California Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom&#8217;s office said conservative media incorrectly presented his previous comments that appeared to indicate he did not support paying reparations to black Californians who were descendants of slaves and he is, in fact, open to the idea.
&#8220;The sensationalized framing in pieces published by outlets like Fox News and others is inaccurate,&#8221; Anthony York, chief communication advisor for Newsom, told <a href="https://archive.ph/pETLA#selection-1505.71-1505.120" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Sacramento Bee</a>. &#8220;The Governor looks forward to reviewing the final report — and all recommendations — when complete.&#8221;
Last week, the nine-member <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/california-reparations-task-force-approves-plan-giving-up-to-1-2-million-to-each-black-resident" target="_blank" rel="noopener">California Reparations Task Force</a> recommended that the state issue a formal reparative monetary apology, including distributing up to $1.2 million to eligible black California residents based on calculated dollar figures in categories ranging from mass incarceration to housing discrimination and other alleged injustices.
Newsom, who appointed five of the nine task force members, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/gavin-newsom-praises-reparations-task-force-doesnt-endorse-plan-for-1-2-million-payouts" target="_blank" rel="noopener">praised the committee&#8217;s work to &#8220;advance systemic changes&#8221;</a> — but stopped short of endorsing its recommendation for cash payouts.
The governor told Fox News Digital on Tuesday that finding a way to address the &#8220;legacy&#8221; left behind by the institution of slavery was a complicated issue that was &#8220;about much more than cash payments.&#8221;
York told the Bee that Newsom has not declined to support issuing cash reparations payments to black residents, and he will meet with state lawmakers and review the final report.
California Democratic Sen. Steven Bradford, a task force member, told <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2023/05/10/california-officials-response-on-slavery-reparations-00096312">POLITICO</a> he wouldn&#8217;t count on state lawmakers to approve payments and that the comments from Newsom were &#8220;acknowledging political reality,&#8221; as reported by the outlet.
&#8220;I&#8217;m realistic enough to know that we might not have colleagues who are willing to do that,&#8221; Bradford said.
&#8220;I think he&#8217;s setting a real realistic expectation that there probably won&#8217;t be check payments in the tune of or the amount that we&#8217;ve batted around for the last two years since we started this process,&#8221; he added.
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Newsom signed Assembly Bill 3121 into law in 2020, authored by then-Democratic Assemblywoman Shirley Weber, which created a task force to explore how eligible black California residents could receive compensation for an exhaustive list of injustices since the state entered the Union in 1850. Although California joined the Union outlawing slavery, the draft states that it did not pass laws at the time to guarantee freedom.
Panel members recommended an apology from the California legislature that should include a &#8220;censure of the gravest barbarities carried out on behalf of the State.&#8221;
&#8220;Reparations are not only morally justifiable, but they have the potential to address long-standing racial disparities and inequalities,&#8221; Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA) told The Associated Press.
According to the task force&#8217;s report, black communities impacted by mass incarceration and over-policing aligning with the national War on Drugs could receive about $115,260 per person, or $2,352 each year they lived in California from 1971-2020.
Panel members said black residents impacted by lending and zoning redlining by banks between 1933 and 1977 could receive $3,366 for each year they resided in California, capping at $148,099. Another method created by the panel calculated gaps between black and white &#8220;housing wealth&#8221; at $145,847 per person. Other alleged injustices and discriminations in health estimated $13,619 per person for each year lived in California.
Based on a New York Times analysis, a black person living in California for 71 years — the average life expectancy of black residents in California in 2021 — could receive up to $1.2 million. Some economists projected to The Associated Press that California could owe more than $800 billion in reparations, which more than doubles the state&#8217;s annual budget.
Newsom&#8217;s clarified stance on the reparations plan comes days after he announced a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/gavin-newsoms-revised-budget-will-make-californias-budget-deficit-worse-even-as-state-mulls-enormous-reparations-package" target="_blank" rel="noopener">greater-than-anticipated state budget deficit</a> of roughly $31.5 billion — a $9 billion increase from the $22.5 billion deficit in the budget he proposed in January.
Task force members are scheduled to release the finalized report by July 1. If lawmakers approve the plan, the state will create a new agency to oversee the program, determine eligibility, and distribute funds.

California Governor Gavin Newsom

Newsom’s Office Now Says He’s Open To Reparations Payouts, Media ‘Sensationalized’ Previous Remarks

Newsom's Office Now Says He's Open To Reparations Payouts, Media 'Sensationalized' Previous Remarks

