Tennessee bill to ban slavery reparations draws opposition

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WREG) — A Memphis pastor has started a petition against a bill that would prohibit the study of reparations for descendants of slaves in Tennessee, and in two days, it has more than 500 signatures. State Sen. Brent Taylor, a Shelby County Republican, is sponsoring the Senate version of the bill, SB0429. An amendment to the bill, added and passes in the Senate one year ago, prohibits local governments from exploring or implementing reparations for historical slavery and its ongoing impacts. It states: AMENDMENT No. 1 rewrites this bill to prohibit a county, municipality, or metropolitan government from expending funds for the purposes of studying or disbursing reparations. As used in this amendment, “reparations” means money or benefits provided to individuals who are the descendants of persons who were enslaved. You need to earn at least $100K to afford a typical home in these states: analysis 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....