Philadelphia faith leaders organize to advocate for reparations, official blames poverty on 'White supremacy'

close

Video

Conversation about reparations for black Americans spreads across US

Fox News national correspondent William La Jeunesse reports there is increasing support among liberal cities to compensate black Americans facing racial disparities on 'Special Report.'

Philadelphia faith leaders last week engaged in a course put on by city leadership that advocated reparations for Black residents, and discussed the history of White supremacy.

The program, which is part of the Mayor’s Commission on Faith-based and Interfaith Affairs as well as The Truth Telling Project, is part of the ongoing "Rise Up for Reparations" campaign.  

When the commission was founded, one area they chose to focus on was poverty, which Rev. Naomi Washington-Leapheart, the City of Philadelphia’s Director for Faith-Based and Interfaith Affairs told Fox News Digital was caused by "White supremacy."

"We realized that the structural root of poverty is White supremacy, which relies on the exploitation and theft of Black labor and other material resources," she said. "Reparations is a strategy that both acknowledges the centuries-old cause of our present inequities and moves money and power so that Black communities can finally be made whole."

SAN FRANCISCO REPARATIONS PROPOSAL MAKES WAVES: ‘AMERICA MUST ADMIT ITS SIN’

Skyline with skyscrapers at night, on the left the Liberty Place complex, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America. (Getty Images)

Washington-Leapheart also added that reparations is "deeply spiritual work, because it transforms the way we are in relationship to each other and seeks to repair the moral and psychological wounds we all have because of race-based oppression. Reparations provides an important opportunity for healing."

During the course, more than 100 participants from 15 Philadelphia-area congregations "had several opportunities to create reparations action plans in congregational cohorts," according to Washington-Leapheart added.

They also participated in a case study on "reparations," analysis of the FX show "Atlanta," conversations on "womanist theology." 

SAN FRAN'S REPARATIONS COMMITTEE PROPOSES $5 MILLION TO EACH BLACK LONGTIME RESIDENT, TOTAL DEBT FORGIVENESS

Vernon AME Church pastor Robert Turner holds a reparations now sign after leading a protest from City Hall back to his church in the Greenwood neighborhood on November 18, 2020 in Tulsa, Oklahoma.  (Photo by Joshua Lott/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

"The Commission seeks to engage at least 100 congregations in reparations work in 2023, and we believe that we’re well on our way with the momentum we have now," she added.

Lucy Duncan, who sits on the Commission and is a fellow with the Truth Telling Project, told local news outlet "Billy Penn," who first highlighted the story, that reparations has been on the agenda "from the very beginning." 

A portion of the seminar also tied reparations to spirituality and genealogy. Participants were also expected to complete homework assignments, which included journaling and prompts.  

One of the sessions was co-led by Reshaun Williams, an organizer with the Philadelphia chapter of The National Coalition of Blacks for Reparations in America (N’COBRA). 

N’COBRA frequently calls for "redistributionists" of property and speaks on the idea of "productive land tenure." 

The final day of the workshop included action plans from congregations. They included church-wide discussions over the next year on how religion and churches have been complicit in racism, slavery, and unfair treatment of minorities.  

BURGESS OWENS SLAMS SAN FRANCISCO'S $5 MILLION REPARATIONS PLAN: 'CONDESCENDING, COUNTERPRODUCTIVE, ILLOGICAL'

St. Paul, Minnesota. June 17, 20201. March and rally for reparations, child protection and advancement of peoples rights. (Photo by: Michael Siluk/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images) ((Photo by: Michael Siluk/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images))

According to Washington-Leapheart, participants discussed topics such as the history of the "struggle" for reparations in America, the harm caused by "generations of white supremacy," and how white supremacy has been "theologically sanctioned." The participants also focused on their "vision" for reparations in Philadelphia, and how they can bring that vision to fruition. 

"The administration is committed to advancing racial justice and recognizes that it can only be achieved if our nation, including our state and city, reckon with and remedy its history of racism and exploitation. At this time, we are open to exploring our options and will continue gathering necessary information as well as having internal conversations to identify an appropriate path forward," Washington-Leapheart added.

Last year, California Governor Gavin Newsom created a "Reparations Task Force" to investigate the idea. In December, the five-member economic consultant reported that under the initiative, qualifying Black residents in the state could qualify for $223,200 per person.  

Furthermore, a federal slavery reparations bill, commonly referred to as H.R. 40, has languished in Congress since it was first introduced in 1989. It passed out of the House Judiciary Committee in 2021, but most believe it is unlikely to progress further. 

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Philadelphia's Commission on Faith-based and International Affairs was created in 2019 as part of the Office of Public Engagement.  

Fox News’ Timothy H.J. Nerozzi contributed to this report.