Gov. Hochul approves slavery reparations panel in N.Y., calls on state to embrace ‘hard’ conversation

Legislation to create a New York commission to study reparations for the descendants of slaves was approved Tuesday by Gov. Hochul, who called on New Yorkers to “rebuke and not excuse our role in benefiting from the institution of slavery.” Hochul, a Democrat, signed the bill at a ceremony on the Upper West Side of Manhattan six months after the state Legislature passed the plan. The governor said the commission would “make it possible to have a conversation — a reasoned debate — about what we want the future to look like.” Chattel slavery lasted for two centuries in New York and has cast a long and painful shadow. Slaves built historic swaths of New York City, including the wall for which Wall St. is named and the original Broadway thoroughfare. In 1730, an estimated 42% of New York City’s population owned slaves. Now, New York State’s schools are the nation’s most segregated, according to a study from the University of California, Los Angeles. And the state’s racial wealth gap is vast: white households have a median net worth almost 15 times larger than Black households’ median net worth, the New York City comptroller’s office reported this month. Black New...