Loading …In a rare display of intra-party defiance, the Maryland General Assembly has bulldozed the objections of its own Democratic governor to force the state into a contentious debate over slavery reparations. By overriding Governor Wes Moore’s veto with supermajorities in both chambers, lawmakers have cleared the path for a new commission tasked with determining how – and if – current taxpayers should compensate the descendants of the enslaved.
This vote exposes a deep fracture within the state’s leadership regarding how to address racial disparities. While the Governor argued for pragmatic economic policies over “more studies,” the legislature has opted to open a Pandora’s box of historical grievances and potential financial liabilities.
Discussion
Reparations were already paid in the form of homesteads of acreage and mules. To do it today would be ultimately corrupt
Before any reparations are paid to African Americans we must first pay the native americans or Indians. They gave us land, we gave them blankets, beads and disease. Then made the walk to Oklahoma. Long line if we are going that route. Reparations have been paid and then some. Govt programs, benefits etc…
Ok the Irish were the 1st slaves. Theyre doing well. Blacks were not. There are great stories of heroic Black people in history. They should know it & study it! No one is getting back pay that's BS. Get a friggin' job!
We need more patriotic leaders like Predident Trump!
THAT IDIOT DOESN'T EVEN KNOW TRUTH. GO TO WILLIAM FEDERERS AMERICAN MINUTE, THERE ARE PLENTY OF BLACK SLAVES THAT ROSE ABOUT THE JUNK. THE IRISH WERE THE FIRST SLAVES. BLACKS DON'T EVEN KNOW THEIR OWN HISTORY, BECAUSE IT WAS KEPT FROM THEM FROM THE SWAMP SO THEY CAN COMPLAIN & COMPLAIN. GET A JOB, GO TO SCHOOL WHICH PRESIDENT TRUMP IS FIXING. THEN YOU WILL SEE WHAT YOU CAN ACCOMPLISH. WE HAVE SOME VERY STUPID BLACK LEADERS, THAT'S THE PROBLEM TOO!
We need more patriotic leaders like Predident Trump.
Those who wish to be recipients, are looking for a free ride. Not gona happen, get a job and work like the rest of us.
There has not been any slaves in 200 years neither my parents or grand parents ever had slaves.To pay reparations is just a nother form of welfare
Actually, it's emotional and political extortion to expect those who weren't alive during slavery to pay those who were also not alive during slavery.
Arrest and ban these fools from government
Time to arrest them and imprison them for fraud, abuse of power and taxpayer funds theft.
Since the democrats are so strong in their support of reparations, I agree. It was the democrats who supported slavery and it was the democrats who founded the Ku Klux Klan . It should be the democrats who pay for their own sins !
Bull Crap – Blacks were NOT the only slaves. Anyway the black slaves were captured in Africa by other Blacks and sold to ships as slaves. NOT my problem
We need to pass a NATIONAL law that says No Law shall be above the CONSTITUTION…
JB – actually already there in the supremacy clause…
Reparations were paid to ALL Slaves. Sounds to me like those people pushing this are WORTHLESS LAZY MOOCHERS!! Most the slaves have passed on this generation pushing this nonsense needs to find themselves a job. Taxpayers SHOULD NOT HAVE TO PAY anymore!! DONE OVER WITH!!!
Send them all back to Africa
That's what Limcoln wanted to do and they shot him for that.
It is hard to believe that two parties can be so different. The Lord wants please that surpasses all understand.
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The US has forgotten that we ended slavery with a brutal civil way that killed hundreds of thousands of citizens. And that was 150 years ago! Since then the Democrats first attempted to disenfranchise African Americans from the voting process and their freedom by any means necessary. When that didn't work they claimed they are the party to make life better for the "poor" working class. Well…Biden's 22% inflation rate certainly put a final pin in that 60 year old balloon.
fuck that woke BS
No one alive now owned or were slaves. If they want reparations go back to Africa to collect. You can’t go half way. They captured and sold the slaves. Good luck and see ya. What a bout all the people who lost their lives to free you. That would be justice. Quit Race baiting and worry about the Americans dying and being raped by the asylum seekers. If we could be told how many Americans have died from drugs and brutality by the DEI Politicians. God Bless and remember what goes around comes back.
If something like that goes through in the state there will not be anyone living in that state pay taxes to those people that think that they deserve something for nothing. Let those who vote for it pay them!!!
Democrats just love wasting our money on their woke fantasies! Total disaster in Maryland!
Everyone of them who overrode the Governors objections to pass retributions should be arrested for misuse and fraud, theift of taxpayer funds. Give these traitors 50 years in prison, no early release and life on parole after that. And part of the parole conditions are they won't be allowed in political positions, and no level of government jobs from city to federal. We can't permit these thieves and dumbasses to rule in any part of government. and voting rights stripped from them for life.
