New York fought the war to end slavery, but NYC taxpayers will be shelling out more than $200,000 for woke community groups to talk about reparations.
The taxpayer dough will be steered to select organizations who’ll collaborate with the NYC Commission on Racial Equity to develop “recommendations for repair, collect truth testimony from New Yorkers, and work with researchers leading a NYC Study on Reparations,” 160 years after the Civil War ended.
“The launch of this application represents another major step in the fight for reparations here in New York City,” gushed CORE Chair and Executive Director Linda Tigani Thursday in announcing the launch of the “city’s first-ever government supported Reparations Community Organizing Network.”
“Community must be at the table and be provided the necessary resources to ensure that reparations study and action is community-informed,” she added.
CORE’s “solicitation of interest” says it plans to award up to 13 nonprofits, community groups or minority- and women-owned businesses up to $17,500 – or $227,500 total.
However, the CORE’s press statement released Thursday said the award could actually reach $20,000 — or $260,000 combined.
The commission refused to explain the discrepancy or answer other questions asked by The Post.
Either way, as early as next month, prospective winners will begin to tackle such questions as “How do communities harmed by racism and social injustice — specifically descendants and survivors of chattel slavery, Jim Crow, and the legacy of slavery — define healing, truth, and reconciliation in NYC?”
Critics were stunned at Gotham’s latest woke scheme — which was even more astounding given New York was a free state by 1827, and was the first to abolish legal slavery.
More than 50,000 New Yorkers were killed fighting to end slavery in the Civil War — the greatest sacrifice of any state.
“The creation of this commission was already insulting enough to New Yorkers, who have nothing to do with slavery, but now it appears it’s becoming a taxpayer-funded boondoggle for special interest groups and activists,” NYC Council Minority Leader David Carr (R-Staten Island) said.
Councilwoman Joann Ariola (R-Queens) also ripped the plan, saying “how are we even gauging the criteria for eligibility on this?”
“New York banned slavery in 1827,” she said. “Are we going to do a genealogy search for only people who can trace their ancestry back to that time?
“Is the city going to pay for the descendants of anyone who was ever enslaved? If my Sicilian ancestors were enslaved in the Middle Ages, does that make me eligible for the study? This is truly ridiculous political theater, and a total waste of taxpayer money.”
Voters approved the creation of the CORE through a 2022 referendum, which was put on the ballot at a the request of a Racial Justice Commission appointed by former far-left Mayor Bill de Blasio in the wake of 2020 “Black Lives Matters” protests against police brutality nationwide.
The CORE’s 15 commissioners oversee a $4.8 million budget and operate independently from city government. They serve three-year terms with the seats appointed by the mayor, City Council, public advocate and comptroller.
Mayor Mamdani, who was sworn into office Jan. 1, has been a longtime proponent of the reparations movement. During a June forum hosted by City Limits, the socialist pol said, “New York City actively participated in the slave trade; it should reconcile and repair this legacy.”
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