Senate Candidate Proposes Reparations For Whites

While the nation’s lawmakers address growing calls for reparations by forming the Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans, a Senate candidate from Ohio has attempted to upend the conversation by introducing the idea of reparations for whites, namely descendants of Union soldiers who died in the Civil War.

Cleveland businessman Bernie Moreno announced his U.S. Senate campaign last week with an unexpected pitch for reparations.

Moreno said, “They talk about reparations. Where are the reparations for the people, for the North, who died to save the lives of Black people?”

In what sounded like a swipe at Critical Race Theory, Moreno continued, “It’s never happened in human history before, but it happened here in America. That’s not talked about in schools very much, is it? They make it sound like America is a racist, broken country.”

He added, “I know it’s not politically correct to say that, but you know what, we’ve got to stop being politically correct.”

Strong Opposition

Moreno’s remarks made headlines around the country and moved conversations about reparations back into the national consciousness despite lukewarm reception historically.

Political Science professor Tatishe Nteta and the Pew Research Center indicate two-thirds of Americans oppose reparations for descendants of formerly enslaved people because they do not “deserve” reparations.

Nteta teaches at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst which partnered with TV station WCVB to conduct a recent poll in which nearly 30% of white Americans favored monetary reparations for Black Americans. But a 2021 Pew Research poll found that only 18% of white Americans supported some form of reparations.

Moreno is a far-right Republican and Donald Trump-affiliated candidate. He was born in Columbia and moved to the United States when he was five years old. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) did not respond to Moreno’s remarks.