While the lion's share of the attention is on the Republican side of the ticket in the race for Alabama's open U.S. Senate seat up for grabs this November, three candidates qualified with the Alabama Democratic Party early this year.
Among those vying for the Democrat nod is Brandaun Dean, formerly the mayor of Brighton.
One of the key planks of his candidacy is to establish a system for reparations for U.S. descendants of slaves.
In an interview with Mobile radio FM Talk 106.5's "The Jeff Poor Show," Dean laid out that vision, which he said would provide "equity and financial solvency."
"It's a critical piece of legislation," Dean said. "I think that some people would want to imagine or have entailed to imagine because it targets a specific constituency, Black Americans who are descendants of slavery in this country, that it would be limited in scope and impact. But I think people would have to understand the impact of giving equity and financial solvency to somewhere between 14 and 26% of the United States population would be helpful to all of us.
"We are not able to compete in a competitive housing market. We are not able to independently finance our own education. We're not able to build our own production, manufacturing and trade institutions as a result of generational poverty. And so, some of the cures, certainly not all of them, as this legislation is still being studied and carved out. But for me, it would certainly include having an institution that functions like a domestic embassy for American descendants of slaves that would be funded through legislation."
Dean said reparations could come in the form of direct cash payments or even in the form of building up the endowments of historically black colleges and universities.
Alabama Democrat voters will have an opportunity to select their preference for their spot on the November ballot on May 24. The candidates include Dean, Florence's St. Mark Baptist Church pastor Will Boyd and Mobile Democrat Lanny Jackson.
To connect with the author of this story, or to comment, email jeff.poor@1819News.com.
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