Say The Word: Reparations

Say The Word: Reparations

SJM was represented at an October 30 rally urging the passage of S322/A711

On October 30, Say The Word: Reparations brought supporters from around the state to St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, Perth Amboy, calling on the New Jersey Legislature to urge action on S322/A711 bills to establish a Reparations Task Force to confront disparities resulting from the legacy of slavery.

Among the rally supporters were New Jersey ecumenical and social justice leaders for concerned citizens, supporters, and members of sponsors: Episcopal Diocese of New Jersey; Unitarian Universalist Faith Action NJ; New Jersey Institute for Social Justice; Lutherans Engaging in Advocacy Ministry NJ; NAACP-NJ; New Brunswick Theological Seminary; Peoples Organization for Progress; Anti-Racist Alliance – NJ; Social Justice Matters, Inc.; The New Jersey Coalition of Religious Leaders; Salvation and Social Justice; Shiloh Baptist Church & Community Development Corporation; F-A-A-I-T-H (Faith-leaders Against Abuse in the Home).

St. Peter’s is a significant location as it was established in colonial times when slavery was introduced on this continent. Buried is the churchyard is Thomas Mundy Peterson, the first African American to vote in an election after the 15th Amendment was enacted, March 31, 1870. The location of the rally in Perth Amboy is also significant as Perth Amboy was a major port for the slave trade as well as a stop on the Underground Railroad for enslaved people seeking freedom.

A virtual rally on October 11 drew more than 100 from all areas of New Jersey, featuring testimonials and pertinent information about the need for a statewide Reparations Task Force.

Say the Word: Reparations! rally event on October 30 was the fourth in a series of Say the Word: Reparations! rallies organized by the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice, Peoples Organization for Progress, and the Episcopal Diocese of New Jersey.

What is Reparations

According to the prestigious Brookings Institute, “Reparations—a system of redress for egregious injustices—are not foreign to the United States. Native Americans have received land and billions of dollars for various benefits and programs for being forcibly exiled from their native lands. For Japanese Americans, $1.5 billion was paid to those who were interned during World War II. Additionally, the United States, via the Marshall Plan, helped to ensure that Jews received reparations for the Holocaust, including making various investments over time. In 1952, West Germany agreed to pay 3.45 billion Deutsche Marks to Holocaust survivors. Black Americans are the only group that has not received reparations for state-sanctioned racial discrimination, while slavery afforded some white families the ability to accrue tremendous wealth.” https://www.brookings.edu/policy2020/bigideas/why-we-need-reparations-for-black-americans/

In a March 16 opinion column for The Star Ledger, “New Jersey, it’s time to tell the truth,” https://www.nj.com/opinion/2021/03/new-jersey-its-time-to-tell-the-truth-opinion.html, Bishop William “Chip” Stokes of the Episcopal Diocese of New Jersey and Haygood wrote: “Too often, our state has been on the wrong side of history. In 1704, the Colonial Province of New Jersey introduced the ‘Slave Code,’ which prohibited enslaved Africans and free Africans from owning property. New Jersey opposed the Emancipation Proclamation and was the last Northern state to abolish slavery. Following the Civil War, New Jersey refused to ratify the Reconstruction Amendments.”

S322/A711

Bill S322/A711, establishing the New Jersey Reparations Task Force, requires the Task Force to:

(1) examine the institution of slavery within the State of New Jersey;

(2) examine the extent to which the State of New Jersey and the federal government prevented, opposed, or restricted efforts of former enslaved persons and their descendants who are considered United States’ citizens to economically thrive upon the ending of slavery;

(3) examine the lingering negative effects of slavery on living African-Americans and on society in New Jersey and the United States;

(4) research methods and materials for facilitating education, community dialogue, symbolic acknowledgement, and other formal actions leading toward transformation, reparations remedies, a sense of justice, and economic justice among the descendants of enslaved African people in this State;

(5) make recommendations for what remedies should be awarded, through what instrumentalities, and to whom those remedies should be awarded; and

Learn more/resources

Episcopal Diocese of New Jersey www.Dioceseofnj.org

Unitarian Universalist Faith Action NJ https://www.uufaithaction.org/

New Jersey Institute for Social Justice https://www.njisj.org/

Lutherans Engaging in Advocacy Ministry NJ https://www.leamnj.org/

State of NJ NAACP http://www.njscnaacp.org/

New Brunswick Theological Seminary https://nbts.edu/

Peoples Organization for Progress https://www.njpop.org/

Anti-Racist Alliance – NJ

Social Justice Matters, Inc. https://www.socialjusticematters.org/

Salvation and Social Justice https://sandsj.org/