REPARATIONS FOR SLAVERY: A bill presented by Rep. Brian Cina, P/D Burlington, would have Vermont apologize and make reparations for slavery.
A bill being considered in the House would create a task force to examine how Vermont might apologize and compensate for slavery — even though the state Constitution prohibited the practice.
“From this history of slavery systemic racism has arisen,” Rep. Brian Cina, P/D Burlington, told the House Committee on General and Housing on Friday. He added, “everyone who has grown up in this country is a beneficiary of a white supremacy culture.”
The bill, H.432, won’t get far this legislative session, but lawmakers still wanted to hear witnesses in anticipation of the 2024 session.
“If we take it up it would be for next year,” Rep. Tom Stevens, D-Waterbury, the committee chair, said.
Rep. Brian Cina, P/D-Burlington
The bill, drafted in partnership with the Vermont Racial Justice Alliance, states that there should be “an inquiry into the ongoing effects of the institution of slavery and its legacy of persistent systemic structures of discrimination on living Black Americans and society in the United States.”
It notes that black Americans have “an average of less than 1/16 of the wealth of White families, a disparity that has worsened, not improved, over time.”
During the committee meeting, Cina discussed compensating living descendants of slavery.
“A task force would look at possible reparations for the lingering negative effects of slavery and discrimination on living African Americans in Vermont and in the United States,” he said.
According to the bill’s language, existing institutions could be contacted and potentially accused of denying the crimes of slavery. Cina said the task force would look into the “use of instructional resources and technologies to deny the inhumanity of slavery and the crime against the humanity of people of African descent in Vermont and the United States.”
He added they would examine “changes in policy and law, reversal of injuries, compensation, rehabilitation, restitution and other reparations.”
He also suggested that the plight of African Americans due to slavery is shared by all people of color.
“Systemic racism affects all people of color because the racism perpetuated against black people has been perpetuated against all people of color in various forms — maybe not to the same degree, but the idea of white supremacy and that one race is above others, the legacy of that thinking has affected the policies and practices of government,” Cina read.
California is doing it
California is the only state that has a task force looking into potential reparation initiatives. The Epoch Times reported on the massive scope and controversies of those efforts.
“California is weighing handing billions of dollars in reparations to black residents, with supporters insisting that such a move will bring down crime rates originating from the community, while others warn that reparations remain a ‘bad idea,'” the report states.
The report continues that the initial public price tag for the program would be $640 billion.
Watch Friday’s meeting of the House Committee on General and Housing here.
Michael Bielawski is a reporter for True North. Send him news tips at bielawski82@yahoo.com and follow him on Twitter @TrueNorthMikeB.
HUGE thank You for True North Reports for waking sleepy Vermonters about the
greatly damaging abuse caused by phony “racial issues” .and speachifying
THANKS TO ALL WHO RESPONDED, and SO POWERFULLY.
Let this intense energy go the best possible LASTING GOOD !!
Soooo…does the logic of this then suggest that we’ll see an initiative for reparations to slave holders for lost property?
I just want to thank all the above Vermonters who replied above. I don’t know who votes these people in to office with their progressive, hate filled ideas against American principles.
I can think is 640 billion reasons why we should throw these idiots out of office
Now which is worse, being enslaved or killed?
Interesting how one-sided people can be. Many Vermonters gave their lives to end slavery. What about them?
People were enslaved. Slavery was never allowed to happen in Vermont since it’s inception. All people alive today had nothing to do with slavery.
Should parents be responsible for their child’s crimes?
Can children file suit against their parents for broken families?
Should children go to jail for their parent or grandparents’ crimes?
Should a person today be responsible for somebody’s crime 100 years ago? 400 Years ago?
Can we get reparations from England for the crimes against my forefathers? For the crimes of the corrupt church against the government?
We are only responsible for ourselves, we can’t be held responsible for what other people do, that’s insanity.
Cina can shove his Reparations up his Gluteus Maximus
This guy is another legislator from New Jersey. Graduated from Dartmouth. Privledged? Cut police funding. Etc.
The people of Vermont vote for these people. Then complain. Hahaha.
Welcome to the west coast Vermont!
