The California Assembly passed a proposal to assemble a task force that would study and prepare recommendations on how to give us Black folk reparations.
According to CBS Local, “the bill advanced with a 56-5 vote as protests nationwide over police brutality re-energized the movement for racial justice and activists pressed for sweeping reforms. It is a top priority for California’s Legislative Black Caucus.”
Assemblywoman Shirley Weber, a Black woman from San Diego responsible for the proposal, said the study would reiterate California’s history of abetting slavery, even as it joined the union as a “free state” in 1850. “The discriminatory practices of the past echo into the everyday lives of today’s Californians,” said Weber, who leads the Legislative Black Caucus.
According to reports, if the bill passes the Senate and is signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom, a group of eight people would look into who is eligible for compensation and how much they should receive. This process would start no later than June 2021, if the bill is signed into law.
Another piece of legislation passed Wednesday, when the proposal to repeal California’s affirmative action ban, passed the Assembly. This will be decided by voters in November, if the Senate approves the bill by June 25. As you know, the U.S. knows all about reparations for other groups of people. There were 120,000 Japanese Americans held at internment camps during World War II. Because of that, each surviving victim was paid $20,000 in 1988, while also receiving an apology.
“We seem to recognize that justice requires that those who have been treated unjustly need the means to make themselves whole again,” Weber said.
We’ll keep you updated as more info is available.
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