California Reparations Task Force Releases Final Reparations Report
‘This is an embarrassing, patronizing, slapdash, and offensive list of recommendations’
By Evan Symon, June 29, 2023 7:18 pm
The California Reparations Task Force released their final report Thursday, outlining more than 100 recommendations on how descendants of slaves in California could receive some form of compensation.
Since the Task Force was first put together in late 2020, the Task Force has had a long, controversial road to a final report. While initially encompassing all people of African descent, the group of those qualified to receive reparations was significantly narrowed in March 2022 when the task force voted to limit the possible reparations to those who are an African American descendant of an enslaved person or free Black person living in the US prior to the end of the 19th century.
In June 2022 the Task Force released its first report, giving a recommendation of reparations, in the form of home buying assistance, free college tuition, and business grants. However, one of the many criticisms against the report recommendations was that no estimated monetary figure was attached. In early December, an estimate of $569 billion was provided by the state, leading to disbelief and the threat of lawsuits if the number holds. Later that month, compensation compensation and eligibility requirements were discussed.
However, since the beginning of the year, many parts of the Task Force’s actions have been scrutinized. The question of compensation has in particular been trounced by the media, as well as residents, with so many opposing the $800 billion compensation plan approved by the Task Force in May that Task Force members came out and said “STOP focusing on the monetary part of the plan.” A more recent figure of $1.2 million given to each black resident has been similarly scrutinized.
It was so much that Governor Newsom said that he would not support cash payments, both due to the large cost and the massive $22.5 billion budget deficit that the state is facing. Also not working in the Task Force’s favor is an overall lack of support, as a poll earlier this month found that only 39% of voters support the Task Force. Despite waning popularity, the Task Force kept most of their previously floated recommendations, releasing the final report on Thursday.
The List of Recommendations
According to the final report, the Task Force recommends the following:
General Structural Policy Recommendations:
- Mandate Effective Racial Impact Analyses
- Create and Fund the California American Freedman
Affairs Agency - Repeal Proposition 209
- Require Agency Transparency
- Make Legislative Findings that Build Legislative Records
that Reflect the Historic and Present State of Pervasive
Structural Barriers and Discrimination Against African
Americans and Support Reparative Enactments - Transmit the AB 3121 Task Force Report to the President
of the United States and the United States Congress
Policies Addressing Enslavement:
- Enact a Resolution Affirming the State’s Protection of
Descendants of Enslaved People and Guaranteeing
Protection of the Civil, Political, and Socio-Cultural
Rights of Descendants of Enslaved People - Amend the California Constitution to Prohibit
Involuntary Servitude - Require Payment of Fair Market Value for Labor
Provided by Incarcerated Persons (Whether in Jail
or Prison) - Emphasize the “Rehabilitation” in the California
Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) - Abolish the Death Penalty
- Prohibit Private Prisons from Benefiting from
Contracts with CDCR to Provide Reentry Services to
Incarcerated or Paroled Individuals
Policies Addressing Racist Terror:
- Advance the Study of the Intergenerational, Direct,
and Indirect Impacts of Racism - Establish and Fund Community Wellness Centers in
African American Communities - Fund Research to Study the Mental Health Issues
Within California’s African American Youth
Population, and Address Rising Suicide Rates Among
African American Youth - Expand the Membership of the Mental Health
Services Oversight and Accountability Commission
to Include an Expert in Reducing Disparities in
Mental Health Care Access and Treatment - Fund Community-Driven Solutions to Decrease
Community Violence at the Family, School, and
