New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed a bill Tuesday that establishes a commission to study reparations for slavery.

“If this committee can present a viable path forward to helping the descendants of New York slaves and addressing the harms and disparities that exist in education, that exist in healthcare, that exist in the environment, that will lift all of us up,” Gov. Hochul said.

Highlighting New York’s relationship with the Underground Railroad and prominent freedom fighters like Harriet Tubman, the Governor challenged New Yorkers come to terms with the past to forge a better future.

“What’s hard to embrace is that our state flourished from that slavery. It’s not a beautiful story, but indeed it is the truth,” Hochul said. “Today, I challenge all New Yorkers to be the patriots and rebuke and not excuse our role in benefitting from the institution of slavery.”

Since 1989, a federal bill to study reparations on the national level has collected dust as lawmakers refuse to push it forward each session.

In light of the lack of national action, states and cities from the East Coast to the West Coast have launched their own efforts to bring reparations for slavery, Jim Crow discrimination and other forms of systemic racism closer to reality.

The North practiced brutal chattel slavery, too

While the evils of slavery often shine a spotlight on chattel bondage in the South, Northern states like New York engaged in the brutal practice as well, illuminating the need for reparations.

Much of New York, including the wall that Wall Street is named after, was built through slave labor. NYC established a city-run slave market in 1711, according to the Smithsonian.

A year later, on April 6, 1712, a group of brave enslaved Africans staged a revolt. Armed with swords, knives, hatchets and guns, the group set fire to a building in the center of town and attacked white colonists who approached.

Roughly 15% of Manhatten’s population of 6,000 were enslaved at the time, according to Columbia University.

New York officials responded with brutal subjugation. The state militia captured the rioters, imprisoning some and hanging others.

As a result of the 1712 New York Slave Revolt, officials passed even harsher laws forbidding Black enslaved New Yorkers from gathering in groups or reading. One law allowed enslavers to whip their kidnapped human beings until near-death.

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Support for reparations in New York and across the country

New York’s approval of a commission to study reparations follows a similar state task force undertaking the same initiative in California. In June, the California Legislature received a final report from the task force. It recommended over 100 policies aimed at addressing systemic disparities. However, it stopped short of providing a specific dollar amount.

Evanston, Illinois, was the first municipality to approve a limited reparations program aimed specifically for Black residents who endured housing discrimination in the ’50s and ’60s. It paid out $25,000 each for housing upgrades to its first 16 recipients in 2022.

Other cities, such as Asheville, North Carolina, Philadelphia and Boston have either launched their own reparations commissions or approved a limited funding program in recent years.

In Tulsa, Oklahoma, survivors and descendants of the Tulsa Race Massacre continue to wait for the Oklahoma Supreme Court to weigh in on their case for restitution and repair.

Nationally, support for reparations remains under 50% among Americans. However, polls show support is gaining steam.

A Rasmussen poll conducted December 2022 found 38% of likely voters favored some form of reparations to Black descendants of enslaved people. It’s a sharp jump from 26% in 2016, according to a Marist poll.

Moving forward, the New York reparations commission will provide a report of findings and recommendations to the state in one year.