The California Reparations Task Force is recommending that the state apologize for slavery and racism while also making “down payments” to eligible Black residents. The recommendation comes as the Reparations Task Force prepares to vote on the proposal on May 6 in Oakland.
The task force will decide on a list of proposals for the state at the vote, including making down payments on reparations for Black residents as well as apologizing for racist policies and behaviors Black residents have faced since the state was founded in 1850.
The 500-page draft includes several policies that affected Black residents in California such as the over-policing Black communities, more exposure to environmental pollution, unequal access to health care and housing discrimination.
The task force was established by lawmakers and Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom to study how California has historically harmed and discriminated against Black residents and to prescribe a reparations plan.
The plan did not include the total price for California paying Black residents reparations and instead laid out a plan to calculate how much money Black residents have lost since California was established through today due to government policies and practices.
The estimates range from $2,300 per person for every year they resided in the state for the over-policing of Black communities to $77,000 total per person for Black-owned business losses and devaluations over the years.
The state of California seized the beachfront property belonging to a Black family in Manhattan Beach in 1924 through a policy known as eminent domain. The Bruce family built a resort for Black people on the property in 1912 and despite the Ku Klux Klan trying to burn it down, the business was successful until the land was stolen by the government.
The Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder gave back the deed to the property to Anthony Bruce in 2022. Bruce sold the property back to the…
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