Slavery was despicable and already being faced out with independence. The Southern States continued to support slavery when the rest of the civilized world had already banished it. To defend its aristocracy, they succeeded from the Union and prompted a Civil War paid with the blood of the Union. They lost but continued to honor the Confederated Flag and "heroes". It was a loss for everyone, and they never paid the price or their arrogant way. Let them pay for it. The Union did its part…
Why should my tax dollars be used to pay for reparations when none of my ancestors owned slaves
This reparations Ponzi scam that is being pushed, is so those who would oversee the distributions can skim off the benefits!!!!!!
My family was not in this country at the time of slavery. We were forced to leave our country of origin (Prussia) and immigrated to England and America in 1883, well after slavery had been outlawed in this country. Why, in Gods name, would we be required to pay restitution for something we had nothing to do with?
No, never owned slaves in my family, the reparation was the civil war that won their freedom.
If they get Reparations, The Irish descendats should also, they were indentured servents!!!!!
I believe we have been paying reparations since the Civil War; 600,000 Americans died in the war to free the slaves; for the last 50 years every Democrat politician has tripped over themselves giving blacks everything they wanted, including welfare; free rent; meals for their children in school; free health care, and all they have to do is vote for them. When does stop? What about the Irish slaves/indentured servants?
Total BS, NO
Americans should not be held responsible for the past of this country, it would be like holding a family responsible for an ancestor who grabbed a bank and sending them to prison
My ancestors were in Britain during the Roman conquest. Mamy Brits were enslaved in Britain and many more were sent back to Rome. Me, wanting reparations would be the same deal. Long past any Roman paying me for something I don't deserve.
We have been addressing these problems since 1964, The free give away to blacks has been ongoing. No one alive today has ever been a slave,
and no one alive today ever owned a slave. In the population today no
one even knew anyone who was a slave. The people that should get reparation are like me, I was 21 when they passed affirmative action, so I have been discriminated against my entire adult life. wheres my money.
No, I'm Mexican American and we didn't own slaves, we were slaves and still are
No, I am only 2nd generation American and have worked hard and senior now struggling to make ends meet. I do not feel any funds be paid since no only Africans were slaves………..
ridiculous
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When a Governor Says “Enough Studies”
Governor Moore’s veto was not rooted in a denial of history, but in a critique of bureaucracy. In his veto letter, he argued that Maryland has already spent twenty-five years launching commissions and study groups to examine the legacy of slavery and lynching.
His argument was one of executive efficiency: the state knows the history, and it should focus on current policies to narrow the wealth gap rather than creating another government body. However, the legislature disagreed.
“At a time of growing attacks on diversity and equity, today’s action reaffirms our shared commitment to truth-telling,” the Legislative Black Caucus stated.
What is On the Table?
The newly minted Senate Bill 587 does not immediately authorize payments, but it empowers a commission to recommend them. The scope of potential remedies is vast and financially significant.
The commission is tasked with weighing forms of reparations including:
- Official statements of apology.
- Direct monetary compensation.
- Property tax rebates.
- Child-care support and debt forgiveness.
- Higher education tuition waivers.
This moves the conversation from abstract “equity” to concrete financial transfers, a shift that inevitably triggers fierce political and constitutional debate.
The “Moral and Fiscal” Cliff
Republican opposition to the measure was blistering. Delegate Matthew Morgan characterized the commission as a vehicle for “race-bait handouts,” arguing that it betrays the unifying spirit of the civil rights movement.
“It’s immoral and it’s fiscally ruinous to this state and it sends a message… to flee Maryland,” Morgan warned.
This highlights the central tension: can a state government constitutionally redistribute wealth based on the actions of ancestors centuries ago?
Historical Tidbit: Maryland occupies a unique space in this history as a “border state” during the Civil War. While it remained in the Union, it was a slave state, meaning the Emancipation Proclamation – which only applied to states in rebellion – did not technically free Maryland’s enslaved population until the state adopted a new constitution in 1864.
A Collision Course with the Courts?
While the commission is currently only authorized to study and report (with a final deadline of November 2027), any resulting legislation that mandates race-based cash payments will face immediate legal scrutiny.
The Supreme Court has grown increasingly skeptical of race-conscious government policies, as seen in the recent affirmative action rulings. A state program that allocates tax dollars based on race—even for remedial purposes—will have to clear the high hurdle of “strict scrutiny” under the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. Maryland’s legislature has won the battle against their Governor, but the war over the constitutionality of reparations is just beginning.
I should not be responsible for what my ancestors did. Not sure that my family even had slaves. Thanks