Rep. Cori bush (D-MO), during a hearing of the House Oversight Committee on Tuesday, called out Republicans she considered “anti-woke” and said they were labeling themselves “anti-black”.

Bush referred to the frequent use of the term “wokeness” by Republican leaders during a hearing on topics related to environmental, social and governance (ESG).

Bush said that those who are fixated on being branded as anti-woke actually say, “I do not want black people to speak for themselves.” I don’t believe in equality and justice for the black people.

Bush’s comments follow a resolution recently introduced in the House of Representatives supporting federal reparations. Last month, a group of Democratic lawmakers led by Bush introduced a $14 trillion Resolution titled Reparations Now to compensate black Americans for the legacy slavery and racism.

Bush stated during a press conference held in May, before the Capitol that the United States had a legal and moral obligation to compensate for the enslavement and the lasting damage it caused millions of Blacks.

California is also pushing for reparations. The reparations taskforce, which was established in 2020 will release its final proposals by July 1. This could make California the first state to pay reparations for systematic discrimination to black residents.

Bush said that it’s “astonishing” how many people use the term “wokeness,” especially those who don’t know what it means or where it comes from. She cited the 2014 case of Michael Brown, who was killed by a Ferguson police officer.

Bush stated, “I was one of the people who were on the ground more than 400 day after Michael Brown’s death when this happened.” “We said that we had woken up because we will not allow anyone to harm us without fighting back.”

Bush spoke out at the hearing about the lack of support for the ESG movement, calling it a progressive move.

Bush stated during the Oversight Committee’s hearing that “Responsible Investing, which has nothing in common with being woke, relies on ESG data for planning long-term challenges. It requires firms to disclose data about their risks and returns, and how this helps protect our future through investments in climate resilience and renewable energy.”

ESG is an approach to corporate governance that considers social and environmental justice, encourages companies to be responsible, and incorporates ESG into investment decisions.

The committee will be hearing more about ESG in the future. In a press statement about the hearings the chairman, James Comer (R-KY), targeted ESG principles. He called them “a progressive scheme” pushed by radical-left-wing groups in order to force large and small companies to adopt policies which routinely undermine their performance.

Bush continued, “This isn’t wokeness,” he added. “And you should stand with those who are woke, because we’re saying – no more oppression of our community.”

Bush said, “So stop talking about wokeness, no matter what else you’re saying. Unless you’re saying, “I’m a racist, a white supremacist and i’m bigoted,” Bush concluded. “Don’t listen to a fascist telling you what being woke is.”