Memphis faith leader protests bill banning reparations studies

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A Memphis reverend has started a petition against a bill that would prohibit the study of reparations in Tennessee, and in two days, it has more than 500 signatures. Last year, state Senator Brent Taylor spoke on the Senate floor about a bill that would ban the study of reparations in Tennessee. The bill prohibits local governments from exploring or implementing reparations for historical slavery and its ongoing impacts. Local faith group on a mission to ‘heal’ Memphis Taylor says this issue should be resolved on a national level and local tax dollars should not be spent researching reparations. Reverend Earle Fisher, senior pastor of Abyssinian Baptist Church, says money isn’t the real issue. “This is not about money. This is about ideology. This is about political power,” Fisher said. “This is about people who are hell-bent on maintaining racial and economic inequities across the state and they are scared to death that the truth would come out.  So, they don’t want anybody to study it.” Taylor says the subject is significant, but the local government won’t be able to solve the problem. King family returns to Memphis 56 years after assassination  “I will make very clear...