(UnitedVoice.com) – The issue of reparations for slavery has been the subject of debate for decades. While there is a considerable amount of both racial and political divide, the overwhelming majority of Americans are against reparations. While cost is certainly a consideration, a great very large piece of the debate focuses not on money, but on what people consider the “legacy” of slavery and whether or not it continues to have a measurable impact on Black Americans today. Despite the stats, states like California, as well as several other major cities, continue to lobby for cash payments. A California task force is now asking the state to move forward with down-payments.
Put A Down Payment On It: California #Reparations Task Force Recommends Down Payments https://t.co/AXPMsuKt03
— NewsToter (@NewsToter) May 4, 2023
On May 6, California Attorney General Rob Bonta published documents from the Reparations Task Force meeting. The papers include a draft document asking the state to apologize for slavery. It lists all of the perceived wrongs committed by California over more than a century, including endorsing minstrel shows, imposing poll taxes, preventing black people from testifying against white people, enforcing the federal fugitive slave law, and other misdeeds.
The documents also contain a recommendation that the state consider “down payments” of reparations for eligible African-American residents. While the task force has not recommended a specific amount of money that it believes the state should pay, those on the committee did provide a way for lawmakers to calculate the amount. It recommended two different types of reparations: particular compensation for people with provable harms and cumulative compensation for those who qualify. Officials provided a methodology for each of those groups. According to the task force, there are more than 1.9 million black people in the state who could be eligible for between $2,300 to $77,000 each.
The task force has a July 1 deadline to decide on what recommendations it plans to submit to lawmakers. Once it does that, the legislature would have to decide what actions to take and how much, if anything, to give African-American residents. Governor Gavin Newsom (D) would then have to sign any potential legislation into law. He has not said whether or not he would move forward with the recommendation.
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