Maryland Black Caucus To Support Commission Studying Reparations

by Daniel Johnson January 19, 2025 Maryland has not yet acknowledged or made amends for consequences of the systematic economic exploitation and mistreatment of Black people. On Jan. 16, Maryland’s Legislative Black Caucus indicated that its members will support legislation that will create a commission to study reparations; their announcement closely follows the start of the 2025 Maryland General Assembly session. According to Fox 45 News, Delegate Aletheia McCaskill, (D-Baltimore County) said, “The commission will carefully examine and evaluate a range of reparations that will not only consider financial restitution, but will also explore strategies to support and uplift vulnerable communities that continue to suffer the lingering and invasive effects of discriminatory practices rooted in systematic racism. We will confront our shared history to move closer to building a Maryland that truly lives up to its promise of fairness and equality.” In 2024, a bill that would have established a reparations committee failed in the general assembly, per language contained in the bill, it would have allowed Maryland to “develop and administer a program to provide compensatory benefits to the descendants of individuals enslaved in the state.” Maryland, according to McCaskill’s comments at the press conference, has not undergone any...