IT WAS JUST A FEW WEEKS AGO THAT THE STATE'S NEWLY FORMED COMMISSION ON REPARATION REMEDIES KICKED OFF THEIR FIRST MEETING.

THROUGH LEGISLATION SIGNED BY THE GOVERNOR LATE LAST YEAR, THE NINE-MEMBER BODY IS TASKED WITH STUDYING THE IMPACT OF SLAVERY AND ITS LINGERING EFFECTS.

THE MEMBERS WERE SELECTED BY THE GOVERNOR AND LEGISLATIVE LEADERS - AND COME WITH A WIDE ARRAY OF EXPERIENCE IN LAW, EDUCATION AND COMMUNITY-BUILDING.

THE BODY WAS GIVEN $5 MILLION TO CONDUCT ITS WORK AND IS EXPECTED TO DELIVER A REPORT TO THE LEGISLATURE WITH THEIR FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS WITHIN THE NEXT YEAR.

TO UNDERSTAND THE IMPETUS OF CREATING THE COMMISSION AND THE WORK AHEAD FOR THE BODY, WE SAT DOWN WITH ASSEMBLYMEMBER MICHAELLE SOLAGES - A LEAD SPONSOR OF THE LEGISLATION THAT CREATED THE COMMISSION.

HERE'S THAT CONVERSATION.

[MUSIC] THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING US TODAY, ASSEMBLYMEMBER.

THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY.

OF COURSE, ABSOLUTELY.

NOW, YOU WERE ONE OF THE LEAD SPONSORS OF THE LEGISLATION THAT CREATED A STATE COMMISSION TO STUDY REPARATIONS LATE LAST YEAR.

SO I WANTED TO UNDERSTAND WHY IT WAS IMPORTANT FOR YOU TO SPONSOR THIS LEGISLATION.

IT'S VERY SIMPLE.

WE KNOW THAT NEW YORK STATE HAS A GREAT HISTORY, BUT IT ALSO HAS A DARK HISTORY.

AND IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE ACKNOWLEDGE AND USE HOPE AND JOY TO REPAIR SOME OF THE HARMS THAT WE'RE CREATED.

SO WE KNOW THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'VE HAD 250 YEARS OF SLAVERY WITHIN THIS COUNTRY; 90 YEARS OF JIM CROW; 60 YEARS OF SEPARATE BUT EQUAL; AND 30 YEARS OF POLICIES LIKE SOME OF OUR, YOU KNOW, UNEQUAL DISCRIMINATORY HOUSING POLICIES.

AND IT'S SO IMPORTANT THAT WE ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THESE HARMS HAPPENED AND ALSO BUILD A PATHWAY TO HEAL OUR COMMUNITIES.

AND SO WITH MY COLLEAGUES IN THE ASSEMBLY AND SENATE, WITH THE LEADERSHIP OF [ANDREW STEWART COUSINS] AND [SPEAKER HASTY], WE WERE ABLE TO DRAFT THIS PIECE OF LEGISLATION THAT JUST STUDIES WHETHER WE CAN HAVE A DISCUSSION IN OUR COMMUNITIES ABOUT REPARATIONS, WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE, AND SEE HOW WE CAN KIND OF DISMANTLE MANY OF THESE POLICIES THAT DO EXIST AND BUILD A BETTER NEW YORK.

SO CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT THE PROCESS OF GARNERING SUPPORT FOR THE LEGISLATION, GETTING IT PASSED WITHIN THE LEGISLATURE, AND THEN ULTIMATELY GETTING IT SIGNED INTO LAW?

WE PUT IN THE LEGISLATION, YOU KNOW, MANY YEARS AGO.

IT WAS SUBMITTED UNDER FORMER [ASSEMBLYMEMBER CHARLES BARRON].

HE PASSED IT IN THE ASSEMBLY.

UNFORTUNATELY, HE WASN'T SUCCESSFUL IN THE SENATE.

AND WHEN HE LEFT, HE GAVE ME THE PIECE OF LEGISLATION.

AND FROM THERE, I USED THE SUPPORT AND INFLUENCE OF THE BLACK, HISPANIC, PUERTO RICAN ASIAN CAUCUS TO REALLY START GALVANIZING SUPPORT.

YOU KNOW, AS I SAID, OUR LEADERSHIP WAS GREAT.

THEY ORGANIZED MEMBERS TO HAVE DISCUSSIONS TO TALK ABOUT HOW WE CAN IMPROVE THE LEGISLATION.

