Relates to acknowledging the fundamental injustice, cruelty, brutality, and inhumanity of slavery in the city of New York and the state of New York; establishes the commission to study reparations for African-Americans and to recommend remedies to examine the institution of slavery, subsequently de jure and de facto racial and economic discrimination against African-Americans, the impact of these forces on living African-Americans and to make recommendations on appropriate remedies; makes an appropriation therefor; and provides for the repeal of such provisions.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
5624--A
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
April 21, 2017
___________
Introduced by Sens. SANDERS, ALCANTARA, PARKER -- read twice and ordered
printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Finance
-- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended
and recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to acknowledge the fundamental injustice, cruelty, brutality and
inhumanity of slavery in the city of New York and the state of New
York; to establish the Commission to Study Reparations for African-Am-
ericans and to Recommend Remedies, to examine the institution of slav-
ery, subsequently de jure and de facto racial and economic discrimi-
nation against African-Americans, and the impact of these forces on
living African-Americans and to make recommendations on appropriate
remedies; making an appropriation therefor; and providing for the
repeal of such provisions upon expiration thereof
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Repara-
2 tions commission on slavery in New York state; a study and call for
3 remedies act".
4 § 2. Legislative intent. Contrary to what many people believe, slav-
5 ery was not just a southern institution. Prior to the American Revo-
6 lution, there were more enslaved Africans in New York City than in any
7 other city except Charleston, South Carolina. During this period, slaves
8 accounted for 20% of the population of New York and approximately 40% of
9 colonial New York's households owned slaves. These slaves were an inte-
10 gral part of the population which settled and developed what we now know
11 as the state of New York.
12 The first slaves arrived in New Amsterdam, a Dutch settlement estab-
13 lished at the southern tip of Manhattan Island, around 1627. These
14 enslaved Africans did not belong to individuals, but worked for the
15 Dutch West India Company. The Dutch East India Company had established
16 Fort Amsterdam, a fortification located on the southern tip of the
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD09600-04-7
S. 5624--A 2
1 island of Manhattan, for the purpose of defending the company's fur
2 trade operations in the North River, now known as the Hudson River. In
3 1624, New Amsterdam became a provincial extension of the Dutch Republic
4 and it was designated the capital of the province in 1625.
5 These first enslaved Africans cleared forests, prepared land for agri-
6 culture and built an infrastructure of roads, buildings and walls of
7 timber and earthwork, including the wall that gives Wall Street its
8 name. During the following years, more and more enslaved Africans were
9 brought to the New World for the purpose of expanding the settlement.
10 New Amsterdam came under English control in 1664 and was renamed New
11 York in honor of the then Duke of York, in whose name the English had
12 captured it. Three years later, the Dutch gave up their claim to the
13 town and the rest of the colony, in exchange for control of certain
14 trade routes and areas.
15 The change of control of the city did not deter slavery; it was an
16 enormously profitable enterprise and it continued under the English. New
17 York businesses engaged directly in slave trade and also in the
18 production of supplies used in the slave trade. They supplied food,
19 tools and grain to slave plantations in North America and in the West
20 Indies. Slave labor built and maintained ships used for trade between
21 North America, Europe, the Caribbean and Africa. Slaves produced goods
22 for sale and worked in private homes. Even newspapers benefited from
23 slavery: advertisements of slaves for purchase were a major source of
24 revenue for the papers during the eighteenth century.
25 Life was repressive for slaves in New York. The New York City Common
26 Council passed a number of restrictive laws designed at curtailing the
27 rights and freedoms of slaves. Slaves were barred from owning signif-
28 icant property and from bequeathing what they did own to their children.
29 The number of people of African descent who could gather in one place
30 was limited. Restrictions on movement included requiring slaves to carry
31 lanterns after dark and to remain in certain geographic areas.
32 Penalties for breaking these and other laws were severe. Beatings,
33 mutilations and executions were common.
34 Enslaved Africans refused to submit to the slave existence. The condi-
35 tions of their lives gave rise to rebellions and the development in the
36 city of a network of the Underground Railroad.
37 Not all citizens of New York agreed with slavery. A powerful aboli-
38 tionist movement developed, but the end of slavery in New York did not
39 come easily or quickly. Those who profited from the slave economy fought
40 to maintain the system.
41 In 1799 the New York state legislature passed "An Act for the Gradual
42 Abolition of Slavery". This legislation was a first step in the direc-
43 tion of emancipation, but did not have an immediate effect or affect all
44 slaves. Rather, it provided for gradual manumission. All children born
45 to slave women after July 4, 1799 would be freed, but only after their
46 most productive years: age 28 for men and age 25 for women. Slaves
47 already in servitude before July 4, 1799 were reclassified as "inden-
48 tured servants", but in reality, remained slaves for the duration of
49 their lives.
