Reparations for slavery gaining momentum globally and in WA

It's been one year since Gov. Bob Ferguson signed legislation that allocated $300,000 toward a study of reparations. Now underway, the Charles Mitchell and George Washington Bush Study on Reparative Action will explore the historical injustices of U.S. chattel slavery and the subsequent impacts of racism on the direct descendants of enslaved people. It will look at the harms that were done to these descendants by institutions, businesses and governmental entities in the state.

The state has contracted with Truclusion, a consulting firm in DuPont, to facilitate the study.

Since February, researchers have reviewed state archival collections, historical records, and other primary sources to document the experiences of victims of chattel slavery, their descendants and broader historical context surrounding their communities," said Ashley Gardner, principal project director and community research lead who is also an assistant professor at Temple University. "This work will inform the study's next phases, which include quantitative and qualitative analysis, community engagement activities, and the development of findings and a final report."

Since the Washington study was commissioned, the idea of reparations has attracted attention globally.

In March, the United Nations General Assembly approved a resolution that declared the transatlantic slave trade "the gravest crime against humanity." It also called for reparations as a "concrete step toward remedying historical wrongs'' and for the prompt return of cultural items, including stolen artwork and documents to their countries of origin. The vote was 123-3. Argentina, Israel and the United States voted against the resolution.

In May, French President Emmanuel Macron said the idea of reparations for the transatlantic slave trade should no longer be ignored.

"How to repair … is a question that must not be refused," Macron said during the observance of the 25th year of France's law that recognized the slave trade and slavery as crimes against humanity, the first country to do so. "We must have the honesty to say that we can never fully repair this crime, because it is impossible."

Reparations for slavery is an issue that is not only important to the state of Washington but also its Democratic Party. The party is expected to vote on an amendment to make reparations part of its political platform at its state convention on Juneteenth weekend in Spokane.

"The platform is a document that is a values statement, that this is what we as the Washington state Democrats support and believe in and encourage Democratic leaders to support these kind of issues. But candidates decide for themselves what they're running on," said Democratic Party Chair Shasti Conrad. She said that making reparations a part of the platform affirms the work the state is doing with its reparations study.

In addition to the state, the Washington Democratic Party, France and the UN, Pope Leo XIV recently issued an apology on behalf of the Catholic Church for its legitimization of slavery and failure to condemn it for centuries. For example, the Jesuits who founded and ran Georgetown University in Maryland used enslaved people to help build the school, and in 1838 Georgetown sold 272 Black enslaved people to financially rescue the university.

California, New York and Colorado have also made significant movement toward studying reparations. What reparations would look like is still up in the air, but the Washington study aims to examine how much harm has been done in the state as the result of slavery. Any potential reparations would be owed by the federal government, not the state.

And according to a 2024 study by Seattle/King County African American Reparations Committee, 58.6% of King County residents support reparations, which is higher than the national figure of 30%.

Mitchell Moss is a recent graduate of the University of Washington with a bachelor's degree African American studies with a minor in history. He's among the 58.6% who support reparations.

"The more I learned about the history of the United States and how much material benefit the country has received off the backs of our ancestors, the more I believe there needs to be some way to reap compensation," said Moss, who plans to pursue a master's degree in education with the goal of becoming a history teacher. "I don't know if that looks like a cash payment, but our community needs a lot of help and we have been ignored by the United States government for centuries. I think that needs to change."

Many historians, academics, economists and researchers agree that the economy many Americans enjoy today was set on a foundation of hundreds of years of free labor. Not only was today's economy propped up by slavery, so was the economy during the Revolutionary War.

"What better time to talk about our contribution to this county than now, at the 250th birthday of the country," said former state Rep. Jesse Wineberry, who is also the co-founder of Washington Equity Now Alliance. "In my view, we need to talk about how to repair the harm. And when talking about repaying the debt the history behind that is irrefutable. If the government didn't have the finances derived from slavery, they wouldn't have had the finances to beat the British."

Snatching headlines is a different form of reparations. Just weeks from the nation's 250th birthday, the U.S. Department of Justice made an effort to create a $1.776 billion "anti-weaponization fund to compensate people who claim the government unfairly targeted and punished them. It was pitched as part of a settlement in President Donald Trump's lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service, but it did not disqualify people who tried to overthrow the government on Jan. 6, 2021.

Picture that: The leaders of our nation are willing to pay millions of dollars to violent rioters who tried to tear down America, but nothing to descendants of those who, over hundreds of years, helped build it for free.

Moss, who recalls being in first grade when America elected its first Black president, holds out hope.

"I want to believe in the good of man and at the end of the day, the right thing will happen. It might be in a number of decades, but if we don't try it will never get done."

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