State and Municipal Governments Advance Reparations Agenda In May 2002, the California insurance department announced that Aetna, AIG, New York Life, Royal & Sun Alliance, and other companies provided records indicating they or their predecessors may have issued policies to slaveholders. The report was issued under the previously-noted state law backed by Gov. Davis requiring such disclosures; it is expected to make slave reparations lawsuits easier. At the time of the announcement, Jesse Jackson said he planned to urge other states to enact similar legislation requiring companies to disclose any links to slavery. “Much more research must be done to understand the full breadth of the insurance industry’s involvement,” said Jackson.18 City councils in Los Angeles, Detroit, Cleveland, Chicago, Dallas and Atlanta have endorsed Conyers’ H.R. 40. In August 2002, the Houston city council voted on a measure to support the Conyers bill, but it failed by one vote. Things got ugly in that fight. Activists harassed and vilified those who voted against the measure, such as council member Michael Berry (R), who was running for Houston mayor. They made repeated threats against him and protested outside his home—some reportedly armed with clubs. They even targeted the councilman’s mother, who does not live in the city. According to Berry, they made threatening, harassing and highly insulting phone calls to her. “She was frightened by the calls and the heinous threats they carried,” he said.19 In October 2002—two years after it voted to endorse H.R. 40—the Chicago city council, in a 44-0 vote, approved an ordinance requiring city contractors to inspect their records on whether they or their predecessor companies profited from slavery, and turn over all paperwork to the city if such evidence is found. If slavery connections are established, the company in question can continue to do business with the city, “but the city wants the information as a preliminary form of discovery in an upcoming lawsuit,” according to a news report.20 Said Mayor Richard M. Daley, “It will help demonstrate how much of the nation’s wealth was created by the sweat and blood of slavery.” Daley supports a national dialogue on reparations. Alderman Dorothy Tillman said other cities are interested in enacting similar laws. “It’s spreading already, very quickly,” she said. Tillman was right. In May 2003, the Los Angeles City Council approved legislation that requires businesses seeking city contracts to disclose any profits made from slavery.
Posted on: Sun, 16 Jun 2013 16:38:41 +0000
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