For several years Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee has picked up the mantle to lead efforts to create a commission to study reparations for African Americans, and now the Democrat from Texas and others believe they finally have the votes for passage in the U.S. House of Representatives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis has been a 30-plus year journey,\u201d Congresswoman Jackson Lee declared.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe had to take a different approach. We had to go one by one to members explaining this does not generate a check.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Congresswoman Jackson Lee said this week that there\u2019s now enough votes in the House for passage of the historic piece of legislation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If the measure passes and ultimately becomes law, it will create a commission that would hold hearings with testimony from those who support and oppose the idea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cReparations is about repair and when you repair the damage that has been done, you do so much to move a society forward. This commission can be a healing process. Telling the truth can heal America,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If the Senate doesn\u2019t join the House in passing the bill, the congresswoman said she and others would push President Biden to sign an executive order to create the commission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The White House didn\u2019t immediately respond.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Congresswoman Jackson Lee added that there has never been another time in which she has garnered so much support and momentum for H.R. 40,<\/a> the reparations legislation that focuses on truth, racial healing, and transformation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Congresswoman Jackson Lee recently reflected on the long-overdue redress to African descendants of slaves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She also praised the resiliency of Black Americans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI want to give credit to the giants that were and are Black Americans. They are giants,\u201d Congresswoman Jackson Lee declared.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI want to give credit to the everyday mom and dad who get up every day and get to work and provide for their family. I\u2019m going to give those who came up on the farms or stayed on the farm and raised nine and ten and twelve children,\u201d she reflected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Congresswoman continued, \u201cI want to give them the honor that they deserve, and that is to recognize the insurmountable odds that some of them had and how they continue to plant seeds of respect and dignity in their children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHas anyone addressed the question of slavery and its comprehensive impact on Black Americans in this country? This is what H.R. 40 will do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n While the bill doesn\u2019t place a monetary value on reparations, it does focus on truth, racial healing, and transformation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n