The California Reparations Task Force published documents this week indicating it plans to recommend the state apologize for racism and slavery, and consider “down payments” of varying amounts to eligible African American residents.
The documents, numbering more than 500 pages, do not contain an overall price tag for reparations, but they do include ways the state could calculate how much money African Americans in California have lost since the state was established in 1950 because of certain government practices.
The loss calculations would vary depending on type of racial harm and how long a person has lived in California. The loss estimates range from $2,300 per person per year of residence 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-appointed task force faces a July 1 deadline to make reparations recommendations to the Legislature and Gov. Gavin Newsom. Task force leaders have said they expect the Legislature to come up with actual reparations amounts.
The task force is also recommending a variety of policy changes to counteract discrimination.
“It is critical that we compensate, but not just compensate,” said Monica Montgomery Steppe, a San Diego councilmember who is on the task force and spoke at a “listening session” in her city late last week. “We also need to evaluate policy that continues to hold us back.”
Who would get reparations?
The task force documents, which were published on Monday, May 1, discuss two kinds of reparations: those arising from particular instances of discrimination or harm that require an individual to file a claim, and those that involve distributing money or benefits to all eligible Black Californians for racial harm the entire community has experienced.
A recent example of an individual claim was Bruce’s Beach, a beachfront property and resort that Manhattan Beach seized from a Black family nearly…
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