Reparations for slavery, once a fringe issue touted by a motley mix of
black separatists, zealots and crackpots and that respected mainstream civil rights leaders shunned, have now been slammed onto the nation's public-policy plate.
Leaders of the NAACP, the Urban League and the Congressional Black Caucus all agree that reparations have merit. Outside of President George W. Bush's national security adviser, Condoleezza Rice, no other prominent black dares to publicly denounce reparations. Even some top white politicians, such as Chicago Mayor Richard Daley, have given a passing nod to reparations as valid for consideration. The Washington reparations march Saturday aimed to put pressure on Congress and the administration to soften their resistance to reparations.
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