Slavery is the original scent. Slavery has never received an apology.

Reparations and the idea of this commission should be welcomed by all Americans.

In the summer of 2019, in the House of Representatives, a dramatic and emotional hearing on HR-40,

a bill to create a commission to look at reparations.

The way that this country, the United States government, could redress the painful and enduring legacy of slavery, Jim Crow,

and the structural racism that still pervades American society.

To say that a nation is both its credits and its debits, that if Thomas Jefferson matters, Soda Sally himmings,

that if D-Day matters, Soda's black wall street, that if Valley Forge matters, Soda's Fort Pillar.

Because the question really is, not whether we will be tied to the somethings of our past,

but whether we are courageous enough to be tied to the whole of them.

Thank you.

That same bill has been introduced every single year for almost three decades, and in the past, it went nowhere.

While the ripple effects of racism have been everywhere.

Black unemployment, poverty, health care, police violence, home ownership, the list goes on and on.

But now, with fresh attention on the way that black Americans have faced systemic violence and oppression for centuries,

the idea of reparations is also getting fresh attention.

I'm Tremaine Lee, and this is Into America.

Today, reparations for black Americans. Could this be the moment?

Nicole Hannah Jones is a staff writer for the New York Times magazine.

She's been awarded a MacArthur Genius grant, and most recently, a pull-surprise for her lead essay in the 1619 project.

A special issue of the magazine to mark the 400th anniversary of when the first enslaved Africans were brought to the colony of Virginia.

This week, Nicole has a powerful new cover story. It's called What is Old, and it looks at this whole idea of reparations.

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