Rep. Burgess Owens: 'Unfair and heartless' for Democrats to raise Black Americans' hopes for reparations

Rep. Burgess Owens, R-Utah, opposed reparations for slavery, likening it to "wealth redistribution" and "socialism" while calling for Black Americans to view themselves as a people with a proud history instead of as oppressed victims.

The hearing involved discussion of a bill that Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, reintroduced, calling for an exploratory committee to study and develop proposals for reparations, generally defined as compensation for victims of racial injustice. "It is impractical and a non-starter for the United States to pay reparations," Owens said Wednesday. "It is also unfair and heartless to give Black Americans the hope that this is a reality. The reality is that Black American history is not one of a hapless, hopeless race oppressed by a more powerful white race. It is instead a history of millions of middle- and wealthy-class Black Americans throughout the early 20th century achieving their American dream."