50 In 1817, the Legislature enacted a statute that gave freedom to New
51 York slaves who had been born before July 4, 1799. This statute did not
52 become effective until July 4, 1827, however.
53 Despite these laws, there were exceptions under which certain persons
54 could still own slaves. Non-residents could enter New York with slaves
55 for up to nine months, and allowing part-time residents to bring their
56 slaves into the state temporarily. The nine-months exception remained
S. 5624--A 3
1 law until its repeal in 1841, when the North was re-defining itself as
2 the "free" region in advance of the civil war.
3 In 1991, a huge African burial ground was discovered in the heart of
4 New York's financial district during construction of a skyscraper. The
5 excavations that followed the termination of the construction project
6 yielded the skeletal remains of 419 Africans, many of whom were women
7 and children.
8 The slavery that flourished in the New York state constituted an
9 immoral and inhumane deprivation of Africans' life, liberty, African
10 citizenship rights, and cultural heritage, and denied them the fruits of
11 their own labor. Sufficient inquiry has not been made into the effects
12 of the institution of slavery on living African-Americans and society in
13 New York.
14 § 3. Establishment, purpose and duties of the commission. a. Estab-
15 lishment. There is hereby established the Commission to Study Repara-
16 tions for African-Americans and to Recommend Remedies (hereinafter
17 referred to as the "commission").
18 b. Duties. The commission shall perform the following duties:
19 (1) Examine the institution of slavery which existed within the state
20 of New York and in the city of New York. The commission's examination
21 shall include an examination of:
22 (A) the capture and procurement of Africans;
23 (B) the transport of Africans to the United States and the colonies
24 that became the United States for the purpose of enslavement, including
25 their treatment during transport;
26 (C) the sale and acquisition of Africans as chattel property in inter-
27 state and intrastate commerce; and
28 (D) the treatment of African slaves in the city of New York and the
29 state of New York, including the deprivation of their freedom, exploita-
30 tion of their labor, and destruction of their culture, language, reli-
31 gion, and families.
32 (2) Examine the extent to which the federal and state governments of
33 the United States supported the institution of slavery in constitutional
34 and statutory provisions, including the extent to which such governments
35 prevented, opposed, or restricted efforts of freed African slaves to
36 repatriate to their homeland.
37 (3) Examine federal and state laws that discriminated against freed
38 African slaves and their descendants during the period between the end
39 of the Civil War and the present.
40 (4) Examine other forms of discrimination in the public and private
41 sectors against freed African slaves and their descendants during the
42 period between the end of the Civil War and the present.
43 (5) Examine the lingering negative effects of the institution of slav-
44 ery and the matters described in paragraphs (1), (2), (3), and (4) of
45 this subdivision on living African-Americans and on society in the
46 United States.
47 (6) Recommend appropriate ways to educate the American public of the
48 commission's findings.
49 (7) Recommend appropriate remedies in consideration of the commis-
50 sion's findings on the matters described in paragraphs (1), (2), (3),
51 and (4) of this subdivision. In making such recommendations, the commis-
52 sion shall address among other issues, the following questions:
53 (A) whether the New York state legislature should offer a formal apol-
54 ogy on behalf of the people of the United States for the perpetration of
55 gross human rights violations on African slaves and their descendants;
S. 5624--A 4
1 (B) whether African-Americans still suffer from the lingering effects
2 of the matters described in paragraphs (1), (2), (3), and (4) of this
3 subdivision;
4 (C) whether, in consideration of the commission's findings, any form
5 of compensation to the descendants of African slaves is warranted; and
6 (D) if the commission finds that such compensation is warranted, what
7 should be the amount of compensation, what form of compensation should
8 be awarded, and who should be eligible for such compensation.
9 c. Report to the legislature. The commission shall submit a written
10 report of its findings and recommendations to the temporary president of
11 the senate, the speaker of the assembly, the minority leaders of the
12 senate and the assembly and the governor not later than the date which
13 is one year after the date of the first meeting of the commission held
14 pursuant to subdivision c of section four of this act.
15 § 4. Membership. a. The commission shall be composed of eleven members
16 who shall be appointed within 90 days after the effective date of this
17 act, as follows:
18 (1) one member shall be appointed by the governor;
19 (2) one member shall be appointed by the speaker of the assembly;
20 (3) one member shall be appointed by the temporary president of the
21 senate;
22 (4) one member shall be appointed by the minority leader of the assem-
23 bly;
24 (5) one member shall be appointed by the minority leader of the
25 senate;
26 (6) two members shall be appointed by the National Coalition of Blacks
27 for Reparations in America (N.C.O.B.R.A.);
28 (7) two members shall be appointed by the December 12th Movement; and
29 (8) two members shall be appointed by Dr. Ron Daniels of the Institute
30 of the Black World.
