BALTIMORE COUNTY — Slavery in America ended over 150 years ago, but some people in the black community still feel the ramifications financially and mentally.
In an effort to bridge the gap, a hearing on a bill will take place Wednesday. The house bill will work to create a committee that will look into compensating descendants of individuals who were enslaved in the state of Maryland.
The push for the bill involves the Randallstown NAACP and other state delegates. This task force would help bridge the gap to compensate families whose ancestors were enslaved in Maryland.
This includes compensation as much as $800,000, as many black leaders express black Americans do the worst financially due to years of discrimination and not being able to own businesses.
Another goal of the task force is to create scholarships for descendants of those enslaved, along with housing opportunities to help those families become homeowners.
"Some people think it's a hand- me- down, some people act as though this hasn't happened before. No, this is about really repaying what happened in the past and what's going on now as far as discrimination," said Ryan Coleman president of Randallstown NAACP.
Supporters of the bill are still looking for a senator to push for it. A similar house bill was introduced last year, but it never made it out of committee.
Wednesday's hearing on this year's version of the bill is scheduled for one o'clock.
“Reparations programs acknowledge and address harms caused by human rights violations such as slavery, segregation, or systematic denial of fair housing, education, and employment opportunities. The federal and state governments have primary responsibility to repair damages caused by human rights violations that were legally sanctioned, enabled, and permitted; although institutions, individuals, and other entities can participate in reparation efforts," said Coleman.
Click here to read more about the bill.