SO THE LEGISLATION CHANGED FROM WHEN IT WAS INITIALLY SUBMITTED TO THE POINT OF WHEN WE ACTUALLY PASSED IT ON THE FLOOR AND IN BOTH HOUSES.

AND SO, YOU KNOW, IT WAS A LOT OF CONVERSATIONS WITH ALL TYPES OF MEMBERS, KIND OF, YOU KNOW, IRON OUT THE KINKS TO BE ABLE TO PRODUCE A DOCUMENT WHICH SAYS THAT A COMMISSION OF NINE PEOPLE, THREE APPOINTED FROM THE ASSEMBLY, THREE APPOINTED FROM THE SENATE, AND THREE APPOINTED BY THE GOVERNOR, WILL HAVE ABOUT A YEAR TO WRITE A REPORT, TO ANALYZE REPARATIONS, AND THAT REPORT WILL BE THEN SUBMITTED TO THE LEGISLATURE FOR THEM TO DECIDE.

SO IT'S A NON-BINDING REPORT, ESSENTIALLY JUST A DOCUMENT.

AND THEY HAVE TO WORK WITH RESEARCH CENTERS AND ALSO HAVE PUBLIC HEARINGS TO HEAR FROM NEW YORKERS.

AND SO IT TOOK A LOT OF GALVANIZING AMONGST LEGISLATURE.

WE PASSED IT IN JUNE OF LAST YEAR.

AND THEN WE WORK WITH THE GOVERNOR TO SUPPORT THE LEGISLATION.

AND FROM THERE, THE GOVERNOR SIGNED IT IN LATE DECEMBER, AND AS OF, YOU KNOW, A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO, THE COMMISSION ACTUALLY HAS CONVENED, WHICH WAS AMAZING TO SEE IT COME ABOUT.

AND WHAT ARE YOU HOPING THE IMPACT OF THE STATE'S COMMISSION WILL BE?

HOW WILL THEIR WORK IMPACT THE DAILY LIVES OF NEW YORKERS FROM YOUR PURVIEW?

WELL, WE HAVE TO UNDERSTAND THAT REPARATIONS IS NOT JUST ABOUT FINANCIAL COMPENSATION.

EVERYONE WANTS TO FOCUS ON THE CHECK.

THAT'S NOT WHAT REPARATION IS ABOUT.

THERE'S FIVE POINTS OF REPARATIONS.

AND FOR YOUR VIEWERS, I'M GOING TO JUST GO OVER IT VERY QUICKLY.

THERE'S ACKNOWLEDGEMENT, THERE'S APOLOGY, THERE'S REHABILITATION, THERE'S INSTITUTIONAL REFORM, THERE'S A GUARANTEE OF NON[-REPERTITION], AND OF COURSE, THERE'S COMPENSATION.

SO FROM THIS REPORT, THEY CAN PRODUCE A DOCUMENT THAT SAYS WE SHOULD JUST ISSUE AN APOLOGY OR WE SHOULD CHANGE SOME OF THE POLICIES THAT EXISTED IN OUR SOCIETY.

OR FOR EXAMPLE, THE PEOPLE OF SENECA VILLAGE, WHICH IS A MODERN DAY CENTRAL PARK, THEY HAVE NEVER RECEIVED COMPENSATION FOR THEIR STOLEN LAND.

THAT SENECA VILLAGE WAS A HISTORICALLY BLACK NEIGHBORHOOD THAT WAS PLOWED FOR CENTRAL PARK.

AND THOSE PEOPLE WEREN'T TRULY COMPENSATED FOR THEIR LAND.

AND SO MAYBE THE REPORT SAYS THAT THEY GET COMPENSATION FOR THEIR LAND.

YOU KNOW, THERE'S MANY DIFFERENT PARADIGMS OF REPARATIONS.

AND FROM THE COMMISSION, I HOPE THAT THEY FOCUS IN ON SOME OF THESE ISSUES AND REALLY, YOU KNOW, COME UP WITH POLICIES THAT AS A LEGISLATURE WE CAN TACKLE.

AND CAN YOU TELL US MORE ABOUT THE SELECTION PROCESS THAT WENT INTO APPOINTING THE MEMBERS OF THE COMMISSION.

I KNOW YOU SAID THAT IT WAS THREE FROM THE SENATE, THREE FROM THE ASSEMBLY, AND THREE FROM THE GOVERNOR.