California

Gavin Newsom

Politics

Reparations

Slavery

Social Issues

California Democratic Governor <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/gavin-newsom-celebrated-svb-bailout-without-mentioning-his-wineries-are-clients" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Gavin Newsom</a> praised the work of his state&#8217;s appointed <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/california-reparations-task-force-approves-plan-giving-up-to-1-2-million-to-each-black-resident" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Reparations Task Force</a> – which he said had done important work to &#8220;advance systemic changes&#8221; — but stopped short of endorsing its recommendation for cash payouts of up to $1.2 million.
Newsom, who appointed five of the nine members of the task force, told <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/california-gov-newsom-declines-back-reparations-checks-says-slaverys-legacy-more-cash-payments" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Fox News Digital</a> on Tuesday that finding a way to address the &#8220;legacy&#8221; left behind by the institution of slavery was a complicated issue that was &#8220;about much more than cash payments.&#8221;
&#8220;The Reparations Task Force’s independent findings and recommendations are a milestone in our bipartisan effort to advance justice and promote healing. This has been an important process, and we should continue to work as a nation to reconcile our original sin of slavery and understand how that history has shaped our country,&#8221; Newsom told the outlet.
&#8220;Dealing with that legacy is about much more than cash payments. Many of the recommendations put forward by the Task Force are critical action items we’ve already been hard at work addressing: breaking down barriers to vote, bolstering resources to address hate, enacting sweeping law enforcement and justice reforms to build trust and safety, strengthening economic mobility — all while investing billions to root out disparities and improve equity in housing, education, healthcare, and well beyond,&#8221; Newsom continued. &#8220;This work must continue.&#8221;
&#8220;Following the Task Force’s submission of its final report this summer, I look forward to a continued partnership with the Legislature to advance systemic changes that ensure an inclusive and equitable future for all Californians,&#8221; he said, noting that while some of the work had already begun, he was committed to continued efforts to &#8220;advance systemic changes that ensure an inclusive and equitable future for all Californians.&#8221;
The task force, as Newsom noted, is set to submit a final report later this summer — and the California State Legislature could then determine a path forward for their recommendations, sending it to Newsom for his signature after that.
The recommendations as they stand currently are based on how long residents have lived in California — and what kind of discriminatory policies may have affected them in that time — and call for payments ranging from several thousand dollars to more than $1 million.
<a class="c-link" href="https://onelink.to/dwapp" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="https://onelink.to/dwapp" data-sk="tooltip_parent" aria-describedby="sk-tooltip-9228">CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILY WIRE APP</a>
As the Fox News Digital Report <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/california-gov-newsom-declines-back-reparations-checks-says-slaverys-legacy-more-cash-payments" target="_blank" rel="noopener">breaks down</a> some of the numbers, black residents who were impacted by bank red-lining and lived in California between the early 1930s and the late 1970s could receive $3366 per year — up to $148,099. Similarly, black residents who lived in the state between 1970 and 2020 could receive an additional $2,352 per year because of &#8220;over-policing and mass incarceration.&#8221; For some black residents, the total payout could be as high as $1.2 million.
According to a <a href="https://nypost.com/2023/05/07/california-task-force-oks-reparations-plan-that-could-cost-state-800b/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> from The New York Post, the total reparations bill could land in the neighborhood of $800 billion — more than double California&#8217;s annual budget.

Governor Gavin Newsom

Gavin Newsom Praises Reparations Task Force — Doesn’t Endorse Plan For $1.2 Million Payouts

Gavin Newsom Praises Reparations Task Force — Doesn't Endorse Plan For $1.2 Million Payouts

Racism

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
While the most famous passage from the Declaration of Independence stands today as a rallying cry for freedom and the bedrock of American commitment to civil liberties, when a committee first drafted it, the symbolism was not so simple.
“At the time they presented a serious challenge to the founders of our nation,” Robert George, professor of jurisprudence at Princeton University, explained. “Could they create a governing structure that would match the high moral standards they had set for themselves?”
Their initial attempt, the Articles of Confederation, was largely unsuccessful: while it did see America through the Revolutionary War, the government was toothless and had no real power over the states – and since significant changes were not possible unless all the states were on board, nothing got done. At the time, many observers at home and abroad believed the entire system would collapse.
The Constitutional Convention was called in 1787 to rectify this – its stronger federal government was checked with a separation of powers between the branches of government and between the federal government and the states to balance the need for central authority against the danger that authority might pose to individual rights.
The First Congress would ratify a Bill of Rights soon after the new Constitution was adopted to further enshrine and defend those individual liberties. But the centrality of freedom to the American project posed a fundamental problem to the burgeoning nation.
“How could America espouse freedom, and also permit slavery?” George asked.
Many of the Founding Fathers, including Presidents Thomas Jefferson and George Washington, were slaveholders who had inherited sizable plantations themselves, although they were keenly aware that slavery was a gross contradiction of the ideals of liberty they had bled for. 
Both men condemned slavery in their own time and made limited efforts to combat it or halt its spread – Jefferson pushed for an end to the international slave trade, and Washington freed all his slaves in his will and set aside financial support for them.
“I tremble for my country when I think that God is just,” Jefferson said, “That his justice cannot sleep forever.”
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While some have condemned the Constitution and other founding American documents as corrupt because of the moral impurity of their authors, George points out that every known civilization in human history up until that point had practiced slavery and that human beings are flawed and limited creatures. The founders did not perfectly condemn slavery, but they instantiated ideals that were fundamentally opposed to it, at great sacrifice and personal risk, and their ideals and example would be used to ultimately bring the practice to an end.
“We do not celebrate these and the other founders for their personal moral failures,” George said. “We celebrate them for their unique moral achievements….To judge these documents [The Declaration of Independence, The U.S. Constitution, and The Bill of Rights] as corrupt because imperfect men wrote them is, to say the least, foolish.”
WATCH:
<iframe loading="lazy" title="The Constitution: A Moral Challenge" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Gz7wsz-Q8YM?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe>
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PragerU Constitution

