Deval Patrick Backs Reparations as Part of ‘Equity Agenda for Black Americans’

Longshot 2020 Democrat candidate Deval Patrick endorsed developing a reparations program in announcing his “Equity Agenda for Black Americans” on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

“The American Dream remains further out of reach of Black Americans than other Americans, and because of that, America has not fulfilled her promise,” the former Massachusetts governor said of the plan. “In addition to having personally lived the American Dream as an African-American man, what distinguishes me is my demonstrated ability to convert policy proposals into results. That is what I did in Massachusetts as Governor, and that is what I will do as President.”

Patrick said that while his proposal aims to close the gap regarding healthcare and education in the African-American community, but added that “reparations without reconciliation are incomplete”

The candidate went on to express support for resolutions filed by former White House candidate Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) that are aimed at creating a commission to study reparations. Failed White House candidate and new age author Marianne Williamson released a proposal calling for up to $500 billion in reparations, while another candidate, Tom Steyer, has expressed support for reparations.

Speaking last month to CBS This Morning, Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Ben Carson cast doubt on the feasibility of reparations, calling the logistics “unworkable.”

“What I would say about reparations is, you know, show me a mechanism that works,” Carson replied when about reparations.  “You know, I did my DNA analysis. OK. I’m 77% sub-Saharan African, 20% European, 3% Asian. So how do you proportion that out to everybody?”

“[W]hat percentage of money do you get? What percentage of reparation? No one is ever going to be able to work that out,” Carson went on. “Proportionately, you’re not going to be able to figure it out. And where do you stop it? It’s unworkable,” he then added. “I would much rather concentrate on how do we provide the opportunities for people to get into a better economic situation now.”

The House Judiciary Subcommittee on Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties held a June hearing on the concept and heard testimony from Booker, actor and left-wing activist Danny Glover, author Ta-Nehisi Coates, and others.