On Thursday, June 29, members of California’s Black Reparations Task Force handed their historic, two-year report over to state lawmakers, beginning the next phase of the lengthy fight to make amends for slaves’ descendants.
The first group of its sort in the United States had its final meeting on Thursday and urged supporters to pressure politicians to implement more than 100 recommendations. Before any funds are disbursed or new policies are implemented, governor Gavin Newsom and state legislators must approve them.
“This book of truth will be a legacy, will be a testament to the full story,” said Lisa Holder, a task force member and civil rights lawyer. “I challenge anyone who claims that we are colorblind and that we have eradicated racism and anti-Black sentiment to read this document.”
The atmosphere was upbeat but laced with rage and frustration at the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to invalidate affirmative action programs in higher education, which have given Black students who have traditionally been excluded an advantage.
Affirmative action is already prohibited in nine states, beginning with California in 1996 and most recently Idaho in 2020.
Due to the fact that the suggested benefits will only be given to descendants of slaves and not to all Black inhabitants, task force members believe their recommendations will be accepted by the law.
The tribunal narrowly decided to restrict any financial compensation to residents who could prove their ancestry as Black Americans living in the United States during the 19th century.
The 1,100-page report describes California’s contribution to the persistence of racial discrimination against its citizens. Options for making amends include compensating descendants of slaves who suffered because of racial practices like excessive police and housing discrimination. The panel suggested setting up a new organization to direct restitution operations.
It won’t be simple to translate the recommendations into policies. Only 30% of American adults, according to a 2021 Pew Research Center survey, supported reparations, according to state senator Steven Bradford, who claimed that “a lot of folks” in the legislature oppose the idea.
Although 59% of respondents said they would favor a public apology from the state to descendants, a more recent poll by the independent Public Policy Institute of California found 54% of respondents had a negative attitude of California launching a reparations task group.
Repairs right away
The Sacramento gathering on Thursday drew more than 200 attendees, with an overflow crowd outside the room. Many people were inside at one point standing and starting a call and answer to demand action.
Someone yelled, “What do we want?”
The audience shouted “Reparations.”
He inquired, “When do we want them?”
“Now!”
The task force’s creator, California Secretary of State Shirley Weber, claimed that slavery robbed her of her identity and heritage and that despite numerous trips to Africa, she has come to the conclusion that there is no place for her to return.
“I’m an American,” she declared. “We have contributed to this country and it has given to us. And it’s okay for us to be here. We are entitled to the advantages.
Reparations should still be made, according to Rev. Amos C. Brown, a lifelong civil rights leader and vice-chair of the task team, despite California’s estimated $31.5 billion budget shortfall.
Brown remarked, “This state has committed a crime against Black folks, and it’s time for them to pay,” amid applause from the audience. “Deficits do not always persist.”
In June 2021, a year after Newsom signed legislation establishing the body, the nine-person reparations panel met for the first time. Members chosen by him and legislative leaders included lawyers, educators, government figures, and civil rights leaders who were descended from slaves.
Although federal efforts to make reparations have languished for decades, cities, counties, educational institutions, and universities have stepped up to the plate. Qualifying Black individuals should be granted a $5 million lump payout, a guaranteed yearly income of at least $97,000, and personal debt relief, according to a San Francisco advisory panel. The recommendations are anticipated to be discussed by San Francisco supervisors later this year.
A committee to look into the state’s role in slavery and discuss resolving the current economic and educational disadvantages faced by Black people may soon be established in New York, following California’s lead. Gov. Kathy Hochul has not yet signed the legislation, which was approved by lawmakers earlier this month.
A reparations commission was approved by Illinois last year.
a complicated past
In 1850, California became a free state and joined the union. In reality, it endorsed policies and practices that prevented Black people from owning property and establishing companies, as well as the legalization of slavery. According to a ground-breaking study produced by the committee last year and made public as part of its work, black families were frightened, their communities were harshly policed, and their neighborhoods were contaminated.
The panel supported economic approaches to determine what is owed for decades of excessive policing, disproportionate incarceration, and housing discrimination but did not recommend a specific dollar sum for financial reparations. The potential cost to California in those locations was initially estimated to be more than $800 billion, or more than 2.5 times the state’s yearly budget. A later assessment reduced the estimated cost to $500 billion, although no justification for the reduction was provided.
The group has suggested giving elderly preference when it comes to financial remuneration.
For a 71-year-old Black individual who has lived their entire life in California, economists recommended approximately $1 million, or $13,600 per year, to address health inequities that reduce the average life expectancy.
If they resided in California from 1971 to 2020, Black persons who were targets of severe policing and prosecution during the “war on drugs” might get an average of $115,000, or more than $2,300 each year.
The task force’s leader, intellectual property and entertainment attorney Kamilah Moore, described the last two years as a whirlwind.
It’s been a lot of effort, but it’s also been really cathartic and emotional, she said. “We’re basically carrying out this sacred project in the footsteps of our ancestors.”
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