The Constitution: A Moral Challenge

American History

Constitution

Declaration of Independence

Founding Fathers

Media

PragerU

Black California residents could receive up to $1.2 million based on how many years they have lived in the state after its official reparation task force approved <a href="https://oag.ca.gov/system/files/media/ab3121-agenda9-ch16-recomm-apologize-05062023.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">recommendations</a> on Saturday to issue a formal reparative monetary apology.
The nine-member panel, which became the first task force in the United States to form in September 2020, advanced the plan recommendations in Oakland, California. The draft includes calculated dollar figures based on categories ranging from mass incarceration, housing discrimination, and other alleged injustices.
According to the latest data from the <a href="https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/CA" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">U.S. Census Bureau,</a> more than 2.5 million Californians— about 6.5 percent of the state&#8217;s population— are black and could be eligible to receive reparations based on certain requirements.
&#8220;Reparations are not only morally justifiable, but they have the potential to address long-standing racial disparities and inequalities,&#8221; Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA) told <a href="https://apnews.com/article/california-reparations-task-force-apology-de0b43dd237c47113554a9aae56ca9f5" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Associated Press.</a>
According to the final report, black communities impacted by mass incarceration and over-policing aligning with the national War on Drugs could receive about $115,260 per person, or $2,352 each year they lived in California from 1971-2020.
Panel members said black residents impacted by lending and zoning redlining by banks between 1933 and 1977 could receive $3,366 each year they resided in California, capping at $148,099. Another method created by the panel calculated gaps between black and white &#8220;housing wealth&#8221; at $145,847 per person.
Other alleged injustices and discriminations in health estimated $13,619 per person for each year lived in California.
Based on a New York Times analysis, a black person living in California for 71 years — the average life expectancy of Black residents in California in 2021 — could receive up to $1.2 million. Some economists projected to The Associated Press that California could owe more than $800 billion in reparations, which more than doubles the state&#8217;s annual budget.
&#8220;Apologies alone are inadequate to provide justice to victims or redress wrongs,&#8221; the draft reads. &#8220;But when combined with material forms of reparations, apologies provide an opportunity for communal reckoning with the past and repair for moral, physical, and dignitary harms.&#8221;
One woman attending Saturday&#8217;s meeting said $1.2 million in incremental payments &#8220;is nowhere near enough.&#8221;
&#8220;We want direct cash payments just like how the stimulus [checks] were sent out,&#8221; the woman said, according to <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12055465/California-panel-approves-reparations-proposal-life-long-black-residents-1-2million.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Daily Mail</a>. &#8220;It&#8217;s our inheritance, and we can handle it.&#8221;
She added that the plan should resemble San Francisco&#8217;s <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/san-francisco-reparations-committee-proposes-5-million-lump-sum-payment-debt-forgiveness-to-qualified-black-residents" target="_blank" rel="noopener">newly formed reparations committee</a>, which proposed that longtime black residents of the Northern California metropolitan city would receive up to $5 million each for facing decades of &#8220;systematic repression.&#8221;
Panel members recommended the apology from the California legislature should include a &#8220;censure of the gravest barbarities carried out on behalf of the State,&#8221; which consists of an exhaustive list of notes since California entered the Union in 1850.
Although California entered the Union outlawing slavery, the draft states that it did not pass laws at the time to guarantee freedom.
The California Supreme Court enforced the federal Fugitive Slave Act, which allowed for the capture and return of runaway enslaved people until the official end of enslavement in 1865.
California has previously issued apologies for placing Japanese Americans in internment camps during World War II, mistreatment of Native Americans, and abuses in its eugenics sterilization program that forcibly sterilized patients in state hospitals and homes without true consent.
Task force members are scheduled to release the report by July 1. If lawmakers approve the plan, the state will create a new agency to oversee the program, determine eligibility, and distribute funds.

California Reparations Task Force meets to hear public input on reparations at the California Science Center in Los Angeles on Sept. 22, 2022.

California Reparations Task Force Approves Plan Giving Up To $1.2 Million To Each Black Resident

Black Lives Matter

U.S.

