Government compensation for slavery? NJ may lead in answering that question

NEWARK, N.J. (PIX11) — In just over a month, on Juneteenth, a preliminary report will release one of the country’s most comprehensive analyses of reparations, ways to compensate for economic, legal, and political inequities resulting from slavery, Jim Crow, and other historical practices. The New Jersey-centered effort is meant to be a guide to the first steps toward righting wrongs that are four centuries in the making. What that may look like will be laid out on June 19. PIX11 News received a detailed preview and examined the issues and history behind the upcoming proposals more closely.  Reparations come with controversy among many residents of the Garden State, even some of African descent, like Kevin Pritchett, who lives in Newark.  More PIX11 Stories Local News “Oh, I think it’s an impossible thing to do,” he said, “because you’re talking about slavery, and how many hundreds of years ago was that?” Sharon Beamon is a resident of West Orange and is also Black. She described reparations as “actually receiving what we should have from years ago.” When asked if she thought reparations could happen in New Jersey, she said that it was “very likely.” The two very different views represent how...