California reparations task force votes to approve restitution plan
Asher Notheis
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California’s reparations task force voted on Saturday in favor of a reparations program, the first of its kind in the United States.
The committee of nine members voted to give final approval a plan with detailed explanations for how restitution should be made to victims of systemic racism, housing discrimination, mass incarceration, and health care inequities. The plan now goes to state legislature for approval. If passed, it could mean hundreds of billions of dollars in payments to black residents of the Golden State.
STIMULUS CHECK UPDATE: DIRECT PAYMENT WORTH $800 TO BE PAID OUT TO RECIPIENTS IN NINE DAYS
Calculations provided ahead of the vote showed that black residents who have lived in California their whole life and are 71 or older could receive up to $1.2 million in payments.
The proposed payments released on Wednesday revealed various alleged harms the committee seeks to atone for on behalf of the state of California, with all of the alleged harms varying depending on the time spent in California.
Those who have suffered from health-related harms would receive $13,619 for each year spent in California, with descendants eligible for the payments. Payments for those who were victims of alleged over-policing from 1971 through 2020, meanwhile would be entitled to $2,352 for each year living in California during that time, with a maximum amount of $115,260.
The task force’s report is due to be released by July 1.
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Ahead of Saturday’s voting, Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA) applauded the recommendation of paying reparations to black residents in the state, calling the move a “human right” that has been “long overdue” for decades.
“Reparations are not a luxury for our people, but a human right long overdue for millions of Americans,” Lee said during a meeting with California’s Reparations Task Force on Saturday. “The atrocities committed against black Americans are undeniable, and reparations are a tangible route to acknowledging and making amends to the glaring economic and social impacts of slavery and systemic racism. We must repair this damage.”