America’s 12th president, Zachary Taylor, was a walking contradiction who came into power at a pivotal moment in American history, and his untimely demise may have cost the US a chance to avoid its devastating civil war.
A career military man, Taylor had little interest in politics and had never voted in a presidential election until he became a candidate himself in 1848. The son of a veteran of America’s Revolutionary War, Taylor joined the army in 1808 and served in the War of 1812, the Black Hawk War(1835) and the 2nd Seminole War(1837), rising to the rank of Brigadier General, although the defining moments of his career would occur during the Mexican-American War.
After the United States annexed Texas in 1845, it inherited the problem of a disputed border with Mexico — the US also had designs on the sparsely populated Mexican territory in what was now the American southwest. In 1846, President James K. Polk, who ran for office on a promise of “Manifest Destiny” sent Taylor and his men into the disputed land between the Rio Grande and Nueces River to extract territorial concessions from the Mexican government.
Mexico responded by shooting at Taylor’s men, killing 11 and triggering the Mexican-American War.
The war went disastrously for Mexico, and Taylor distinguished himself by winning a string of battles at Palo Alto, Buena Vista and Monterrey. By early 1848, Mexico surrendered and ceded roughly half of its territory to the United States.
“No soldier could face either danger or responsibility more calmly than he,” Ulysses S. Grant, who served under Zachary during the Mexican-American war, said of his former commander. “ He was known to every soldier in his army, and respected by all.”
The war created several new political realities: the careful balance of power between slave states and free states was called into question by the acquisition of so much new territory, and Zachary Taylor became a national hero. 
<div class="image"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="wp-image-536779 aligncenter" src="https://dailywire.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Screen-Shot-2023-04-24-at-6.59.02-PM-300x169.png" alt="" width="440" height="248" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/04/Screen-Shot-2023-04-24-at-6.59.02-PM-300x169.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/04/Screen-Shot-2023-04-24-at-6.59.02-PM-1021x576.png 1021w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/04/Screen-Shot-2023-04-24-at-6.59.02-PM-768x433.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/04/Screen-Shot-2023-04-24-at-6.59.02-PM-1536x867.png 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/04/Screen-Shot-2023-04-24-at-6.59.02-PM-2048x1156.png 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 440px) 100vw, 440px" /></div>
“The political balance stood precariously at 15 free states and 15 slave states,” Joseph Fornieri, Professor of Political Science at the Rochester Institute of Technology explained. “Any additional states would tip the balance one way or the other… If anyone was in a position to resolve it, Taylor seemed to be that man.”
President Polk, a Democrat, declined to seek reelection despite his own wide popularity due to failing health and a previous campaign promise to only serve a single term. The Whigs, who had seen great electoral success with war hero William Henry Harrison in 1840 and saw a Taylor presidential ticket as an ideal means of replicating that success, and courted him as their nominee. Taylor, himself not a particularly strong partisan of any kind, agreed.
Taylor was born in Virginia and was a wealthy landowner who controlled several plantations and over 300 slaves — he also opposed to slavery’s expansion into America’s newly acquired territories and was a firm supporter of the Union. During his presidency, he went so far as to threaten to hang potential secessionists.
Taylor would ultimately die 16 months into his first term &#8211; the precise cause is disputed but the historical consensus is that the cause was some sort of stomach infection, and none of the sources suggest any kind of foul play. Nevertheless, he was unable to forge any meaningful compromise, and his successor, Millard Fillmore, would oversee the Compromise of 1850, which was so loathed that it largely set into motion the series of events that would a cataclysmic Civil War that would kill more than 600,000 Americans to finally put an end to the abominable institution of slavery.
WATCH:
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Zachary Taylor: The Man Who Might Have Prevented the Civil War" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9-nGyk0v5mE?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe>
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Screen Shot 2023-04-24 at 6.40.47 PM

WATCH: Zachary Taylor, The Man Who Might Have Prevented The Civil War

American Civil War

A <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/virginia" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Virginia</a> judge ruled last month that frozen embryos can be considered property, a decision based in-part on a 19th century <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/slavery" target="_blank" rel="noopener">slavery</a> law, according to a new report. 
The ruling was part of a dispute between a divorced couple who both hope to gain control over two frozen embryos, which were created by Honeyhline Heidemann and Jason Heidemann during their marriage, the Associated Press <a href="https://apnews.com/article/embryos-slavery-chattel-custody-virginia-82e1f36ecbcf35ec4659e8e2c3443c4f">reported</a> this week. 
“Upon independent research, this court was unable to find any Virginia law prohibiting the purchase or sale of human embryo, nor has either party cited a federal law prohibiting the activity,” Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge Richard Gardiner <a href="https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/circuit/sites/circuit/files/assets/documents/pdf/opinions/cl-2021-15372-honeyhline-heidemann-v-jason-heidemann.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote</a> in a ruling related to the battle over the embryos. “As there is no prohibition on the sale of human embryos, they may [be] valued and sold, and thus may be considered ‘goods or chattels’ within the meaning of Code § 8.01-93.”
Since the couple split, Honeyhline has hoped to move forward with using the embryos, but Jason has sought to block her saying that implanting the embryos “would force Mr. Heidemann to procreate against his wishes and therefore violate his constitutional right to procreational autonomy.”
According to a 2015 contract that the couple had drawn up, they “own any stored embryos jointly.”
While Gardiner has not made a decision on Jason’s procreational autonomy claim, he did rule that the embryos could be viewed as property. His ruling in part relied on a Virginia law from the 1800s that regulated “goods and chattel,” which included slaves at the time the law was written. 
“I would like to think that the bench and the bar would be seeking more modern precedent,” said Solomon Ashby, president of the Old Dominion Bar Association. 
A human embryo is typically frozen very soon after fertilization before the unborn child has been able to develop much. 
In recent months, some conservatives <a href="https://www.axios.com/2022/11/29/republicans-abortion-fertility-ivf-pence">have considered</a> or voiced support for increasing protection for embryos and prohibiting the disposal of embryos as pro-life organizations have often raised concerns about what happens to embryos that do not end up being implanted. 
Gardiner’s ruling to treat embryos as property could draw the attention of pro-lifers, who have often <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/watch-star-parker-gives-powerful-testimony-frank-camp" target="_blank" rel="noopener">compared</a> slavery and abortion over their callous treatment of human life.

