In 2006, General Convention passed a resolution calling for “legislation initiating study of and dialogue about the history and legacy of slavery in the United States and of proposals for monetary and non-monetary reparations to the descendants of the victims of slavery.” 250 years of slavery followed by 100 years of segregation and discrimination has caused persistent and significant disparities in education, healthcare, and wealth in the white and Black communities. These disparities and multi-generational grievances must be addressed today.
Since that resolution was passed, The Episcopal Church has taken part in historic steps to build momentum behind the legislation. In 2019, during the bill’s first hearing since 2007, then-Bishop Eugene Sutton and Episcopalian and filmmaker Katrina Browne testified before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties in support of H.R. 40/S. 40. During the 117th Congress in 2021, the bill received a record 196 co-sponsors in the House, in part due to our strong advocacy, and cleared committee for the first time in history. Rep. Ayanna Pressley has reintroduced this in the House, and await its reintroduction in the Senate. Please ask your representatives to keep this momentum going and support H.R. 40/S. 40 in the 119th Congress!
As a church, we understand that the truth shall set us free and have committed to doing the work of truth-telling and reconciliation. The Department of Reconciliation, Justice and Creation Care hosted a Summit on Truth-telling and Reparations in fall 2024 which brought together more than 100 lay and clergy leaders. “It’s truth-telling, it’s reckoning, and then it’s reparations, which is a way of saying repair and healing of what was broken and what’s still broken,” Canon Stephanie Speller said. “There’s a critical mass engaged in this work right now; it’s time to learn from each other, bolster one another and grow the movement.”
Several states have successfully created similar reparations study groups, including California’s Task Force to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans and the Maryland Lynching Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which is developing a report on reparations proposals for African American lynching victims.
It is time for the federal government to follow suit. We as a Church know this work is possible, because we are actively engaged in it. Encourage your members of Congress to support this important bill!
Additional Resources
“Normalizing Reparations: U.S. Precedent, Norms, and Models for Compensating Harms and Implications for Reparations to Black Americans” from the Harvard Kennedy School for Business and Government
Resources for Racial Reconciliation and Justice
Repairing the Breach: The Episcopal Church and Slavery Atonement
Former Bishop Sutton’s 2019 testimony on H.R. 40.
Episcopalian filmmaker Katrina Browne’s 2019 testimony.
Episcopal Church Resolutions
- 2006-C011: Support Legislation for Reparations for Slavery