It’s time to throw these progressive ideologues out of office. It’s also time for the good people of Vermont take back their state before these idiots ruin it! If we are now, trying to compare us to California, we truly have lost this war
Is this guy Cina out of his mind? Aren’t there more financial issues and problems in Vermont that are ruining lives, livelihoods, and unaffordable burdens that All citizens of Vermont are continually being bombarded with? What he is proposing does more to divide the citizens of Vermont, and does nothing to help unite us.
What follows is The Woke Pledge of Allegiance that is quoted from the Committee to Unleash Prosperity’s Hotline, issue #765, and dated 5/4/2023:
“I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE AGENDA OF MY IDENTITY GROUP IN AMERICA, AND TO THE GRIEVANCE FOR WHICH IT STANDS, ONE NATION, HIGHLY DIVISIBLE, WITH VICTIMHOOD AND REPARATIONS FOR ALL”.
Cina’s efforts to push for Reparations for slavery in Vermont needs to be brought to a halt.
Nothing more to be said. Unfortunately, lunacy is normal in VT legislature. Spend away boys and girls!
I thought Vermont was Socialist. Nope. It’s Communist. We are being governed by people who are racial, sexual, and climate tyrants.
You got that right 100%
Truer words were never spoken kay
What is next? If you’re doing it for African Americans you should do it for the Native Americans. What about the men’s families who died in the Civil War? are their heirs considered? At least those men fought against slavery. The poor Native Americans are worse off than the African Americans in my mind. History is over. Move on. Don’t we have more important issues than spending money on researching who is eligible for more money? How are they going to prove they’re ancestors in most cases. We’re all trying to exist in this state without having more taxes thrown at us. We aren’t responsible for history. We are responsible to see that it doesn’t happen again.
Vt legislature makes me wanna puke. “Hurray for me and off to hell with the rest of you” they’re nothing but a buncha brown spots in the laundry. REPARATIONS ??? for something that our ancestors fought and died for??? What about REPARATIONS for the hiers and families that DIED to FREE them ??? absolutely dispicable,,,,”down there” should be all arrested and sent to prison for such dumbass ideas
I think it’s important to remember that in VT, this lunacy is being perpetuated by a white politician, virtue-signaling as he initiates his re-election campaign. Cina is an Ivy League, “progressive”, libtard with advanced degrees in MUSIC! He has no interest in helping anyone but himself. If he really wanted to advance the causes of his constituency, he would be working on improving VT’s Health Care, The Veterans Admin., and REDUCING Vermont’s tax burden, not increasing it.
If there are any reparations to be repaid, it should be going to the Native Americans from whose land we displaced. The state constitution of Vermont prohibited slavery and as part of the deep north we did not accept that practice. This is just more down country, big city, progressive bull, and these fruitcakes need to go back from where they came. Leave Vermont alone. We are one of the top 10 states for highest taxes and we don’t need to be bled out anymore than we already are.
Politicians for years have screwed this Country up royally Lying right in our faces along with MSM the Joseph Goebbels of America
VT doesn’t need to spend any more money on committees or agencies to find more ways of spending our hard-earned tax dollars. Knock it off. The same people trying to offer “solutions” are the same people creating the problems in the first place. Try instituting tax breaks on businesses and incentives for people to work. We are already paying reparations by doling out welfare checks.
Agreed.
More idiotic crap from the progressives. It sounds like the legislature wants to take everything away from white people. The democrat south is who enslaved most of the black people and the northern Republicans fought to free them under Lincoln. Many WHITE republicans gave their lives in the civil war to free slaves. Don’t you think that might be the ultimate reparations that can be made.
Agreed.
Agree with you.
We need to stop this insanity next will be the Irish,the Italians etc etc!
The only thing Vermont had to do w/ slavery was fighting in the civil war and helping run the underground railroad. Between this and the “affordable heat act” these transplanted clowns in our legislature need to be voted out so we can return to being the common sense state where you’re left alone unless you need help from your family, friends, or neighbors.
Republican governor Phil Scott who voted for the corrupt Biden regime was the leader in creating this mess in the state of Vermont.
He has been a leader in the destruction of our beautiful state..
This is from a news article regarding Phil Scott and his actions to start the beginning of the downfall of the Green mountain State.