Embryo selection for IVF light micrograph

Virginia Judge Rules Embryos Are Property, ‘Chattel’ Using Slavery Law

Abortion

Fairfax County

Judge

Virginia

A black activist appearing before California’s first reparations task force meeting insisted that every black person in the state receive $350,000 and black-owned businesses should receive $250,000.
Max Fennell, the <a href="https://www.nathansports.com/blogs/posts/unstoppable-first-african-american-pro-triathlete-max-fennell-is-just-getting-started" target="_blank" rel="noopener">first black professional tri-athlete</a>, spoke in Oakland, the birthplace of the Black Panthers.
“It’s a debt that’s owed, we worked for free,” he <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11540503/Activist-demands-600k-California-taxpayers-meeting-states-reparations-task-force.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">demanded</a> while speaking at Oakland&#8217;s city hall. “We’re not asking, we’re telling you.”
“The tangibles of what I’m asking for is $350,000 per black American in California that’s tangible, small business grant $250,000, and land 15-20 acres,” he added.
The task force is considering <a href="https://apnews.com/article/california-sacramento-oakland-8941e77405b87c91b9d235f42038380e" target="_blank" rel="noopener">five areas</a> in which it claims black Americans have been harmed: the government taking property, the supposed devaluation of businesses owned by blacks, alleged mass incarceration, health, and housing issues. Its recommendations to the California Legislature must be delivered by July 1.
“It is important to get this right because we are setting the precedent for other states and localities, and also for the federal government as well,” Kamilah V. Moore, the chair of the committee, said Wednesday.
In September 2020, California Democrat governor Gavin Newsom <a href="https://www.gov.ca.gov/2020/09/30/governor-newsom-signs-landmark-legislation-to-advance-racial-justice-and-californias-fight-against-systemic-racism-bias-in-our-legal-system/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">signed</a> a first-in-the-nation law to create a state-based task force to make recommendations on slavery reparations to the black community.
“As a nation, we can only truly thrive when every one of us has the opportunity to thrive,” Newsom stated. “Our painful history of slavery has evolved into structural racism and bias built into and permeating throughout our democratic and economic institutions.  &#8230; While there is still so much work to do to unravel this legacy, these pieces of legislation are important steps in the right direction to building a more inclusive and equitable future for all.”
Newsom signed two bills by Democrat Assemblymember Shirley Weber, who declared, “We have not come to terms with our state’s ugly past that allowed slaveholding within our borders and returned escaped slaves to their masters.”
On Wednesday in Massachusetts, the Boston City Council voted to <a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-boston-slavery-government-and-6a5e36f746db813b2f42444e180be7b2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">create a task force</a> to examine the idea of reparations.
Last year, the Evanston City Council in Illinois <a href="https://dailywire.com/news/illinois-city-approves-first-government-reparations-program-in-us/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">voted</a> to give reparations to its black residents, allocating $400,000 to be paid out in homeownership and improvement grants up to $25,000. “The Local Reparations Restorative Housing Program &#8230; acknowledges the harm caused to Black/African-American Evanston residents due to discriminatory housing policies and practices and inaction on the part of the City,” a resolution from the council stated.

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‘We’re Not Asking, We’re Telling You’: Black Activist Demands $350,000 For Each Black CA Resident

Black Activist Demands $350,000 For Each Black CA Resident.

