*On this date in 2002, hundreds of Blacks rallied in front of the nation’s capitol to demand slavery reparations, saying that compensation is long overdue.
Those in attendance and speakers included Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan and John Conyers, Democratic Congressman from Michigan. Many major names in the Black civil rights movement were not present, including the Rev. Jesse Jackson and the Rev. 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.
