During an appearance in New York before Al Sharpton‘s National Action Network, Democrat presidential candidate Robert Francis “Beto” O’Rourke appeared to back off his initial opposition to slavery reparations, saying he now would support a bill in Congress to study and consider the payments.
Last month O’Rourke had said, “I don’t believe… that [reparations] should be the primary or initial focus of the conversation.” But asked this Wednesday by Sharpton if he would back a measure introduced by Democratic Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee to examine the “institution of slavery in the colonies and the United States from 1619 to the present, and further recommend appropriate remedies,” O’Rourke answered, “Absolutely, I would sign that into law.”