This is really disgraceful to call the wonderful people in the state of Vermont racists and white supremacists.
Governor Phil Scott Establishes Racial Equity Task Force
PRESS RELEASE
June 2, 2020
Montpelier, Vt. – Governor Phil Scott has signed an Executive Order to form the Racial Equity Task Force as a component of a broader state effort to promote racial, ethnic and cultural equity, including in its response to COVID-19.
“We cannot continue to treat racism and examples like the one in Minneapolis as uncomfortable and rare events, which is why we’ve been working on a Racial Equity Task Force in recent months,” said Governor Scott. “A task force is not the cure-all for what ails us. It is going to take some soul searching and real change—individually and systemically—to make a difference. The good news is, we can fix this without waiting for a vaccine or other solutions out of our control. It just takes us uniting to make this a better country for everyone because, like the coronavirus, this is literally in our hands.”
The Task Force will undertake three major projects including:
Evaluating structures of support for racially diverse populations, including a focus on the racial disparities in health outcomes highlighted by COVID-19;
Reviewing current state and federal law on hate speech and freedom of speech and considering changes to state law to clarify the path for prosecuting harassment, hate speech and other bias-motivated crimes; and
Studying and presenting options to encourage Vermonters from diverse, marginalized or underrepresented racial and ethnic groups to run and serve in public office at all levels.
It will submit recommendations to the Governor on the first project by August 15 and preliminary recommendations on the second and third by December 15. The group will also provide guidance as needed by the Governor.
“This task force will contribute to advancing equity in Vermont, and yet it is only one piece of that effort,” said Executive Director of Racial Equity Xusana Davis, who will chair the task force. “The group will shine further light on existing disparities, but it is up to individuals, institutions and local and state government to make it happen. This is such important work, and it is everyone’s work.”
The Task Force will be chaired by Davis and include up to seven additional members, including representatives from the Governor’s office, law enforcement, a Vermont chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the Vermont Commission on Native American Affairs, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Vermont, the Vermont Human Rights Commission, and a member of the public.
I think descendants of former slaves should pay reparations to the descendants of Federal Union soldiers who fought, and were often injured or killed, to free their ancestors from slavery.
INSANITY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Again, please be smart. No matter your race or ethnic background, the Democrats are inciting rebellion to justify martial law.
In the meantime, get out your DNA kits. Even famed African American activist and Marxist, Angela Davis, who was on the FBI’s 1970 most wanted list for supplying the guns that killed a CA judge – recently learned she is related to someone who migrated on the Mayflower. Imagine that. Ms. Davis qualifies to join the Daughter’s of the American Revolution, and also receive ‘reparations’.
In California, “the initial public price tag for the program would be $640 billion.”
I’m surprised Mr. Cina considers any payout sufficient to buy his self-respect. This whole thing smacks of a 21st century iteration of yet another slave auction. And, as usual, the Democrats are the overseers.
Vermont looks in the mirror and sees California.
Oh boy another brain fart from the progladite regressive from burlington bri bri.. Me thinks he’s been sniffing too much barge canal fumes. If bri bri had been awake in history class he would have learned 1, slaves were sold into slavery by their OWN people in Africa 2, a lot of the biggest slave owners were blacks 3, Vermont contributed a huge amount of people who never returned home to the civil war to free the slaves 4, Vermont was one of the first states to ban slavery and set up safe houses on the underground railroad moving slaves to Canada and freedom 5, Vermonters didn’t own slaves and shouldn’t pay a dime as they did nothing that requires reparations. 6, no slaves are still alive that would qualify for reparations and 7, If anyone should pay it should be the party of the KKK and slave holders, DEMOCRATS…
oh I forgot to mention blacks have also been the recipients already of 21 trillion taxpayer dollars from the democrats under LBJ and the Great Society program which Johnson said would have all the blacks voting dem plantation for ever.
Correction: Whites, Latinos, Asians, and Indigenous Americans also qualified for Great Society benefits. Was LBJ a racist? You bet. But again, be smart. Don’t get sucked into the Democrat’s divisiveness.
“Listen up, Snowflake, and let this sink in. I never owned any slaves and you never picked any cotton.
