March 16, 2004 |
2004-R-0332 | |
REPARATIONS FOR DESCENDANTS OF AFRICAN-AMERICAN SLAVES | ||
| ||
By: Mary M. Janicki, Director | ||
You asked whether, in the past 10 years, the General Assembly has considered legislation proposing reparations for descendants of African-American slaves. You want to know the issues covered in any such bills and the status of those proposals.
A search of the databases of bills and amendments the legislature has considered since 1988 shows none that address the issue of reparations for descendants of African-American slaves. The only reference to the issue came up in 2000 in the House of Representatives’ debate on An Act Concerning Treatment of Holocaust Reparations in Determining Income for Tax and Other Purposes. That bill, SB 563 enacted as PA 00-82, exempted from the state income tax any settlement payments to Holocaust victims and excluded the payments from income calculations for certain other purposes.
In the debate on the bill, Representative Beamon mentioned:
[W]e have to come to some agreement on a discussion. And that discussion is the discussion of probably one of the issues which has divided this country for many many years and that is the treatment…of those individuals who came to this country by way of slave ships over 400 years ago…. [W]e would like to have a discussion in this Chamber on the notion of making other individuals [whole] as well…. [T]his bill sets the standard that the State of Connecticut today will recognize the notion of reparation so that if any other group comes before this Chamber regarding any type of settlement, that we should add that to this notion” (House Transcript for 4/24/2000).
MJ: nf