Kamala Harris Backed Reparations For Black Americans The Last Time She Ran For President

Vice President Kamala Harris, who appears likely to be former President Donald Trump’s Democratic opponent in November, has previously indicated she supports race reparations.

Harris addressed the issue of slavery reparations several times while she was running for president in the 2020 election cycle. She offered little in the way of specifics, beyond saying that the government should provide people benefits because the legacies of slavery and racial discrimination have made it effectively impossible for black Americans to thrive socioeconomically, according to multiple corporate media reports published at the time.

“We have to be honest that people in this country do not start from the same place or have access to the same opportunities,” Harris said in a statement shared with The New York Times in February 2019. “I’m serious about taking an approach that would change policies and structures and make real investments in black communities.”

That statement followed a 2019 appearance on “The Breakfast Club,” a popular radio show, in which Harris answered affirmatively when asked by the program’s host if she is in favor of “some type” of reparations. However, Harris has not specified what form reparations should take or what policy levers could be used to administer a reparations initiative.

“If we’re talking about writing a check, I don’t think it is that simple,” she said. “And frankly, I don’t support an idea or a notion that after all this, we’re going to say, ‘Okay, I’m going to write you a check, and then be quiet,’” Harris told