Neighborhood Levels in African American Communities - Address and Remedy Discrimination Against African
American LGBTQ+ Youth and Adults, Reduce
Economic Disparities for the African American
LGBTQ+ Population, and Reduce Disparities in
Mental Health and Health Care Outcomes for
African American LGBTQ+ Youth and Adults - Implement Procedures to Address the Over-Diagnosis
of Emotional Disturbance Disorders, Including
Conduct Disorder, in African American Children - Disrupt the Mental Health Crisis and County Jail
Cycle in African American Communities - Create and Fund Equivalents to the UC-PRIME-LEADABC Program for Psychologists, Licensed Professional
Counselors, and Licensed Professional Therapists - Eliminate Legal Protections for Peace Offcers Who
Violate Civil or Constitutional Rights - Recommend Abolition of the Qualifed Immunity
Doctrine to Allow Access to Justice for Victims of
Police Violence - Assess and Remedy Racially Biased Treatment of African
American Adults and Juveniles in Custody in County
Jails, State Prisons, Juvenile Halls, and Youth Camps
Policies Affecting Political Disenfranchisement:
- Require District-Based Voting and Independent
Redistricting Commissions to Safeguard Against the
Dilution of the African American Voting Bloc - Increase Funding to Support the California
Department of Justice’s Enforcement of Voting
Rights in California - Enact Legislation Aligning with the Objectives of
AB 2576 and Establish Separate Funding to Support
Educational and Civic Engagement Activities - Provide Funding to NGOs Whose Work Focuses on
Increasing Civic Engagement Among African Americans - Declare Election Day a Paid State Holiday and Provide
Support to Essential Workers to Increase Access to
the Polls - Remove the Barrier of Proving Identity to Vote
- Increase Jury Participation of Persons with Felony
Convictions and Discourage Judges and Attorneys
from Excluding Potential Jurors Solely for Having a
Prior Felony Conviction - Increase Efforts to Restore the Voting Rights of
Formerly and Currently Incarcerated Persons
and Provide Access to Those Who
Housing Segregation and Unjust Property Takings:
- Enact Policies Overhauling the Housing
Industrial Complex - Collect Data on Housing Discrimination
- Provide Anti-Racism Training to Workers in the
Housing Field - Expand Grant Funding to Community-Based
Organizations to Increase Home Ownership - Provide Property Tax Relief to African Americans,
Especially Descendants, Living in Formerly Redlined
Neighborhoods, Who Purchase or Construct a
New Home - Provide Direct Financial Assistance to Increase Home
Ownership Among African Americans, Especially
Descendants, Through Shared Appreciation Loans
and Subsidized Down Payments, Mortgages, and
Homeowner’s Insurance - Require State Review and Approval of All Residential
Land Use Ordinances Enacted by Historically and
Currently Segregated Cities and Counties - Repeal Crime-Free Housing Policies
- Increase Affordable Housing for African
American Californians - Provide Restitution for Racially Motivated Takings
- Provide a Right to Return for Displaced African
American Californians
Separate and Unequal Education:
- Increase Funding to Schools to Address Racial Disparities
- Fund Grants to Local Educational Agencies to Address
the COVID-19 Pandemic’s Impacts on Preexisting
Racial Disparities in Education - Implement Systematic Review of School Discipline Data
- Improve Access to Educational Opportunities for All
Incarcerated People - Adopt Mandatory Curriculum for Teacher
Credentialing and Trainings for School Personnel
and Grants for Teachers - Employ Proven Strategies to Recruit African
American Teachers - Require that Curriculum at All Levels Be Inclusive
and Free of Bias - Advance the Timeline for Ethnic Studies Classes
- Adopt a K-12 Black Studies Curriculum
- Adopt the Freedom School Summer Program
- Reduce Racial Disparities in the STEM Fields for
African American Students - Expand Access to Career Technical Education
for Descendants - Improve Access to Public Schools
- Fund Free Tuition to California Public Colleges
and Universities - Eliminate Standardized Testing for Admission to
Graduate Programs in the University of California
and California State University Systems - Identify and Eliminate Racial Bias and Discrimination
in Statewide K-12 Profciency Assessments
Racism in Environment and Infrastructure:
- Increase Greenspace Access and Recreation
