Reparations advocates to hold national call for action amid high-stakes presidential election
Laurel, Maryland - Reparations advocates around the nation are gathering online this Friday to demand urgent action for justice in 2025 as the presidential election looms.
"The 2024 Presidential Election has been unprecedented, and reparations has largely been left out of the discussions," the National Assembly of American Slavery Descendants (NAASD) said in a press release announcing the Zoom call, scheduled for August 2 at 8:00 PM ET.
"If 40,000 Black Women in coalition with The Win With Black Women Collective and tens of thousands of Black Men, LGBTQ, young voters and more can come together to wield political voting power, it is important for the same people and the same leaders to join NAASD on its long-term reparations goals beginning with this call to action #Reparations2025."
The reparations call follows a series of Zoom meetings in support of presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris organized by various constituent groups.
Around 44,000 Black women started the trend last month in a virtual session that generated over $1.5 million for the vice president's campaign to defeat Republican nominee Donald Trump.
Racial justice advocates are now seeking to build grassroots power behind the reparations movement heading into the high-stakes November matchup.
Reparations advocates demand action without further delay
President Joe Biden and his running mate Harris expressed support for a federal reparations study while on the campaign trail in 2020 but have so far failed to follow through. Their inaction has called into question whether Harris would take steps toward reparations should she win the White House.
For many, the prospect of a second Trump presidency does not inspire hope for progress toward reparative justice either.
Attendees on Friday's call hope to send a message that the next president must address the debt owed to Black Americans for the crimes of enslavement, Jim Crow apartheid, and present-day discrimination – without further delay.
"NAASD has watched the frenzy build around the Black vote, but we have seen very little demand for policy. By almost any metric, Black Americans are at the bottom," the organizers told TAG24 NEWS.
"With Reparations 2025 First 100 Days, we aim to unify reparations organizations, civil rights organizations, and allies in a way that has not been done before."
Lawmakers and members of Black-led organizations, faith institutions, and ally groups of all backgrounds may register to attend the meeting here.
Cover photo: IMAGO / Pond5 Images