Pro-reparations activists are accusing President Joe Biden of ignoring them because he has not publicly come out in support of the cause, according to Fox News. Speaking to the outlet, Yvette Carnell, president of the ADOS Advocacy Foundation, said that Biden’s lack of support is nothing new for the Democratic Party.
Carnell went on to say that black Americans descended from slavery have been neglected by Democrats who get black people excited around election time. She referenced Biden’s 2012 claim that Romney was going to put black people “back in chains.” But she suggested that the rhetoric is fear-mongering rather than productive.
Biden is facing pressure from the progressive factions of his party to give black people compensation for the alleged systemic racism and oppression they face after slavery was abolished over 150 years ago. States have begun implementing their own plans to give black Americans reparations, with California leading the way, despite never being a slave state.
Previous reports compiled by the California Reparations Task Force recommended giving black people $1.2 million each. But more recently, the task force has hired economists to try to “calculate the harm,” according to NBC News. Other pro-reparations economists have calculated that the proposal will total $14 trillion. This number would reportedly amount to seven Afghanistan wars.
While the proposal is growing popular among Democrats, especially black Democrats, Biden has remained silent. When asked about his stance on the issue, Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre neglects to answer the question. Other Democrats have suggested that Biden take the next step to issue reparations by executive fiat.
Carnell noted that Biden once informed black Americans that there will not be much movement around reparations. She said that this indicates Biden takes the black vote for granted. She added that he views black votes as a “capture vote to which he doesn’t owe any exchange.”
