(Jacob Bruns, Headline USA) Perhaps in order to prepare Americans for widespread national reparations, the United States Census Bureau has announced that it is considering adding a new question for descendant of slaves.
The idea has been floated by President Joe Biden’s administration, and is currently in its “public comment” phase, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Blacks who have descended from slaves have recently increased their demands to be differentiated from blacks who did not. According to Chad Brown, spokesperson for the National Assembly of American Slavery Descendants, which backs reparations and is pushing for the change, blacks ought not be seen as a single group.
“America sees black people as a monolith,” he said. “When you say all black people are the same, you are ignoring differences in culture, ancestry, economics, and you are doing a disservice to everyone lumped into that group.”
The move from the Biden administration coincides with the first major political push for reparation payments in California.
According to reports, California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s reparations task force held a hearing Wednesday wherein protesters deemed that their $5 million reparation sums for every eligible black adult would be too low, and that $7.6 million would be necessary.
Reverend Tony Pierce, a black activist pastor, noted that $5 million is insufficient.
“Where’s the money? Where’s the cash? Where’s the check? $5 million, San Francisco’s already made a move. $5 million is nothing, and I’ll tell you why.”
For Pierce, since the payments would be distributed over a 50-year period, “you’ll be lucky if you end up with $40,000 a year.”
Tinisch Hollins, vice-chair of the African American Reparations Advisory Committee, has emphasized in the past that the Task Force will set what could become a national reparations precedent.
“I don’t need to impress upon you the fact that we are setting a national precedent here in San Francisco,” Hollins said. “What we are asking for and what we’re demanding for is a real commitment to what we need to move things forward.”
