Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) has introduced legislation calling for a study of reparations, the policy of compensating the descendants of American slaves first proposed at the end of the Civil War.
"I’ve been unapologetic in my belief that this can’t just be about acknowledging the past. It needs to be about actually confronting racist policy that persists right now in the present. Because if we don’t, we cannot guarantee that our future will be any different than our past," said Booker, one of several candidates seeking the Democratic nomination for president in 2020.
Some form of the idea is backed by other Democratic contenders, including Sen. Kamala Harris of California; Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts; Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont; former San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro, who served as housing secretary under President Barack Obama; South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg; former Rep. Beto O’Rourke of Texas; Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii; and businessman and entrepreneur Andrew Yang, Fox News reported.
Booker, who was raised in Harrington Park, served as mayor of Newark before joining the Senate in 2013.
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