BUT WHAT WERE SOME OF THE SORT OF, YOU KNOW, THINGS THAT YOU WERE LOOKING FOR WHEN IT CAME TO APPOINTING THESE MEMBERS?

WE WANTED EXPERTS.

EVEN WITHIN THE LEGISLATION WHEN WE DRAFTED IT, WE SPECIFICALLY SAID THAT THE MEMBERS OF THE COMMISSIONS NEED TO UNDERSTAND THE PARADIGM OF REPARATIONS.

AND SO WE WERE HOPING -- AND WE HAVE APPOINTED INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE KNOWLEDGEABLE ABOUT WHAT THE FIVE POINTS OF REPARATIONS ARE AND ARE FAMILIAR WITH THE HISTORY OF NEW YORK STATE AND WANT TO BEGIN THE HEALING JOURNEY FOR OUR BLACK COMMUNITIES.

SO THIS, YOU KNOW, EACH HOUSE HAD THEIR OWN PARADIGM OF THINKING OF HOW TO DO THIS.

BUT FOR US IN THE ASSEMBLY, WE WANTED EXPERTS.

WE WANTED PEOPLE WHO UNDERSTOOD REPARATIONS AND RACIAL JUSTICE AND HOW WE CAN REALLY CREATE A PARADIGM IN WHICH WE CAN BREAK DOWN THESE SYSTEMATIC DISPARITIES AND BUILD A SOCIOECONOMIC CONDITION THAT IS BENEFICIAL NOT ONLY TO BLACK COMMUNITIES, BUT FOR ALL.

BECAUSE AT THE END OF THE DAY, WHEN ONE NEW YORKER IS EMPOWERED, WE ARE ALL EMPOWERED.

YOU KNOW, THIS IS A STATE WHERE IT'S CELSIUS -- EVER UPWARDS.

WE CAN'T GO UP IF WE'RE NOT WORKING TOGETHER IN TANDEM.

AND WHAT GUIDANCE OR BENCHMARKS WERE GIVEN TO THE COMMISSION AS THEY PREPARED TO PRODUCE THAT REPORT IN THE NEXT YEAR?

SO THE COMMISSION IS TRULY INDEPENDENT.

THEY HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO HIRE THEIR OWN STAFF.

THEY HAVE THE AUTONOMY TO BOOK THEIR OWN MEETINGS.

IT'S, YOU KNOW, IT'S REALLY UP TO THEM.

YOU KNOW, THEY ARE AN INDEPENDENT COMMISSION AND THEY ARE JUST TASKED WITH LISTENING TO NEW YORKERS BY HAVING PUBLIC HEARINGS AND USING THEIR KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERTISE TO DRAFT A REPORT.

AND CAN YOU UNPACK THE THINKING BEHIND THE ONE-YEAR TIME FRAME THAT WAS GIVEN TO THE COMMISSION TO PRODUCE THE REPORT TO THE LEGISLATURE?

I KNOW.

MANY OF THE COMMISSIONERS COMPLAINED ABOUT THE SHORTENED TIMELINE, BUT I FREQUENTLY HAVE SEEN IN MY HISTORY THAT WHEN GOVERNMENT IS TASKED WITH DRAFTING A REPORT OR SOME TYPE OF DOCUMENT, IT GETS DELAYED.

AND SO THE THINKING BEHIND PUTTING TIMELINES IS TO ENSURE THAT THIS WORK IS DONE EXPEDITIOUSLY.

YOU KNOW, WE, AS OUR COMMUNITIES, CANNOT WAIT FOR, YOU KNOW, YEARS TO PASS TO RESOLVE SOME OF THESE SOCIOECONOMIC ISSUES.

WE NEED THE WORK TO BE DONE EXPEDITIOUSLY.

SO THE THOUGHT PROCESS BEHIND IT WAS JUST TO MAKE SURE THAT THE WORK PROGRESSES QUICKLY.

HOW WILL THE LEGISLATURE APPROACH THE REPORT ONCE IT'S GIVEN TO THEM?

AND WHAT WILL BE SORT OF THE NEXT STEPS AFTER THE REPORT IS PRESENTED?

WELL, WE WILL TAKE THE REPORT, OF COURSE DIGEST IT BECAUSE IT'S GOING TO BE A VERY IMPORTANT DOCUMENT, A REALLY GUIDING LIGHT TO WHAT WE NEED TO DO.

