Democratic Sen. Steven Bradford, of Los Angeles, said anythings possible if the moneys there, but he remains realistic that it could be difficult to garner enough support for large payments at a time when lawmakers havent even debated where the money would come from.
I dont want to set folks expectations and hopes up that theyre going to be getting, you know, seven-figure checks, Bradford said in an interview. Thats just not happening.
The task force on Saturday approved proposals in its final report, which is officially due to lawmakers by July 1. They included estimates from economists who say the state is responsible for more than $500 billion due to decades of over-policing, mass incarceration and redlining that kept Black families from receiving loans and living in certain neighborhoods.
The panel stopped short of endorsing specific payment amounts but recommended any reparations program include the payment of cash or its equivalent to eligible residents. It doesnt delve into how the state would pay for reparations programs.
Marcus Champion, a Los Angeles resident and organizer with the Coalition for a Just and Equitable California, a reparations advocacy group, criticized Bradfords comments.
That is not the way you come to the table to pay a historic debt, he said. That is not the way that you come to the table in any type of negotiation. Start as high as you possibly can, and then work from there.
Payments are part of a long list of recommendations from the nine-member task force that has studied how the state could apologize and offer recompense for policies that drove housing discrimination, mass incarceration and health disparities long after chattel slavery was abolished. The proposals come as the state faces a projected $22.5 billion budget deficit.
Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a statement that dealing with the legacy of slavery is about much more than cash payments.
The Reparations Task Forces independent findings and recommendations are a milestone in our bipartisan effort to advance justice and promote healing, Newsom said. We need to wait for the Task Force to finish its work and submit its final report.
Assemblymember Reggie Jones-Sawyer, another Los Angeles-area Democrat on the task force, took a more cautious approach in predicting the fate of payments or other reparations proposals. He said in an interview that its too early to know whether payments could get passed in the Legislature, as the committees report deadline looms.
We have absolutely no idea right now what will or will not be approved, he said.
The task forces proposals are wide-ranging and ambitious. They include the creation of an agency that would help residents research their familys history, promote financial literacy and preserve historic, cultural sites.
The panel has also endorsed policies to increase tree canopy in historically redlined areas, to provide more incarcerated people with job training that prepares them for life after their sentences and to restore land seized unfairly from Black families through eminent domain.
The committee is calling on the state to issue a formal, public apology for its legacy of slavery and discriminatory policies. Although California entered the union as a free state, it did not enact laws guaranteeing African Americans freedom, the draft report said. The apology could include a condemnation of Peter Hardeman Burnett, Californias first elected governor and a white supremacist who personally enslaved people and pushed for Black peoples exclusion from the state.
Assemblymember Lori Wilson, who chairs the state Legislative Black Caucus, said in a statement that the caucus will champion policy proposals included in the task forces report.
We look forward to working collaboratively with our Legislative colleagues and Governor Newsoms Administration as we continue to fight for equity in our communities, the San Francisco Bay Area Democrat wrote.
Newsom signed a law in 2020 creating the task force. The goal of the legislation authored by Secretary of State Shirley Weber, a former state assemblymember was for the panel to study remedies for Black Californians, with a special consideration for the descendants of people who were enslaved.
Last year, the task force voted that compensation be limited to descendants of Black people living in the United States before the end of 19th century. The panel more recently endorsed further limiting eligibility to residents living in California for at least six months while certain discriminatory policies and practices were in effect, with possible exceptions.
Webers bill stated a reparations program in California should not be considered a replacement for a program at the federal level. That issue has stalled in Congress with a bill to create a commission studying reparations proposals that has not been voted on since it was first introduced in the 1980s.
No other state in the country has gotten further along than California in its consideration of reparations proposals for Black Americans. Task Force Chair Kamilah Moore said shes hopeful recommendations including the agency and payments could get enough support from state lawmakers.
Weve gone above and beyond, Moore said of the groups work.
