A group of 12 survivors of police abuse or discrimination began receiving $1,000 payments this week as part of a first-in-the-nation programme providing a guaranteed income to victims of law enforcement racism.

The programme, which provides the group $1,000-a-month payments for a year, was founded via a $1m donation from Leroy and Gracie Close of South Carolina, who descend from a prominent member of the slave trade, whose family then established a large textile fortune.

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“For us, the benefits of slavery have not ended. They are a very real part of our day-to-day lives. The institution of slavery allows us to have high incomes without having to work. It allows us the luxury of feeling secure in our lives,” they added.

“In contrast, the descendants of the people owned by our ancestors have had the opposite experience. Many experience poverty, and all experience structural racism, especially those in the South.”

The initiative targets individuals who have personally experienced racist policing that descends from the deeper history of slavery in America {snip}

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