This ends the lesson. I don’t owe you diddly.”
Why we’re referred to as the ‘West Coast of New England’
It’s like AOC moved in with Bernie ….
What about Asians who were enslaved to build the railroad… that actually had a MUCH bigger financial impact for rich whites. What about Eastern Euroean whites who were enslaved much later on to work in coal mines and die of black lung?
Fact is slavery benefitted a very small number of ultra wealthy southerners. The Industrial Revolution is what the country and its financial success is built on, not the wealth of a minority if southern plantation owners.
Racism is not systemic… its a myth perpetrated by the Left (please read or watch a little Thomas Sowell). Democrats created the fatherless black family dynamic in the 60s and 70s… that and the culture (NOT race) of inner cities is to blame. If you want to get an education, get a job and naked money there are ZERO barriers other than the hood culture who labels you a sellout if you try and better yourself. The rest is a myth.
How is this not a “Basic Universal Income” plan?
(for just certain colored people, so is that not discriminatory?)
This all sounds racist to me.
Blacks who drop out of school and have babies out of wedlock, causes the low income numbers. And the numbers are no different for any other group that does the same things. — Its self-imposed poverty and we owe people who do things nothing more then a hand up. Not a free ride because of what others did 175 years ago.
And for the record, the civil was did not start over slavery. It started over the excessive taxes on the south, which were increased by the Morrill Act. So in that sense, Vermont did cause the civil war, and Lincoln did not state it was about slavery until the draft riots of 1863.
Funny how these commies know nothing of history and even if they did, they lack the brains to connect the dots.
Let me know if we have anyone currently living in Vermont that has worked on a Southern Plantation as a slave prior to 1863, I’ll gladly help provide for their needs even though I wasn’t born yet. Here’s a thought, how about the southern states compensate the northern states for the damage and loss of life during the civil war. My G-G-Grandfather served in the Union Navy at the battle of Mobile Bay, “Damn the torpedoes!”. Seems our elected officials don’t have anything better to do with their time than seeing how far tax payers can be pushed before they’ve had enough of this BS. Enough!
When virtue signaling meets legislation, we all lose. And btw, they had better come up with some kind of a quantitative metric for genetics when defining black but i doubt they thought of that.
Are you kidding me !!!
How do these people get elected, oh right he is from New Jersey bringing all there great ideas… unreal
They aren’t calling us mini California for nothing
“California is doing it.” Nice excuse why. They will also bankrupt their state in doing so. I challenge one African American to justify to me why I, a person who never owned a slave, should pay for the crime committed by people generations ago.
I totally agree. Why should we pay? I can’t believe this is happening when people can’t afford to live here anymore. This state is going to hell.
Going to hell? This state is hell.
I think the Black population in Vermont is about 7,900 (if around 1.2%)? Vermont sent 34,000 WHITES (racists?) to free all Blacks from slavery, during the Civil War.. Of that 34,000 (10% of the VT population)….5,194 of them died….Then, more than 2,200 VT’ers were taken prisoner…then, VT’ers wounded?: “8,574 patients were admitted to Vermont’s military hospitals between May 1862 and December 1865”. So, if there are ballpark 7,900 Blacks in VT now…it’s fact that 5,194 WHITE VT’ers, (assumed “racist”)….DIED for them — 2,200 more were POW’s…and over 8,000 were wounded… all to free the Blacks…34,000 VT’ers served in Civil War…..and 5,194 of them died…so how can appox 7,900 Blacks in VT now demand MONEY..from all VT Whites, because they are “systemic racists”??…. “VTGON”
Perhaps we should make reparations to the relatives of those who died or were wounded in the Civil War in the Vermont regiments.
Don’t forget it was blacks in Africa selling blacks into slavery. There were also blacks who had slaves here in America too! And I’m glad you mentioned all the whites who fought in the Civil War. Do we their descendants get some credit for our ancestors? Most of the first slaves of the world were white! People should study history!!
These Educated Idiots should move to NY city!
Certainly rep. cina is beginning his re-election campaign. This should be a good topic to assure his re-election, given that he represents Burlington and his constituents have the most to gain from the idea.
However, what cina and his cohorts want you to forget:
Systemic racism requires systems. White liberals have had control over Chittenden County’s systems for 50 years, Vermont’s for 40 years.
