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Los Angeles council backs congressional study commission on reparations (H.R. 40)
Summary
The City Council voted to endorse H.R. 40, the Conyers bill to establish a federal commission to study reparations for African Americans, after a public hearing featuring local activists and clergy.
The Los Angeles City Council on Aug. 1 voted largely in favor of a resolution endorsing H.R. 40, a federal bill introduced by Rep. John Conyers that would establish a commission to study reparations for African Americans.
Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas brought the item forward and opened a public hearing that drew several speakers representing reparations advocacy groups, clergy and community organizations. Speakers urged the council to support the Conyers bill and to press for local recognition of historic harms and possible remedies.
Morris Griffin, coordinator of the National Coalition for Reparations and Economic Wealth (INCRU) in Southern California, said reparations mean “making amends” and described reparations as compensation that could include money, land or other measures to “make whole” communities harmed by historical injustices. Other speakers included Henry (surname not specified), Opal Young of the Reparation Platform Coalition, Reverend Glynn Taylor of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, Shaka Satori of the CEO Alliance and family organizations, and Emmett (or Everett) Simmons, who described exclusion of Black workers from certain local construction projects.
Councilwoman Ruth Galanter, Councilman Rick Toll (not specified in transcript but several council members spoke in support), and others spoke in favor. Councilman Ridley-Thomas urged unanimous approval and cited precedent for redress efforts, including the Japanese American redress movement.
The clerk recorded the vote as 11 ayes and 1 no; the resolution was approved. The measure specifically endorsed H.R. 40 (the Conyers bill) and requested the council’s formal support for the creation of a federal commission to study reparations for African Americans. The council did not specify immediate remedial programs or funding; supporters described the vote as a formal expression of support for a congressional study of reparations and a call for broader government consideration of the issue.