31 b. All members of the commission shall be persons who are especially
32 qualified to serve on the commission by virtue of their education,
33 training, or experience, particularly in the field of African-American
34 studies.
35 c. First meeting. The chair shall call the first meeting of the
36 commission within 120 days after the effective date of this act or with-
37 in 30 days after the date on which legislation is enacted making appro-
38 priations to carry out this act, whichever date is later.
39 d. Quorum. Eight members of the commission shall constitute a quorum,
40 but a lesser number may hold hearings.
41 e. Chair and vice chair. The commission shall elect a Chair and Vice
42 Chair from among its members. The term of office for each shall be for
43 one year.
44 f. Compensation. The members of the commission shall receive no
45 compensation for their services as members, but shall be reimbursed for
46 their actual and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their
47 duties.
48 § 5. Powers of the commission. a. Hearings and sessions. The commis-
49 sion may, for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this act,
50 hold such hearings and sit and act at such times and at such places in
51 the United States, and request the attendance and testimony of such
52 witnesses and the production of such books, records, correspondence,
53 memoranda, papers, and documents, as the commission considers appropri-
54 ate.
S. 5624--A 5
1 b. Powers of subcommittees and members. Any subcommittee or member of
2 the commission may, if authorized by the commission, take any action
3 which the commission is authorized to take by this section.
4 c. Obtaining official data. The commission may acquire directly from
5 the head of any department, agency, or instrumentality of the executive
6 branch of the government, available information which the commission
7 considers useful in the discharge of its duties. All departments, agen-
8 cies, and instrumentalities of the executive branch of the government
9 shall cooperate with the commission with respect to such information and
10 shall furnish all information requested by the commission to the extent
11 permitted by law.
12 § 6. Administrative provisions. a. Experts and consultants. The
13 commission may procure through a competitive process the services of
14 experts and consultants.
15 b. Administrative support services. The commission may enter into
16 agreements with the commissioner of general services for procurement of
17 financial and administrative services necessary for the discharge of the
18 duties of the commission. Payment for such services shall be made by
19 reimbursement from funds of the commission in such amounts as may be
20 agreed upon by the chair of the commission and the commissioner of
21 general services.
22 c. Contracts. The commission may:
23 (1) procure supplies, services, and property by contract in accordance
24 with applicable laws and regulations and to the extent or in such
25 amounts as are provided in appropriations acts; and
26 (2) enter into contracts with departments, agencies, and instrumental-
27 ities of the federal government, state agencies, and private firms,
28 institutions, and agencies, for the conduct of research or surveys, the
29 preparation of reports, and other activities necessary for the discharge
30 of the duties of the commission, to the extent or in such amounts as are
31 provided in appropriations acts.
32 § 7. Termination. The commission shall terminate 90 days after the
33 date on which the commission submits its report to the temporary presi-
34 dent of the senate, the speaker of the assembly, the minority leaders of
35 the senate and the assembly and the governor as provided in subdivision
36 c of section three of this act.
37 § 8. The performance of the commission's duties, purposes and objec-
38 tives shall be executed within amounts made available by appropriation
39 therefor.
40 § 9. The sum of two hundred fifty thousand dollars ($250,000), or so
41 much thereof as may be necessary, is hereby appropriated to the Commis-
42 sion to Study Reparations for African-Americans and to Recommend Reme-
43 dies from any moneys in the state treasury in the general fund, not
44 otherwise appropriated, for the purposes of carrying out the provisions
45 of this act. Such sum shall be payable on the audit and warrant of the
46 state chair of the Commission to Study Reparations for African-Americans
47 and to Recommend Remedies, or his or her duly designated representative
48 in the manner provided by law.
49 § 10. This act shall take effect immediately and shall expire and be
50 deemed repealed 30 days after the Commission to Study Reparations for
51 African-Americans and to Recommend Remedies submits its report to the
52 temporary president of the senate, the speaker of the assembly, the
53 minority leaders of the senate and the assembly and the governor as
54 provided in subdivision c of section three of this act; provided that,
55 the chair of the Commission to Study Reparations for African-Americans
56 and to Recommend Remedies shall notify the legislative bill drafting
S. 5624--A 6
1 commission upon the submission of its report as provided in subdivision
2 c of section three of this act in order that the commission may maintain
3 an accurate and timely effective data base of the official text of the
4 laws of the state of New York in furtherance of effecting the provisions
5 of section 44 of the legislative law and section 70-b of the public
6 officers law.