DC reparations bill for descendants of slaves advances in City Council

Council spends $1.5 million to create task force to study how best to address reparations in the District WASHINGTON (DC News Now) — It was a day Jocelind Julien said she’d hoped she would would see. This week, D.C. City Council advanced a bill that brings the District one step closer to providing reparations for African American descendants of slaves. ‘It’s happening every day, every minute’: Gun violence impacting DC residents The council voted to dole out $1.5 million to formulate a task force to study how reparations would work and who would be chosen. “I’m enthused. I don’t want to get too excited just yet,” Julien said. “But I’m happy to see it make progress. It’s a long time in coming.” Julien is a descendant of slaves who once lived in Washington, D.C. going back to the late 1700s. Other Black ancestors, she said, had land taken from them by government officials, too. She testified before council in favor of reparations last year. “It’s an important function for us to be able to claim our reparations, to be able to seek justice for the enslaved community,” Julien said. ‘Violence interrupter’ troubled by high crime projected this summer in DC...