Blacks

Producer Joey McFarland issued a lengthy apology on Sunday after bringing the photo that inspired the new <a href="https://dailywire.com/news/will-smith-says-he-totally-understands-and-respects-if-people-arent-ready-to-see-his-new-film/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Will Smith</a> film &#8220;Emancipation&#8221; to the premiere landed him in hot water.
McFarland brought the <a href="https://www.history.com/news/whipped-peter-slavery-photo-scourged-back-real-story-civil-war" target="_blank" rel="noopener">famous 1863 photo</a> — known by the title &#8220;whipped Peter&#8221; — which showed the lash-scourged back of a slave named Peter who escaped from a Louisiana plantation and joined the Union Army after he was nearly whipped to death. McFarland explained that he had obtained the photos which had quickly circulated among abolitionists, in order to preserve a piece of history.
The producer then told reporters that he had brought it to the premiere because he wanted &#8220;a piece of Peter&#8221; to be present.
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<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Emancipation?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Emancipation</a> producer Joey McFarland brought the original &quot;scourged back&quot; photo from 1863 to the film&#39;s premiere: &quot;I wanted a piece of Peter to be here tonight.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/PUJ13jCFiD">https://t.co/PUJ13jCFiD</a> <a href="https://t.co/kDJCndFJnM">pic.twitter.com/kDJCndFJnM</a>
&mdash; Variety (@Variety) <a href="https://twitter.com/Variety/status/1598154362286645248?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 1, 2022</a></blockquote>
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McFarland&#8217;s answer — in addition to the fact that he, as a white man, owned a piece of slave memorabilia — prompted a wave of backlash.
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&#8220;OR you could give it to the man’s descendants. OR you could give it to the @NMAAHC. OR be even more creative help the family use the photo to create a shared-public history Really anything other than keeping a slavery souvenir in your pocket,&#8221; broadcast host Nayerra <a href="https://twitter.com/nayyeroar/status/1598790067341778944" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tweeted</a>.
&#8220;Creepy behaviour,&#8221; Kelechi <a href="https://twitter.com/kelechnekoff/status/1598946017457557504" target="_blank" rel="noopener">added</a>. &#8220;If this is what he has procured and brought out with him to the premiere, I wouldn’t be surprised if he has the teeth and hair of enslaved people at home. Weird flex.&#8221;
McFarland issued an apology via Instagram on Sunday, saying in part, &#8220;I wholeheartedly apologize to everyone I have offended by bringing a photograph of Peter to the ‘Emancipation’ premiere. My intent was to honor this remarkable man and to remind the general public that this image not only brought about change in 1863 but still resonates and promotes change today.&#8221;
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<p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Clwt6P_ofEe/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Joey McFarland (@joeymcfarland)</a>
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&#8220;These photographs, which existed before me, will be around long after I am gone; they belong to the world,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;My goal has always been to find the right permanent home and make sure they are accessible, to honor their significance. And most importantly, that the individuals depicted in the photographs are remembered and their stories are told with the greatest dignity and respect.&#8221;

Premiere Of Fathom Events’ “Chris Brown: Welcome To My Life” – Red Carpet

Will Smith’s ‘Emancipation’ Producer Apologizes For Bringing A Photo To Film Premiere

Will Smith's 'Emancipation' Producer Apologizes For Bringing The Photo That Inspired The Film To The Premiere

Celebrities

Movies

Will Smith

“The Woman King” is already earning rave reviews from most <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/entertainment" target="_blank" rel="noopener">critics</a>, but even some left-wing outlets are being forced to admit that the writers completely rewrote history by painting the Agojie warrior women as <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/slavery" target="_blank" rel="noopener">abolitionists</a>.
The historical drama’s description calls it “the remarkable story of the Agojie, the all-female unit of warriors who protected the African Kingdom of Dahomey in the 1800s with skills and a fierceness unlike anything the world has ever seen.”
It goes on to say this story, “inspired by true events,” depicts the General Nanisca (Viola Davis) as she “trains the next generation of recruits and readies them for battle against an enemy determined to destroy their way of life.”
<iframe loading="lazy" title="THE WOMAN KING – Official Trailer (HD)" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/3RDaPV_rJ1Y?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
The movie, which premiered Friday, currently has a 96% critic rating and 99% audience rating on <a href="https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_woman_king" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Rotten Tomatoes</a>. However, even among the glowing praise of this “true story” of female empowerment, there are some mainstream outlets admitting that parts of the story are not accurate.
It’s true that in the kingdom of Dahomey, women stepped outside their typical social roles to serve as warriors. The film could have solely focused on that truth and remained mostly accurate. However, Nanisca is portrayed as anti-slavery, when in reality, the Agojie warriors had no moral qualms about enslaving neighboring tribes and profiting from the African slave trade. This practice continued until the British Empire ended the slave trade in the region.
To their credit, the <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/sisterhood-and-slavery-in-the-woman-king">reviewer</a> from The New Yorker calls out this historical error. “If the scriptwriters had wanted, ‘The Woman King’ could have been an amoral epic about swordplay and statecraft,” the reviewer writes.
“But ‘The Woman King’ chooses to make resistance to slavery its moral compass, then misrepresents a kingdom that trafficked tens of thousands as a vanguard in the struggle against it.”
The Wall Street Journal also <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-woman-king-review-viola-davis-thuso-mbedu-john-boyega-dana-stevens-maria-bello-gina-prince-bythewood-11663280007">notes</a> the inaccuracy.
“The central problem with the movie—call it the #MeToo ‘Black Panther’—is that in reality Dahomey notoriously built its wealth on capturing local people and selling them into slavery,” the reviewer writes. “Characters in ‘The Woman King’ blame enslavement in Dahomey on the economic meddling of white traders although it was well-established in West Africa before the Europeans got involved.”
“Historical inaccuracy never troubled Hollywood before, so why shouldn’t the ladies help themselves to some of it? Fair question, but there’s a difference between stretching the truth and presenting the opposite of it,” the WSJ review concludes.
Despite these critical assessments, most reviews praise the film for being “powerful” and “ferocious.” Peter Travers from ABC News wrote that it “reminds us how truly inspiring it is to see these brave sisters doing it for themselves.”
“The Woman King” is currently playing in theaters.

