California task force votes for million-dollar reparations plan and formal apology to black residents

After a year of deliberations, the California Reparations Committee recommended that the state formally apologize to its black residents and accompany these words with up to $1.2 million per person. The task force’s conclusions from this weekend must still be introduced in the California Legislature, which will vote on whether to sign all or some of the suggestions into law.

These measures on behalf of the state and the Californian people should be publicly funded, according to the vote of the committee's nine members. Not only would the state have to apologize, but it would also be forced to promise not to commit the same offenses again. This came in the presence of descendants of slaves.

The apology and financial compensation were not, however, the only recommendations approved by the nine committee members. They also considered advising that these "discoveries" be taught in California schools, that the state constitution be amended to prohibit serfdom and eliminate the death penalty.

Other recommendations that were contemplated include the establishment of community centers, eliminating legal protections for those who violate any of these rights, and declaring election day a paid holiday.

You do, you don't

Will all African-American descendants who passed through California be able to claim the reward? No. This was a point that the committee settled in previous meetings: only "those who who are able to establish that they are a lineal descendant of an enslaved persons or of a free African American person living in the United States prior to the end of the 19th Century" would have access this money.

There will also be distinctions amongst those who meet these requirements, which the state itself would have to help the interested party to ascertain. Thus, having ancestors who have suffered exclusion by banks could increase the total received. It would be $3,366 more per year for those who lived in California between 1930 and the late 1970s. It will also be more for those who resided there between 1970 and 2020, who may receive $2,352 per year. The reason: mass incarceration and over-policing.

The amount could eventually total up to $1.2 million, according to New York Times estimates.

Preliminary Draft Report Ma... by Santiago Adolfo Ospital

They asked for more

Although the top figure was eventually rounded up to $1 million, committee members went so far as to request $7.6 million per person.

Thus, California would have had to disburse up to $800 billion, 2.5 times its annual budget. A black resident argued at that hearing in April:

Some black critics of the reparations

California was never a slave state and critics attribute their opposition to reparations to this fact. They further argue that today's taxpayers should not be liable for damages related to situations that took place hundreds of years ago.

Black civil rights activist Bob Woodson told The Associated Press that monetary reparations are "insulting." He added that they are impractical, controversial and counterproductive and noted that black families depended on faith to build thriving communities:

A majority of Americans are against reparations

Opinions on race-based reparations are divided, precisely, by race. Seventy-seven percent of black Americans were in favor, while only 18% of whites agreed. In contrast, 80% of the latter said they were against reparations, a position taken by just 17% of African Americans.

This comes according to a Pew Research Center report last year, which also revealed that 68% of U.S. adults were against reparations. Some 58% of Hispanics said they were in favor, and 39% were against. Amongst Asians, 65% agreed, compared to 33% who did not.

In addition, Republican voters are mostly against such policies (91%). Democrats are divided in their opinions: 48% think it is a good measure, 49% do not.

What does the government say?

Talks about reparations for groups that were discriminated against are stalled at the federal level. The idea was first proposed in California and was supported in different cities around the country after the death of the George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minn. Governor Gavin Newsom signed legislation in 2020 that created the reparations task force.

Vice President Kamala Harris previously said that she and President Joe Biden support a study based on reparations compensation. However, Washington has so far ducked calls from advocates suggesting a federal commission be created.