NEW YORK – Governor Kathy Hochul signed historic legislation on Tuesday, creating a committee to consider reparations for slavery. The new law authorizes the creation of a community commission that will study the history of slavery in New York state and what reparations could look like.

The bill was sponsored by Assemblywoman Michaelle Solages, and activists like Nicole Carty helped advocate for its passage. The legislation comes after the racially motivated Buffalo mass shooting, which prompted Solages to take action. The signing took place at the New York Historical Society on the Upper West Side, near the Frederick Douglass exhibit.

Slavery was abolished in New York in 1827 and officially across the US in 1863, but it was followed by racial segregation practices like Jim Crow and redlining – denying loans to people based on race and neighborhoods, impacting generations. Leaders like Rev. Al Sharpton say the commission comes at a challenging time in America. A 2021 Pew Research survey showed 77% of Black Americans support reparations, compared with only 18% of white Americans.

Advocates say prior to the Revolutionary War there were more enslaved Africans in New York City than in any other city, except for Charleston, South Carolina. The population of enslaved Africans accounted for 20% of New York’s population.

The committee will be made up of nine members who will be appointed over the next six months to draft a report before presenting it to the public. “Our generation desires leaders who are willing to confront our true history,” student advocate J.J. Brisco said. New York is the second state in the country to study reparations after California.