In a rare defeat for a GOP-backed proposal, the Republican-dominant Tennessee House has spiked legislation that aimed to ban local governments from funding studies or providing reparations for slavery. The bill, initially introduced nearly a year ago, easily passed the Republican-controlled Senate in April 2023. However, its progress stalled in the House amidst controversy surrounding the expulsion of two Black Democratic lawmakers for participating in a pro-gun control protest on the House floor. Renewed interest in the reparations bill emerged this year, coinciding with the ongoing fallout over the removal and replacement of all board members of Tennessee State University, the state’s sole publicly-funded historically Black public university. Critics have denounced the actions against TSU as evidence of the state’s GOP leadership’s mistrust of Black local leaders. Amidst the TSU controversy, House members have expressed reluctance to engage in a potentially explosive debate on reparations. A brief discussion on the House floor last week left support for the bill uncertain. Democratic Rep. Larry Miller, a Black representative from Memphis, emphasized the importance of studying reparations, stating that it does not diminish anyone. He questioned the opposition to exploring history and using local tax dollars to facilitate such studies, calling it antiquated. House leaders held off on addressing the measure until the final week of the session. As Republican Rep. John Ragan, the bill’s sponsor, prepared to present his opening remarks, a fellow Republican requested that the proposal be tabled, effectively ending its consideration for the year. Notably, nearly 30 Republicans joined House Democrats in tabling the bill, including Republican House Speaker Cameron Sexton. Despite Ragan’s insistence that the bill was necessary to prevent reparation advocates from taking money from future generations to atone for the actions of long-past ancestors, his arguments failed to sway enough House members. The decision to consider banning reparations in Tennessee was prompted by the announcement from Shelby County, the state’s most populous county that includes Memphis, of its intention to spend $5 million to study the feasibility of reparations for descendants of slaves and identify actionable items. The county’s move followed the fatal beating of Tyre Nichols by police officers in January 2023. Efforts to prohibit reparations have been proposed in other states as well. In Florida, a Republican lawmaker introduced a constitutional amendment to ban state and local governments from providing reparations, but it did not gain traction. Missouri saw the introduction of a bill that would prohibit any state or local government entity from expending funds on reparations based on race, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, or economic class, but it has not advanced. Conversely, states like California, New Jersey, and Vermont have taken steps to study reparations.
Tennessee House Spikes Bill Banning Local Reparations Study
