Washington Becomes Third U.S. State To Authorize A Reparations Study For Chattel Slavery

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https://seattlemedium.com/ferguson-approves-reparations-study/

Washington Becomes Third U.S. State To Authorize A Reparations Study For Chattel Slavery

May 28, 2025

By Aaron Allen, The Seattle Medium

With his recent signing of the state’s $78 billion biennial budget, Gov. Bob Ferguson has authorized the allocation of $300,000 to fund a study on reparations for descendants of U.S. chattel slavery in Washington state. The funding was included in Engrossed Substitute Senate Bill (ESSB) 5167, marking a significant step toward addressing historical injustices within the state.

The study, named the Charles Mitchell and George Washington Bush Study on Reparative Action, honors two African American pioneers who faced racism in Washington’s early history. Charles Mitchell was enslaved as a child in the Washington Territory and escaped to Canada in the mid-1800s, documenting slavery’s early impact in the Northwest. While George Washington Bush was among the earliest permanent Black settlers in the territory.

The Mitchell/Bush study will examine the impact of slavery on all Washington citizens and propose concrete recommendations to the governor, the legislature, and the U.S. Congress.

Senator Bob Hasegawa (D-Beacon Hill), who initiated the legislation and conversations surrounding the study, was prompted by the story of the Houston family of Renton. In 1968, the Renton School District acquired the Houston family’s property for $44,600 through eminent domain, intending to build school facilities. No school was constructed, and the land was sold to a developer in 1980 for $186,675—more than four times the original price. Today, million-dollar homes cover the property.

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