The State of California spearheads a new development in the mission to pass legislation providing reparations to descendants of enslaved Black Americans.
On Saturday (May 6), a committee of nine advocates which make up the California Reparations Task Force gathered at the Mills College at Northeastern University in Oakland to approve a draft proposal of potential reparations to be presented to California lawmakers.
The proposal included a summation of discriminatory practices and policies in the form of statistical accounting in various areas, including barriers to education, housing, and voting, along with details about the disproportionate numbers of Black Americans unfairly treated by police and incarcerated in California.
The potential reparations legislation not only suggests a public apology to Black Americans — a request inspired by the recent apologies from the State to Native Americans and Asian Americans for the historical injustices they endured — but also an admittance of past grievances imposed on the demographic by those who held office at any time since California’s inception into the union in 1850.
There’s also recommendations for cash disbursements and the creation of an agency specifically specializing in reparations to Black Americans. Yet, with the spread of misinformation on social media sites, the committee clarified monetary compensation has not been officially enforced by state or federal government.
A statement reads, ” There is no such process in place with the Department of Justice or any other state agency. Under AB 3121, any reparations program will need to be enacted by the Legislature and approved by the Governor. The Reparations Task Force’s role is to develop recommendations for future Legislative action. Therefore, at this time, there is no claims process.”
Previous attempts to push reparations legislation have historically stalled at cold proposals or promises of further research and studies. However, the task force, first ignited by the work of Shirley Weber (D), the Secretary of State who proposed reparations legislation in 2020, has made headway by garnering more awareness of their efforts. The task force was selected as follows:
“Five members are appointed by the Governor, two members are appointed by the President pro Tempore of the Senate, and two members by the Speaker of the Assembly. Task Force members are drawn from diverse backgrounds to represent the interests of communities of color throughout the state, have experience working to implement racial justice reform, and, to the extent possible, represent geographically diverse areas of the state.”
If California were to fiscally atone for the monstrosities of slavery and its aftermath on the Black community, the costs could surpass $800 billion, according to projected estimates from the State’s economists.
