Tennessee is divided over reparations, with a Black pastor in Memphis leading opposition to a bill that would ban funding for proposed reparations studies in the state.
The Rev. Earl Fisher, senior pastor of Abyssinian Baptist Church, has collected more than 1,100 signatures for his claim. petition It opposes “reprehensible legislation” introduced in the state legislature that would prohibit local governments from “engaging in the important business of considering and disbursing compensation.”
Commissioners in Shelby County, which includes Memphis, voted last year to: launch “Feasibility Study to Consider Reparations for Descendants of Slaves” daily mail report.
The vote was split along racial lines, with all eight black committee members supporting the bill, and all five white committee members voting against or abstained.
State Sen. Brent Taylor (R) is currently the sponsor. SB0429This is part of a law that “prohibits local governments from spending funds for the purpose of investigating or paying compensation.”
The Republican, whose district covers Shelby County, said the reason he opposes the $5 million study, to which county commissioners have allocated $5 million, is not a “judgment” on reparations as a concept.
“Let me be clear: Our vote today does not constitute a judgment on reparations,” Taylor said on the state Senate floor.
“This is an issue that is very important and important to many people in our country, but this is an issue that belongs to the federal government and does not belong to our cities and counties, and it is an issue that does not belong to our city or county tax dollars. “I think it’s inappropriate to introduce such issues.” He argued that such issues should be addressed.
Pastor Fisher has voiced opposition to the House bill, which is similar to the Senate bill. One side The bill, which is scheduled to be voted on Wednesday, has been described as “misguided” and “morally repugnant.”
“This is not about money. This is about ideology. This is about political power,” he said in a statement. interview With NewsNation.
“This is about people who are hell-bent on maintaining racial and economic inequality across the state, and who are deathly afraid of the truth coming out,” he continued. “That’s why they don’t want anyone to study it.”
According to the pastor, the state government should use any surplus money for worthy causes such as slave reparations.
“If Tennessee has a surplus of hundreds of millions, if not billions of dollars, a surplus means we are meeting all our fiscal responsibilities, and this is what we It can even be called expendable income, ”he continued.
“There are other groups and organizations that are getting paid 25 times that to do something that most of us would probably say is far less important.”
Fisher’s petition is supported by progressive politicians in Tennessee, including state Rep. Justin J. Pearson (D), who called the bill a “white supremacy bill.”
Please help us fight a racist and white supremacist bill that seeks to halt reparations research in Tennessee. You have 30 seconds to sign on and fight back. @tnhousegopI felt hatred on such a historic and painful day in our history. https://t.co/6ybSGmPKbF
— Justin J. Pearson (@Justinjpearson) April 4, 2024
Several other local governments across the country are also seriously considering reparations, with cities such as Boston, Massachusetts, St. Paul, Minnesota, St. Louis, Missouri, and Los Angeles, California all establishing task forces or panels. .
