Reparations for US slave descendants gains momentum

Congress is considering a commission to study impact of slavery and racism and to recommend potential compensation.

Black American slaves were promised “40 acres and a mule” by the US government in the aftermath of the Civil War that freed them in 1865, a promise that was rescinded soon after it was made. In the century and a half since, facing racism and repression, Black Americans have called for reparations, a notion that has vexed political leaders and an idea that has been met with significant resistance along the way. Now, for the first time in its history, the United States government is moving towards addressing the question of reparations for the descendants of African slaves.