California reparations task force tries to revive discrimination idea voters rejected
Eden Villalovas
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The California reparations task force is suggesting the state amend its constitution to remove a law outlawing racial discrimination.
As part of its $800 billion proposal to provide compensation for descendants of slaves, the group is also requesting the state reconsider Proposition 209, which voters passed in 1996 to ban affirmative action. Residents rejected a similar proposal in 2020 when 57% of voters said they wanted to keep the ban in place.
“Since its passage, Proposition 209 has had far-reaching impact on efforts to remediate entrenched systemic anti-Black bias and discrimination,” a final proposal report from the task force states.
Newsom has claimed in the past that the measure hinders schools that seek extra funding for black students, however, voters rejected the repeal years ago.
Proposition 16 was on the 2020 ballot with support from the Democrat-controlled California legislature, aiming to permit public universities to consider race, sex, color, ethnicity, and national origin in their admission process, along with allowing state and local governments to consider those factors in hiring processes and government contracts.
“In recognition of the systemic discrimination faced by the African American community and the barriers to justice and repair imposed by Proposition 209, the Task Force recommends that the Legislature take steps within its authority to seek the repeal Proposition 209,” the proposal says. “This effort must continue until California’s constitution has been cleansed of this or any other measure rooted in racism.”
The nine-member panel, five of whom were appointed by Newsom, has been working for two years to create a report focusing on reparations for slavery, which must be sent to the state legislature by July 1 for final approval. The task force has heard from over 130 witnesses, ranging from history and economic scholars to families and individuals affected by slavery.
Newsom has declined to endorse specific recommendations from the state’s reparations task force since the proposal passed, saying that slavery “is about much more than cash payments” and noting that many of the requests “put forward by the Task Force are critical action items we’ve already been hard at work addressing.”
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The task force’s proposal could push this notion to repeal Proposition 209 as part of a larger set of measures aimed at addressing the lasting harms of slavery. Other recommendations include compensation for mass incarceration, finances for housing discrimination, and abolishing the death penalty.
“To this point, there has been no countervailing comprehensive effort to disrupt and dismantle institutionalized racism, stop the harm, and address the specific injuries caused to descendants and the larger African American community,” AB 3121 states.