New Jersey Lawmakers Push Bill To Require Public Schools To Teach Students About Slavery Reparations

Democratic lawmakers in New Jersey are pushing a bill that would require public school students to learn about slavery reparations, and force the state to issue a formal apology for slavery. The bill titled the “Truth, Reconciliation, and Repair Act of New Jersey,” would expand the state’s required curriculum. Students are currently required to learn about slavery. The legislation would require schools to teach students about reparations and include content from the New Jersey Reparations Council.The panel convened in 2023 to develop recommendations to address “generational harms through reparative action.” Last year, the council issued a report which said that the state was “profoundly shaped by its original sin of slavery and its enduring legacy.” The council also made dozens of recommendations, such as sending monetary payments to black residents — including those who are not descendants of slaves — ending cooperation with federal immigration enforcement operations, and implementing a guaranteed income for residents in the state. The state has not taken action on those recommendations.Under the proposed bill, public schools would also be required to add more lessons about the harms of the slave trade.The bill would also require the Garden State to issue a formal apology for slavery. In 2008, the state legislature issued a statement expressing “profound regret” for slavery. The New Jersey Education Association notes that New Jersey was the last northern state to abolish slavery, ratifying the Thirteenth Amendment in 1866. The bill says that the 2008 statement was a “symbolic apology” that was “an important start,” but insists the state should “[move] from symbolism to an apology that leads to accountability.”The reparations council found that 56 percent of New Jersey residents said they were unaware of the state’s history with slavery.A state senator who sponsored the bill, Angela McKnight, told NorthJersey.com, “We need to teach our children; we need to teach all children and adults about slavery. We need to teach them about black history.”“It’s important that the state of New Jersey take up this slack to teach the unvarnished truth to the people that we serve,” she said. The bill would require the state to commit to “rectifying the lingering consequences of the wrongs committed against black people under slavery and Jim Crow and other ongoing harms; stopping the occurrence of human rights violations in the future; and building a new State of New Jersey where black people can flourish.”Ms. McKnight said the bill is “public education” and “actionable repair.”The chairman of America First Republicans of New Jersey, Mike Crispi, criticized the bill, writing on X, “Instead of fixing the horrific taxes, rampant crime, crumbling infrastructure, energy crisis or anything else remotely meaningful, New Jersey politicians are focused on ‘teaching reparations’ in school.”“Peak derangement,” he said. The legislature is expected to debate the bill in the coming weeks.

New Jersey Lawmakers Push Bill To Require Public Schools To Teach Students About Slavery Reparations

New Jersey Lawmakers Push Bill To Require Public Schools To Teach Students About Slavery Reparations

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