Dahomey Amazons or Warriors (Benin) 1897

‘The Woman King’ Falsely Paints Female Warrior Slave Traders As Abolitionists, Even Leftist Critics Admit

'The Woman King' Falsely Paints Female Warrior Slave Traders As Abolitionists, Even Leftist Critics Admit

Africa

Entertainment

Hollywood

A <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/new-jersey">New Jersey</a> elementary school has changed its name following a reported student-led campaign to scrap <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/thomas-jefferson">Thomas Jefferson</a> due to his affiliation with <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/slavery">slavery</a>.
Per <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/us/new-jersey-district-removes-thomas-jefferson-elementary-school-name-slavery?intcmp=tw_fnc">Fox News</a>, Thomas Jefferson Elementary in South Orange will now be known as Delia Bolden Elementary. That name was picked from a list of options that included other historical figures and some options that didn’t reference people at all.
The publication noted that Delia Owens was the first black woman to graduate high school in the area.
Other options included &#8220;Ruth Bader Ginsberg Elementary School&#8221; and &#8220;New Legacy Elementary School,” but ultimately, Owens won out.
&#8220;I want to make that point that Thomas Jefferson owned over 600 slaves,&#8221; board member Qawi Telesford said at a June meeting to discuss the possibility of a name change. 
&#8220;He freed two while he was alive and seven after he died, which basically means I have a 1.5% chance of being free in Thomas Jefferson’s world. So, I am not thankful to him. I am thankful to the people who made sure that I could actually be free and be on the board with you today.&#8221;
School Superintendent Ronald Taylor said in a statement that he was proud of the students for pushing for the name swap, which was also supported by faculty and staff. 
&#8220;Seeing the work that [the students] did, I think, exceeded the expectations of all of us who participated in that conversation, when that was the final outcome, to really engage our students and make this a real-life civics lesson with really strong connections to governance,&#8221; he said.
This isn’t the first time the Founding Father’s name was struck from a school. In 2021, the Falls Church school board in Virginia voted unanimously to change the names of Thomas Jefferson Elementary School and George Mason High School, The Daily Wire previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/walsh-school-board-votes-to-take-thomas-jeffersons-name-off-of-school-gives-truly-insane-reasons-to-justify-it">reported</a>. They also argued that Jefferson’s legacy was tainted by his slave-owning past. 
Last fall, a 200-year-old statue of Jefferson was removed from New York’s City Council Chamber.
“This Administration owes it to the more than five million New Yorkers of color our members – past, present and future – represent, to resolve that the individuals memorialized within the confines of our People’s House be reflective not only of the best traditions of our city’s history and its diversity but unquestionable character,” the city’s council’s Black, Latino, and Asian Caucus said in a statement at the time, per <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/thomas-jefferson-statue-officially-booted-from-new-york-city-council-chamber">The Daily Wire</a>.

Portrait Of Thomas Jefferson

New Jersey Elementary School Ditches Thomas Jefferson From Name Because He Owned Slaves

Elementary Schools

New Jersey

Thomas Jefferson

Walmart apologized Tuesday for releasing a &#8220;Juneteenth&#8221; themed ice cream after woke backlash from critics on social media.
The retail giant issued a statement Tuesday apologizing for the &#8220;celebration edition&#8221; ice cream released by its Great Value brand, a red velvet cheesecake flavor created to match the celebratory red, yellow, green, and black colors used for Juneteenth.
&#8220;Share and celebrate African-American culture, emancipation and enduring hope,&#8221; the label reads. Juneteenth became a federal holiday in June 2021 after President Joe Biden signed a law establishing it.
One Twitter user called @KevOnStage shared a TikTok video to his <a href="https://twitter.com/KevOnStage/status/1528559087218065409?t=nr_zwRljxMWrFls2UFIJwQ&amp;s=19">Twitter</a> Sunday night account criticizing Juneteenth-themed products being sold by Walmart.
&#8220;Apparently Walmart has Great Value Juneteenth celebration edition ice cream, swirled red velvet and cheesecake flavored ice cream, and this is what happens when you commercialize federal holidays,&#8221; KevOnStage said in the video. &#8220;It just became a federal holiday, now you can celebrate with this ice cream. But wait, there&#8217;s more!&#8221; he said, pointing out a number of other products, like Juneteenth party supplies and decorations, wine, party masks and glasses, tee shirts, and water bottles.
KevOnStage also pointed out a rather inconveniently-placed &#8220;Congratulations Officer&#8221; celebration banner in the list of products. &#8220;And I am so upset about this, what I need Walmart to do is send me all this ice cream just so I can taste it and make sure it is wrong!&#8221; he said.
Other Twitter users were not so humorous in their criticism.
&#8220;We said we want the reparations we are owed. They gave us Representatives kneeling in Kente cloth, ice cream and party decorations,&#8221; said one user.
&#8220;Corporate America will co-opt Juneteenth now that it’s a federal holiday like everything else. We don’t have reparations, laws protecting our voting rights, or stopping Police from killing us, but we have ice cream…&#8221; said another.
&#8220;Capitalism is a retail conglomerate, owned by a white billionaire family, marketing an ice cream to celebrate a holiday that commemorates the emancipation of slaves in a country that was literally built on the backs on slaves,&#8221; another user stated.
Several other users complained that Walmart was selling its own brand of ice cream instead of promoting a similar flavor sold by a black-owned ice cream company.
The backlash caused Walmart to issue a statement saying that it was re-evaluating the decision to sell the ice cream.
&#8220;Juneteenth holiday marks a celebration of freedom and independence,&#8221; the company said in a statement, obtained by <a href="https://www.foxla.com/news/walmart-pulls-juneteenth-ice-cream-after-backlash-we-sincerely-apologize">Fox 11 Los Angeles</a>. &#8220;However, we received feedback that a few items caused concern for some of our customers and we sincerely apologize. We are reviewing our assortment and will remove items as appropriate.&#8221;
A bill to establish Juneteenth as a federal holiday was introduced the Senate in June 2021. The bill passed unanimously in the Senate, and by an overwhelming 415-14 margin in the House of Representatives. Biden <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-harris-use-juneteenth-federal-holiday-signing-to-imply-america-is-still-systemically-racist">signed the bill</a> into law on June 17.
While Walmart was backing down from woke outrage, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/report-state-farm-backs-down-on-donating-transgender-books-for-five-year-olds-to-schools">State Farm</a> was also backed down from a plan to donate pro-LGBTQ books to schools and public libraries because of backlash from the public and from customers, as The Daily Wire reported.

