Democratic presidential candidate Marianne Williamson on Wednesday unveiled her plan to pay reparations to descendants of slaves, allotting between $200 billion and $500 billion over 20 years.
Williamson said she plans to create a “reparations commission” to best distribute the money across education, infrastructure and projects dedicated to black communities.
{mosads}The author and upstart candidate contends that having reparations for descendants of slavery is the next step following ending slavery and passing civil rights legislation.
“We have not yet fully done all that it is morally incumbent upon us to do in order to heal this ugly wound,” she said in a statement.
Williamson said the council would be made up of upwards of 50 members — who would all be descendants of slaves with “some scholarly, cultural or political connection to the issue of reparations.”
Williamson pointed to the “40 acres and a mule” promise made to slaves during Reconstruction, which never came to fruition, as a reason behind a need for reparations.
She made clear that the council, and not the federal government, would determine how to best spend the money.
“The Reparations Plan will not erase the history of slavery in America, nor of its ugly aftermath. It is obviously only one part of a multi-dimensional healing process,” Williamson said. “But it will go far toward ending a painful, horrific chapter in American history, and will give future generations of Americans a chance to begin again on a ground of genuine reconciliation.”
Reparations have been one of the focal points of Williamson’s campaign, as she has mentioned it at both rounds of Democratic debates.