Unearthed interview exposes Dem senator's past support for reparations: 'There is a debt unpaid'

Shortly after announcing his intention to run for U.S.

Senate, then-candidate Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., said he would support reparations legislation — government-led efforts to make up for the social harms of slavery and other injustices against Black Americans.

In a 2019 radio interview , Ossoff said it was only a question of how much the government was obligated to give.

"There is a debt unpaid.

I think it is a very, very difficult question: how to pay it," Ossoff told a local radio host.

"But see, that should be the question — not if it should be paid," the host noted.

MAMDANI WON'T RULE OUT CASH REPARATIONS, SAYS HE'LL AWAIT NYC COMMISSION FINDINGS "Exactly," Ossoff replied.

Seven years later, as Ossoff wages a re-election campaign that’s likely to be one of the most competitive in the nation, his resurfaced comments raise questions about his stance on the proper role of government in addressing social inequality.

In the past, progressive groups like Movement for Back Lives (M4BL) and the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) have made reparations a part of their platforms.

"Despite the elimination of Jim Crow and openly discriminatory laws against Black Americans a half century ago, Black people and the Black community as a whole still suffer economic, political and social discrimination and inequality," DSA stated in 2019.

"Formally equal treatment on the basis of inequality means the perpetuation of inequality.

Reparations for these and other offenses is a current topic of significant discussion during this election." Ossoff, while not a member of the DSA, said he would support legislation to evaluate the matter.

" Sen.

Cory Booker has legislation in the Senate to establish a commission for the purposes of studying the right way to redress the grievance — to pay the debt never paid," Ossoff said in the 2019 podcast appearance.