California’s Reparations Task Force has approved recommendations that could give black residents $1.2 million each in compensation for slavery and discrimination, but activists say it’s ‘nowhere near enough’ and demanded $200 million.
The nine-member committee voted on Saturday to approve proposals on how the state can compensate and apologize for generations of harm caused by discriminatory policies.
A black California resident who lived in the state his entire life until age 71 could receive more than $1.2 million in compensation, if the recommendations are enshrined in law.
But residents who attended the official meeting in Oakland denounced the estimated costs of the repairs and some described it as a “new injustice” and others called for direct cash payments.
California became the first state to form a reparations task force in September 2020 following nationwide protests over the death of George Floyd, who was killed by a white Minneapolis police officer.
California’s Reparations Task Force has approved recommendations that could give black residents $1.2 million each in compensation for slavery and discrimination
Residents, including the Reverend Tony Pierce, think it’s ‘nowhere near enough’ and have demanded $200 million, some calling it ‘new injustice’ and others calling for direct payments cash.
Its final report is due to be sent to lawmakers by July 1 where it will provide compensation estimates calculated by several economists the group works with.
The amount these repairs would cost the state was not stated in the report, but previous calculations by economists had predicted that it could cost around $800 billion, more than double the annual budget of around $300 billion. billion dollars from California.
The amounts that were lost to specific types of racial discrimination and suggest that those amounts should be refunded to black residents, according to the report.
This includes $2,352 lost per person per year for over-policing and mass incarceration of black communities and $3,366 per person per year of residence between 1933 and 1977 for “discriminatory lending and zoning.”
And $13,619 per person per year of California residency for “health injustices and discrimination” and $77,000 per person for black-owned business losses and devaluations are included in the figure.
That means a black California resident who is at least 71 years old could receive more than $1.2 million in compensation.
But the 100 residents and activists who gathered at the meeting were unimpressed with the report’s calculations.
Reverend Tony Pierce expressed his frustration and pointed to the country’s “broken promise” to offer 40 acres and a mule to newly freed slaves.
He said, “You know the numbers should be equivocal compared to what an acre was then. We were given 40, okay? We were given 40 acres.
“You know what this number is. You keep trying to talk about it now, but you research slavery and you don’t say anything about slavery, nothing.
“So the equivocal number from the 1860s for 40 acres to today is $200 million for every African American.”
He then denounced the panel for not being ambitious enough with the repair plan.
“You’re not supposed to be scared,” he added. “You’re just supposed to tell the truth. You are not supposed to be the guardians. You’re supposed to say what people want and hear people.
Reverend Tony Pierce has expressed frustration and pointed to the country’s ‘broken promise’ to offer 40 acres and a mule to newly freed slaves
He slammed the panel for not being ambitious enough with the repair plan
Assemblyman Reggie Jones-Sawyer (left), who sits on the panel, said the recommendation for a letter of apology from the state of California is one of the most important. State Senator Steven Bradford is pictured at right
While one woman said, “$1.2m is nowhere near enough. It should start at least $5 million like San Francisco.
“We want direct cash payments, just like the stimulus [checks] have been sent. It’s our legacy, and we can take care of it.
And another resident added: ‘This million dollars we hear on the news is simply insufficient and further injustice if this is what this task force is going to recommend to black Americans for over 400 years and the continuation of l slavery and injustice we were forced to endure.
“To throw even a million dollars at us is just an injustice.”
And Elaine Brown, former chairwoman of the Black Panther Party, urged people to vent their frustrations through protests.
The report insisted that the figures are only estimates and that lawmakers should conduct further research to determine the specifics.
Panel members recommended direct payments for eligible people in the report.
“The initial installment is the beginning of a process of resolving historic injustices, not the end,” it read.
The Reparations Task Force has also called on those eligible to receive cash “down payments” as soon as recommendations are enshrined in law while they wait for the amount of compensation they are entitled to be determined.
The working group, made up of elected officials, academics and lawyers, decided last year on the eligibility criteria.
He determined that any descendant of enslaved African Americans or a “free black person living in the United States before the end of the 19th century” should be entitled to reparations.
If legislation is passed for payments, the committee suggested that a stage agency be created to handle claims and make payments, with older black residents being the priority.
About 1.8 million people in California identify as black or African American.
Cheryl Grills, a member of the task force, said the actual amount the state pays is the “least important” aspect of the program.
Kamilah Moore, a restorative justice specialist and lawyer, chaired the task force and has previously said she plans to be as “radical as possible” when it comes to deciding who will receive reparations and how much.
The final report is due to be sent to lawmakers by July 1 where it will provide compensation estimates calculated by several economists the group works with.
When voting on its final report, the panel also recommended that state lawmakers formally apologize to its black residents.
A preliminary report released last year highlighted how enslaved black people were sent to California during the gold rush era.
And in the 1950s and 1960s, racial covenants and red lines kept them apart in many of California’s biggest cities.
A point of confusion in the discourse on reparations has been whether the amount recommended by the task force will be a literal suggestion to the Legislative Assembly or rather a broader estimate of the losses suffered by black people due to decades of inequality.
“We want to make sure that this is presented in a way that doesn’t reinforce the concern of a dollar figure, which is the least important element of this,” previously said Cheryl Grills, a member of the working group of the state, to CalMatters.
‘It’s important, but it’s the least important to be able to get to a point in our country’s history and California’s history where we recognize that evil crosses many areas and realms and that redress must align with that.
‘It’s really a shame. I’m really sad to see that our news media aren’t able to provide more nuance. It’s almost like, ‘What’s going to be sensational’ versus what’s important,” she said.
But at a task force meeting in March, State Sen. Steven Bradford said it would be an “uphill battle” to get the Legislature to pass recommendations.
Kamilah Moore, a restorative justice specialist and lawyer, chaired the task force and has previously said she plans to be as “radical as possible” when it comes to deciding who will receive reparations and how much.