(Washington, DC) — Lawmakers are studying how the United States might compensate the descendants of slaves. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has said rights for black Americans have advanced enough to render reparations unnecessary. Testifying before the House Judiciary Committee today, actor Danny Glover said justice for black people cannot be achieved without “radical change to the structure of our society.” Writer Ta-Nehisi Coates condemned McConnell’s statement, adding the Kentucky Republican was alive for much of the civil rights movement. Senator Cory Booker argued black Americans deserve compensation for slavery, domestic terrorism, segregation, and redlining, a practice used to block black people from obtaining mortgages.

Meanwhile… the American Civil Liberties Union and the National African American Reparations Commission held a national forum at the historic Metropolitan AME Church in DC.  Civil Rights activists, attorneys and political commentators debated the issue of slave reparations.  The Forum was design to educate the public about the many layers of HR-40, the House bill written to form a commission to study reparations.