Opportunities in African American Communities - Test for and Eliminate Toxicity in
Descendant Communities - Increase Trees in Redlined and
Descendant Communities - Develop Climate Resilience Hubs in Redlined and
Descendant Communities - Remove Lead in Drinking Water
- Prevent Highway Expansion and Mitigate
Transportation Pollution - Address Food Injustice
Pathologizing the African American Family:
- Reduce and Seek to Eliminate Racial Disparities in the
Removal of African American Children from Their
Homes and Families - Reduce the Placement of African American Children
in Foster Care and Increase Kinship Placements for
African American Children - Establish and Fund Early Intervention Programs that
Address Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) Within the
African American Community - Eliminate Interest on Past-Due Child Support and
Eliminate Back Child Support Debt - Eliminate or Reduce Charges for Phone Calls
from Detention Facilities Located Within the State
of California - Address Disproportionate Homelessness Among
African American Californians - Address Disparities and Discrimination Associated
with Substance Use Recovery Services - End the Under-Protection of African American
Women and Girls
Control Over Creative, Cultural, And Intellectual Life:
- Provide State Funding to African Americans to
Address Disparity in Compensation Among Athletes
in the University of California and State System and
Funding to Support African American Athletes in
Capitalizing on their Name, Image, and Likeness and
Intellectual Property - Prohibit Discrimination Based on Natural and
Protective Hair Styles in All Competitive Sports - Identify and Remove Monuments, Plaques, State
Markers, and Memorials Memorializing and
Preserving Confederate Culture; Erect Monuments,
Plaques, and Memorials Memorializing and
Preserving the Reconstruction Era and the African
American Community - Provide Funding to the Proposed California American
Freedmen Affairs Agency, Specifically for Creative,
Cultural, and Intellectual Life - Eliminate the California Department of Corrections
and Rehabilitation’s Practice of Banning Books
Stolen Labor And Hindered Opportunities:
- Create Greater Transparency in
Gubernatorial Appointments - Provide Guaranteed Income Program for Descendants
- Eliminate Barriers to Licensure for People with
Criminal Records - Transform the Minimum Wage Back into a Living Wage
- Advance Pay Equity Through Employment Transparency
and Equity in Hiring and Promotion - Create and Fund Professional Career Training
- Create or Fund Apprenticeship Grant Programs
- Fund African American Businesses
- Fund African American Banks
The Unjust Legal System:
- Allocate Funds to Remedy Harms and
Promote Opportunity - Eliminate Barriers for African American Prospective
Attorneys by Funding Legal Education and Ending
Discriminatory Gatekeeping at the State Bar - Prohibit Cash Bail and Mandate that Those Who Are
Acquitted or Exonerated be Reimbursed by the Entity
or Entities at Fault - Enact Enforceable Legislation with Penalties that
Dismantles the School to Prison Pipeline and
Decriminalizes the Youth Justice System - Amend the Penal Code to Clarify and Confirm
Decriminalization of Transit and Other Public
Disorder Offenses - Amend the Penal Code to Shift Public Disorder
Infractions and Low-Level Crimes Outside of Law
Enforcement Jurisdiction - Prohibit Pretextual Traffic and Pedestrian Stops,
Probation Inquiries, and Consent-Only Searches - Mandate Policies and Training on Bias-Free Policing
- Enact Legislation that Requires the Department
of Justice to Promulgate Model Law Enforcement
Policies Designed to Prevent Racial Disparities
in Policing - Repeal Three Strikes Sentencing
- Abolish the Death Penalty
- Strengthen and Expand the Racial Justice Act
- Assess and Remedy Racially Biased Treatment of
African American Adults and Juveniles in Custody
in County Jails, State Prisons, Juvenile Halls, and
Youth Camps - Accelerate Scheduled Closures of Identified
California State Prisons and Close Ten Prisons Over
the Next Five Years, with Financial Savings Redirected
to the California American Freedmen Affairs Agency - Require Payment of Fair Market Value for Labor
Provided by Incarcerated Persons - Emphasize the “Rehabilitation” in the California Department of
Corrections and Rehabilitation - Prohibit Private Prisons from
