An African American couple embracing and walking down a suburban street at sunset, shot from behind
Young black couple walking down the street.
California is pressing ahead with its plan to make amends to black Californians for the countless harms they have been inflicted on. However, some lawmakers warn black residents not to expect a massive payout.
Last week, the California Reparations Task Force voted to accept a set of reparations recommendations. The task force called on the state to formally apologize to black residents for a range of harms, including redlining, mass incarceration and the state’s complicity in slavery. (For those wondering, you must be a descendant of an enslaved person or a free black person who lived in the United States before the 19th century.) The panel also recommended direct cash payments to black residents, but did not recommend a specific dollar amount.
Continue reading
California lawmakers will vote on the plan on July 1. But MPs on the Reparations Panel warn against starting plans for a large payout. At least not in the foreseeable future. Democratic Sen. Steven Bradford of Los Angeles is the primary reason he’s throwing cold water at the redemption celebrations.
“I don’t want to create people’s expectations and hopes that they’ll get seven-figure checks,” Bradford said, according to the AP. “It just doesn’t happen.”
Other members of the state parliament expressed more reluctance when asked whether they think large cash payments are possible. “We have absolutely no idea right now what will and won’t be approved,” Democratic Assembly Representative Reggie Jones-Sawyer said, according to the AP. Jones-Sawyer also serves on the task force.
California Gov. Gavin Newsome has not spoken out in favor of the cash payments. And the state’s massive budget deficit plays a major role in the reparations talks. Still, the fact that California has come this far gives those who have spent the past decade fighting for redress a measure of hope, especially as the San Francisco redress effort is proceeding along a different path.
The story goes on
More from The Root
Sign up for The Root’s newsletter. For the latest news, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Click here to read the full article.
.png?h=2e181f1f&itok=fwF7AsXQ "‘I noticed my life flash earlier than my eyes’: Singapore-based expat lists down causes for transferring from US, Life-style Information")
