Africans were held captive before they were loaded onto ships bound for the Americas. Continue reading
Mar 28 Watch 6:16 Harris visits Africa to strengthen U.S. ties and counter Chinese influence By Laura Barrón-López, Tess Conciatori, Zeba Warsi, Teresa Cebrian Aranda Vice President Kamala Harris is in Africa this week for a three-country tour focused on economic development and security. Over nine days, she’ll meet with leaders in Ghana, Tanzania and Zambia. Her travel follows other high-level trips to the continent… Continue watching
Mar 28 Watch 5:27 The changing relationship between the U.S. and African nations By Amna Nawaz As Vice President Kamala Harris tours Africa, Amna Nawaz explores the realities on the ground there and the changing relationship between the U.S. and the 56 nations of the continent with Gyude Moore, the director of the Africa Initiative at… Continue watching
Mar 14 San Francisco proposes reparations, includes $5 million for eligible Black people Tuesday's meeting of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors will include a presentation by San Francisco’s African American Reparations Advisory Committee, which released its draft report in December. Continue reading
Mar 09 Virginia judge rules human embryos are 'chattel' based on centuries-old slave laws By Matthew Barakat, Associated Press The preliminary opinion by Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge Richard Gardiner is being criticized by some for wrongly and unnecessarily delving into a time in Virginia history when it was legally permissible to own human beings. Continue reading
Mar 04 California residents await key decisions by reparations task force By Sophie Austin, Associated Press/Report for America Nearly two years into the California reparations task force’s work, the group still has yet to make key decisions that will be at the heart of its final report recommending how the state should apologize and compensate Black residents for… Continue reading
Feb 07 Watch 6:51 New England's role in Frederick Douglass' first steps to freedom By Pamela Watts, Alison Thoet When Frederick Douglass escaped slavery he was aided by friends in the daring and dangerous getaway. He went from being on the run to becoming one of the most influential Americans of the 19th century. Pamela Watts of Rhode Island… Continue watching
Jan 21 Yellen visits historic site of slave-trading post off the coast of Senegal By Fatima Hussein, Associated Press U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen paid a solemn visit Saturday to the salmon-colored house on an island off Senegal that is one of the most recognized symbols of the horrors of the Atlantic slave trade that trapped tens of millions of Africans… Continue reading