The Racial Justice Committee of our General Convention heard testimony last week on EPF's Racial Reparations Resolution, "Owning a Commitment to Reparations":
"Bob Lotz, Episcopal Peace Fellowship member from the Diocese of Eastern Michigan, said reparations must encompass the entire legacy of slavery—both past and present. 'We speak of reparations as our society’s debt to the descendants of formerly enslaved people, but we fail to include the need to repair more recent damage. For the last half-century, the U.S. has been whittling away at the slim gains made toward full citizenship, that people of color made in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s.
"'The urban police state has become militarized, Lotz said. 'A new slavery has arisen through mass incarceration. The right to vote is looking more like a privilege to be denied. The formerly miserly tidbits of welfare and affirmative action are harder than ever to access. Every day, new sins are … piled upon these communities, requiring even more reparations.'
Read the full story from Episcopal News Service here:
https://www.episcopalnewsservice.org/2022/06/28/racial-justice-and-reconciliation-committees-hear-testimony-in-support-of-reparations-ethnic-ministries-move-resolutions-to-house-of-deputies-consent-calendar/
