Marianne Williamson on slavery reparations: It's not 'financial assistance' but 'a debt that is owed'
Elizabeth Taylor's wedding officiant and popular spiritual author Marianne Williamson became the unexpected star of the first round of Democratic debates last month following her promise to slay President Trump by harnessing the power of love. With references to "dark psychic forces" and "toxicities beneath the surface," she was no less #CrystalBallGoals on Tuesday night.
But Williamson had some terrestrial ideas too, including a call for reparations for slavery.
"If you did the math of the 40 acres and a mule [promise to formerly enslaved farmers] ... today it would be trillions of dollars," Williamson said. When it came to the question of reparations, she said "anything less than $100 billion is an insult, and I think that $200 to 500 billion is politically feasible today."
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Williamson also corrected CNN moderator Don Lemon's language, noting that the reparations are not "financial assistance" but "payment of a debt that is owed."
"We need to recognize that when it comes to the economic gap between blacks and whites in America, it does come from a great injustice that has never been dealt with," Williamson said. Watch her full response below. Jeva Lange
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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
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