AND FROM THERE, WE CAN PICK THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WE FEEL ARE REALLY EFFECTIVE IN TACKLING THE SYSTEMATIC RACISM IN OUR COMMUNITIES, BUT ALSO, YOU KNOW, TAKE THE IDEAS AND IF THEY NEED TO BE AMENDED, CHANGED, WE CAN DO SO.

SO IT'S REALLY UP TO WHAT WE SEE IN THE REPORT AND HOW WE CAN MOVE FORWARD.

IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE FOCUS ON OUR HISTORY OF DISCRIMINATION AND BREAK DOWN THESE SYSTEMS, THESE DISPARITIES, THESE DISPARITIES THAT EXIST AND IMPROVE OUR QUALITY OF LIFE FOR BLACK NEW YORKERS.

AND FOR ALL NEW YORKERS.

YOU COULD SEE THAT THERE'S SO MANY METRICS IN OUR STATE WHERE BLACKS ARE BEHIND, WHETHER IT'S, YOU KNOW, ECONOMICS, HEALTH, YOU KNOW, EDUCATION, YOU KNOW, AND THIS IS REALLY HURTING OUR COMMUNITY.

SO WE WANT TO ENSURE THAT WE'RE TAKING EXPERT ADVICE AND LOOKING HOW WE CAN MOVE FORWARD.

AND WHAT HAS BEEN THE RESPONSE FROM YOUR CONSTITUENTS IN YOUR DISTRICT NOW THAT THE COMMISSION HAS BEEN CREATED AND ESTABLISHED AND THEIR WORK IS UNDERWAY?

YOU KNOW, MY COMMUNITY UNDERSTANDS THAT LIKE RACIAL INEQUALITY IN THE UNITED STATES EXISTS TODAY AND ULTIMATELY WHETHER IT WAS BASED ON SLAVERY OR ITS OTHER VESTIGES THAT IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE DESTROY THESE PARADIGMS OF RACIAL INEQUALITY THAT EXISTS WITHIN GOVERNMENT AND ALSO IN PRIVATE INDUSTRIES.

AND SO I'VE BEEN ENCOURAGED BY THE SUPPORT OF MY CONSTITUENTS.

THEY WANT TO TACKLE SYSTEMATIC RACISM.

OBVIOUSLY, THERE ARE THOSE WHO DON'T UNDERSTAND THE WORK THAT WE'RE DOING YET, AND I HOPE THAT THEY CAN OPEN THEIR HEARTS AND MINDS TO THE CONVERSATION.

BUT IF WE'RE TALKING ABOUT FINANCE AND TALKING ABOUT DOLLARS AND CENTS, IT ONLY MAKES SENSE AS A GOVERNMENT AND AS PRIVATE INDUSTRY TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE BREAKING DOWN THESE SYSTEMS AND SUPPORTING OUR COMMUNITIES AND BUILDING A BETTER NEW YORK.

AND AS YOU MENTIONED, THE FIRST MEETING OF THE STATE COMMISSION WAS JUST A FEW WEEKS AGO.

SO CAN YOU TELL US MORE ABOUT THE ENERGY IN THE ROOM DURING THAT FIRST MEETING AND SOME OF THE BIG TAKEAWAYS THAT YOU HAD.

IT WAS TRULY EXCITEMENT.

I AM HUMBLED BECAUSE WE HAVE NINE INDIVIDUALS THAT ARE TAKING THEIR WORK VERY SERIOUSLY.

AND SO WE WERE -- I, ALONG WITH SENATOR JAMES SANDERS, HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO SWEAR IN THE COMMISSION.

WHEN THEY SAT DOWN, THEY GOT RIGHT BACK TO WORK, EXCUSE ME, AND STARTED TO HAVE CONVERSATIONS OF HOW TO FORM THE COMMISSION AND WHAT THEY NEED TO DO TO MOVE FORWARD.

THERE ARE MANY CHALLENGES AHEAD, BUT THESE NINE INDIVIDUALS ARE VERY EXCITED AND ARE PASSIONATE ABOUT MAKING SURE THE WORK IS DONE IN A STANDARD AND WAY THAT NEW YORKERS CAN BE PROUD OF.

AND NOW THAT THE COMMISSION HAS BEEN ESTABLISHED AND THEIR WORK IS UNDERWAY, HOW ARE YOU HOPING TO BUILD ON THIS WORK AND CONTINUE FOCUSING ON THIS ISSUE HEADING INTO THE NEXT LEGISLATIVE SESSION?