It is really amazing how stupid our legislature has become. According to the state, 1.1% of taxpayers paid 34% of the total income tax in 2021. That is less than 2,800 taxpayers. 10% of taxpayers paid 66.1%. The bottom 50% paid a total of 2.6%.
So the very folks who already pay most of the income tax are now going to be slapped with paying reparations ? I think not. They will move or establish residency and work in another state, probably converting their Vermont property to a short-term rental and avoid this draconian tax. Eventually there will be no money available to pay for regular state services let alone reparations.
Dumb.
A small oops here. I failed to mention that I ignored the impact of the tax paid by non-residents. The figures I provided above only include residents. Non-residents have paid from 7 to 9% of the total income tax over the last 2 decades. I suspect that this number will increase significantly as VT policies drive more and more productive citizens to abandon the state that they used to love.
While Vermonters move out, blacks will move in to claim residency and reap their unearned rewards.
Steve, Interesting figures. Something i would like to pass along and state in discussions. Where can I get this data so I can back it up. Thanks!
No, we should not pay reparations for things that we did not do. No one alive today had any part of slavery. Also, we did a ton to help end slavery. There are millions of other things we can spend money on.
You talk about BS, this sounds like these clowns are just looking for a handout,
if you were a slave and still alive then yes, you are entitled, but how in the hell
have these fools been harmed,
These freeloaders instead of looking for a handout on the backs of their ancestors
should be thanking them, what low lives. I guess being on the government ” tit ”
isn’t enough free S..T !!
How come, some blacks in today’s world whose ancestors were slaves have made it,
Oh ya, that was with hard work and dedication, determination is maybe the answer, not
looking for every handout they can get ……………………freeloaders.
Insanity, these people have lost their minds.
Jeffrey, very well stated ! I am a Vermonter who had a family member die, fighting in the Civil War,
for this nation and for freedom for the Black slaves, alongside the many others who lost their lives,
and others who survived, but with injuries, and/or lifelong horrific memories. Yes, learn the true history.
Vermont was a major route for the underground railroad, prohibited slavery and sent a higher number per capita of young men from the north to fight against the south during the civil war. Now these A** holes expect us to pay reparations to someone because about 175 years ago some of their forefathers may have been kept as slaves in the south. This is absolutely ridiculous.
In post Revolutionary times, there was a policy in many towns that newcomers were immediately voted out of town. My GGGGGrandfather was so affected and had to move off land that he had just purchased. (See History of the town of Danby) Will there be reparations for those that were affected by those policies which were far more egregious than what blacks faced in Vermont? Not a serious question, but makes about as much sense.
Have they lost their friggin minds.
You have to ask ?
This is insane, but it’s VT…PAYING $$$ reparations to Blacks in Vermont because of slavery in the South? VT fought to stop slavery, so now VT will pay again? I propose a Bill, that Blacks in VT should pay “reparations” to all White VT family descendants of the Civil War for the familie’s death & destruction it cost Vermont – to free the Blacks from slavery (that now want “reparation” $$)…. Read the facts of supposed “racist” Whites in VT during the Civil War:
“More than 34,000 Vermonters served during the (civil) war, which represented more than 10 percent of the state population….The state sent more than 34,000 to serve, out of a total population of about 350,000 citizens. Vermont troops suffered a frightfully high fatality rate during the war. A Vermont enlistee had a better than 1 in 7 chance of dying in the conflict. Among Northern states, Vermont’s per-capita fatality rate ranked second only to Michigan’s. Vermonters suffered a total of 1,832 men killed or mortally wounded in battle; another 3,362 died of disease, in prison or from other causes, for a total loss of 5,194. “
NEXT, I’d add in this new “Reparations Bill”, that Blacks have to pay reparations to White VT families for the out of state black drug dealers, causing so much addiction, death, violent crime and murders. THEN?… more “reparation money” – but paid to the State of VT to help pay for the inordinately large % that Blacks make up of VT prisons…costing the State millions per year.
Someone… tell the truth & facts to these Progressive fools. “VTGON”
Exactly! But that idiot apparently doesn’t have the intelligence to weave together real history.