Lawmaker proposes reparations for state mistreatment of black community

12/15/19 BY JOHN FINNERTY  CNHI HARRISBURG BUREAU


HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s history of legislation dealing with race is a mixed bag, researchers say.

Pennsylvania passed a law barring slavery in 1780 and passed legislation barring enslavers from capturing runaway slaves in 1826.

But other legislation made it more difficult for blacks to fully participate as equal members of society, said state Rep. Christopher Rabb, D-Philadelphia.

Rabb has authored legislation that would call on the state to fully examine what role the state government had in enacting racist policies and call for reparations to make up for it.


Rabb said that slavery in Pennsylvania has been documented as early as 1639, with Philadelphia becoming the region’s largest port for importing enslaved Africans.

“Slavery, and its legacy, is an atrocity,” Rabb said. “There are different kinds of reparations.”

While the state passed the 1780 and 1826 laws, which were opposed to slavery, Pennsylvania lawmakers also repeatedly took actions to make lives more difficult for blacks, said Richard Saylor, an archivist for the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.

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