SO WE KNOW THAT THE COMMISSION IS MEETING AND THERE ARE A WHOLE HOST OF INDIVIDUALS OUTSIDE OF THAT WORLD LIKE ELJOY WILLIAMS FROM NAACP WHO IS GOING TO SUPPORT THAT WORK IN AN EXTERNAL SENSE.

SO THERE'S A LOT OF WORK THAT NEEDS TO BE DONE.

WE HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT THE MESSAGE GETS OUT TO OUR COMMUNITIES.

WE ALSO NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE EDUCATING PEOPLE ON REPARATIONS BECAUSE IT'S IMPORTANT THAT THEY KNOW THAT THIS IS A WAY TO ACTUALLY SHIFT AND CREATE POLICY CHANGES IN OUR COMMUNITY.

SO IT'S GOING TO BE A LOT OF EDUCATING, A LOT OF TALKING TO COMMUNITY MEMBERS AND GETTING THEM EXCITED ABOUT THIS OPPORTUNITY TO ENGAGE GOVERNMENT AND PRIVATE INDUSTRIES IN THIS WAY.

AND LASTLY, LOOKING AHEAD, WHERE DO YOU SEE THE CONVERSATION AROUND REPARATIONS ON THE STATE AS WELL AS ON THE FEDERAL LEVEL IN THE YEARS TO COME.

WHAT ARE YOU HOPING TO SEE MOVING FORWARD.

YOU KNOW, I COME FROM LONG ISLAND.

I TELL PEOPLE.

AND, YOU KNOW, WHEN THERE'S A CONVERSATION AROUND REPARATIONS AND CHILD SLAVERY, PEOPLE WANT TO FOCUS ON THE PART OF REPARATIONS THAT'S JUST CHILD SLAVERY.

AND I THINK THAT'S VERY IMPORTANT.

HOWEVER, BLACKS HAVE BEEN DISCRIMINATED IN THIS STATE MORE OFTEN THAN NOT.

FOR EXAMPLE, ON LONG ISLAND, ONE OF THE GREATEST HOUSING PROGRAMS THAT WAS CREATED WAS THE THE LEVITTOWN HOUSES, THE FIRST SUBURBS.

AND IF YOU SEE WITHIN THE DEEDS OF THOSE HOUSES, THEY EXCLUDED BLACKS FROM OWNING THOSE HOMES.

IT SAID IN THE DEED, BLACKS CANNOT OWN THESE HOMES.

WE AS A COMMUNITY WERE NEVER GIVEN REPARATIONS FOR THAT.

WE'VE MISSED THE OPPORTUNITY TO GAIN GENERATIONAL WEALTH.

AND SO I WANT MY COMMUNITY AND NEW YORKERS TO FOCUS ON THE TRAVESTIES THAT HAPPENED FROM CHILD SLAVERY AND BEYOND TO MODERN DAY AND KNOW THAT BLACKS HAVE BEEN PUT AT A DISADVANTAGE.

AND IN ORDER FOR US TO MOVE FORWARD TO SOCIETY WE NEED TO WORK TOGETHER TO FIX THOSE ISSUES AND TO REPAIR OUR COMMUNITIES.

SO I JUST LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING IN THE CONVERSATION MY EXPECTATIONS ARE VERY OPEN AND LOW IN THE SENSE THAT THIS IS NOT ABOUT ME, THAT THIS IS ABOUT NEW YORKERS.

THIS IS ABOUT US HAVING A CONVERSATION AND THEN GETTING THE REPORT AND THEN MOVING FORWARD AS A SOCIETY BECAUSE WE CANNOT MOVE FORWARD, WE CANNOT GO UP, IF WE ARE NOT TOGETHER ON THE SAME PAGE AND FIXING THE HARMS THAT WERE CREATED IN THE PAST.

WELL, CERTAINLY A LOT TO LOOK FORWARD TO, BUT UNFORTUNATELY THAT'S ALL THE TIME WE HAVE FOR NOW.

WE THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR TAKING THE TIME TO SPEAK WITH US, ASSEMBLYMEMBER.

THANK YOU.

AND WE WERE SPEAKING WITH ASSEMBLYMEMBER MICHAELLE SOLAGES OF THE 22ND ASSEMBLY DISTRICT.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE WORK OF THE BODY AND ITS MEMBERS, YOU CAN VISIT OUR WEBSITE.

THAT'S AT NYNOW.ORG.