Ice cream

Walmart Releases ‘Juneteenth’ Ice Cream, Then Cancels It Because Of Woke Backlash

Walmart Releases 'Juneteenth' Ice Cream, Then Cancels It Because Of Backlash

Juneteenth

Twitter

Walmart

Wokeness

Harvard released a report last week about the school’s legacy of slavery and racism, as well as a pledge to spend $100 million to fund programs to address past wrongs.
Harvard President Larry Bacow originally began this initiative in 2019 — and on April 26, he announced the findings, as well as some sweeping recommendations. 
In a video <a href="https://legacyofslavery.harvard.edu/about/aboutmessage-from-president">announcement</a>, Bacow said: “The truth is that slavery played a significant part in our institutional history. The truth is that the legacy of slavery continues to influence the world in the form of disparities in education, health, wealth, income, social mobility, and almost any other metric we might use to measure equality.”
The <a href="https://legacyofslavery.harvard.edu/report/recommendations-to-the-president-and-fellows-of-harvard-college">report</a> found that between 1636 (when the school was founded) to 1783 (when slavery ended in Massachusetts), leaders and workers at the school enslaved more than 70 people, although it added that number is “almost certainly an undercount.”
The report also included the names of some of the slaves, as well as the people who enslaved them.
It said that the university profited from slavery and had financial connections to it in the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries through its donors. This includes donors who got rich through the slave trade, as well as connections to plantations in the South.
It also pointed out how the remains of thousands of people are in Harvard’s museum collections, and a lot of them are believed to be from Indigenous people, with at least 15 of them from Africa that could have been enslaved.
The report recommended that the school engage with descendant communities and honor enslaved people through “Memorialization, Research, Curricula, and Knowledge Dissemination.” They also said the school should create partnerships with black colleges and universities.
The committee is calling it “reparative” but they didn’t actually call for direct payments to slave descendants. They did, however, recommend that Harvard should try to find the direct descendants of slaves associated with the school.
They also said the responses to the report “would be voluntary” and not done because of a legal requirement. As for legally mandated reparations, the idea has circulated for a while but it’s had a hard time getting off the ground.
A <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/40">bill</a> to create a Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans was introduced in the House last year. It was first introduced in the 80s. 
On various occasions, initiatives geared toward helping the black community have been referred to as reparations, including programs like affirmative action, but direct payments to slave descendants based purely on genealogy have not been tried on any large scale.
In California, a reparations task force had some <a href="https://calmatters.org/california-divide/2022/04/californias-reparations-task-force/">pushback</a> over a vote about who would qualify for reparations. In a 5 to 4 decision, the members voted to define those who are eligible as people who descended from an enslaved person or a free black person in the U.S. before the end of the 19th century.
Other schools have taken this kind of action, too, but this isn’t Harvard’s only scandal with racist allegations. Harvard is still embroiled in a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/24/us/politics/supreme-court-affirmative-action-harvard-unc.html">lawsuit</a> that will soon appear before the Supreme Court where they’re being accused of discriminating against Asian Americans in admissions. In the 1920s Harvard college also had an admissions policy limiting the number of Jews.

Harvard

Harvard Releases Slavery Report Findings, Pledges $100 Million To Right Past Wrongs

Harvard University Released Slavery Report Findings, Pledges $100 Million To Right Past Wrongs

Education

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