*On this date in 2002, hundreds of Blacks rallied before the nation’s capitol to demand slavery reparations, saying that compensation was long overdue.
Those in attendance and speakers included Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan and John Conyers, Democratic Congressman from Michigan. Many in the black civil rights movement were absent, including the Rev. Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton.
Since 1989, Conyers has proposed a commission to study the institution of slavery every year, and he urged the crowd to pressure Congress again.
