Appointees named to New York commission to study slavery reparation

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, state Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie announced their appointments to a state commission tasked with studying potential slavery reparation, the governor’s office said Thursday. The panel, created by legislation passed at the end of last year, will look into the state’s history of slavery and how to repair its lasting impacts on descendants of enslaved New Yorkers. Slavery remained legal in New York until 1827. The commission is comprised of nine members with three members chosen by each the governor, state Assembly speaker and majority leader of the state Senate. The members would have to submit a report of their findings and recommendations to the Legislature no later than one year after the date of the commission’s first meeting. “As Americans, we have a solemn responsibility to reckon with our history and that includes understanding the painful legacy of slavery in New York,” Hochul said in a statement. “We have assembled an extraordinary group of highly-qualified individuals to serve on the new Commission, and will review their final recommendations.” Those apppointed by Hochul are: Jennifer Jones Austin: the CEO and Executive Director of FPWA, an anti-poverty policy and advocacy nonprofit...