Episcopal Church supports congresswoman’s historic reparations legislation

[Office of Massachusetts Rep. Ayanna Pressley] On June 18, ahead of the Juneteenth holiday and a national celebration of Black joy and emancipation, Massachusetts Rep. Ayanna Pressley affirmed the strength of the reparations movement and announced growing support for H.R.40, legislation that she is championing to address the harmful legacy of slavery and establish a federal commission to develop reparations proposals for African American descendants of enslaved people. The legislation now has the support of more than 100 national and grassroots organizations and 85 members of Congress.

In February, during Black History Month, Rep. Pressley and Senator Cory Booker reintroduced H.R. 40, serving as a powerful counterweight to the unprecedented onslaught against diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives from the Trump Administration and a call to action to address the systemic oppression of Black people. Last week, Rep. Pressley hosted a briefing on H.R. 40 to provide congressional staffers and their offices an expanded look into the bill, its 36-year legislative journey – led by Congressman John Conyers and Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee – and its vital role in the reparative justice movement.

“The state of our reparations movement is strong and in this moment of heightened anti-Blackness in America, we are more resolved than ever,” said Congresswoman Pressley, lead House sponsor of H.R. 40. “H.R. 40 is racial justice, economic justice, and a moral imperative, and it is deeply necessary to confront America’s damning history of systemic racism head-on. I’m proud of the growing, broad, and intersectional support behind our bill and I am grateful to our grassroots organizations for their partnership in pushing to get this critical legislation over the finish line.”

Support for reparations has grown nationwide, with state and local officials taking action, including in Massachusetts, Illinois, Tennessee, North Carolina and Oklahoma. H.R. 40 now has endorsements from over 100 national and grassroots organizations.

“As a church, we understand that the truth shall set us free. We have committed to and embarked on undertaking the work of truth-telling and reconciliation ourselves. H.R. 40/S. 40 would offer the opportunity for our country to begin a process to understand our own history and would present a path forward for repairing historical harms done to African Americans,” – The Episcopal Church

Read the full press release here.