Benefting from Contracts with
CDCR to Provide Reentry Services to Incarcerated or
Paroled Individuals - Increase Efforts to Restore the Voting Rights of
Formerly and Currently Incarcerated Persons
and Provide Access to Those Who Are Currently
Incarcerated and Eligible to Vote - Eliminate Legal Protections for Peace Officers Who
Violate Civil or Constitutional Rights - Recommend Abolition of the Qualified Immunity
Doctrine to Allow Victims of Police Violence
Access to Justice - End the Under-Protection of African American
Women and Girls
Mental Physical Harm And Neglect:
- Address Health Inequities Among African American
Californians by Funding the California Health Equity
and Racial Justice Fund - Improve Health Insurance Coverage
- Evaluate the Effcacy of Health Care Laws, Including
Recent Enactments - Address Anti-Black Discrimination in Health Care
- Mandate Standardized Data Collection
- Provide Medical Social Workers/Health Care Advocates
- Improve Diversity Among Clinical Trial Participants
- Remedy the Higher Rates of Injury and Death Among
African American Mothers and Infants - Fund Community Wellness Centers in African
American Communities - Fund Research to Study the Mental Health Issues
Within California’s African American Youth Population,
and Address Rising Suicide Rates Among African
American Youth - Meet the Health Needs of African American Elders
- Remedy Disparities in Oral Health Care
- Address Disparities and Discrimination Associated
with Substance Use Recovery Services - Fix Racially Biased Algorithms and Medical Artifcial
Intelligence in Health Care - Fund and Expand the UC PRIME-LEAD-ABC Program
to be Available at All UC Medical Campuses - Create and Fund Equivalents to the UC-PRIME-LEADABC Program for Psychologists, Licensed Professional
Counselors, and Licensed Professional Therapists - Permanently Fund the California Medicine Scholars
Program and Create and Fund Equivalent Pathway
Programs for Students in the CSU and UC Systems - Review and Prevent Racially Biased Disciplinary
Practices by the Medical Board of California - Address Food Injustice
- Increase Greenspace Access and
Recreation Opportunities in African American Communities - Test for and Eliminate Toxicity in Descendant
Communities - Increase Trees in Redlined and Descendant
Communities - Develop Climate Resilience Hubs in Redlined and
Descendant Communities - Remove Lead in Drinking Water
- Prevent Highway Expansion and Mitigate
Transportation Pollution
The Wealth Gap:
- Fund and Conduct a Study to Calculate the Overall
Racial Wealth Gap in California - Encourage the Federal Government to Use the National
Racial Wealth Gap to Determine Federal-Level Reparations
In addition, while monetary compensation is also recommended, it did not give any recommended amounts, largely due to the continued backlash that the Task Force has received over compensation proposals that had reached over $800 billion in the past few years.
The Final Report
Task Force members defended their final report on Thursday, noting that California needs to address these issues now, before they “get worse.”
“We’re putting before the legislators in California the challenge to come up with a feasible way to address these issues over the years,” said Task Force member Don Tamaki on Thursday. “To ignore them is to just invite not only the harm to continue, but to grow worse. We need to start this process. These are harms that were literally centuries in the making. So the repairs have to be long in the implementation.”
Others also addressed the issue of compensation, with Task Force Chairwoman Kamilah Moore adding that “Overall, what we said is we believe there should be compensation, elders should be prioritized and it should be in installments.”
However, most recommendations were not received well by legal experts and members of the general public who questioned if most could be implemented due to various issues, and the open question of compensation.
“This is an embarrassing, patronizing, slapdash, and offensive list of recommendations,” explained Legal adviser Richard Weaver to the Globe on Thursday. “First of all, they didn’t even bother to spellcheck it, as it is riddled with typos, misspellings, and errors. The most important thing these members have ever done, and they couldn’t be bothered to run spellcheck. If they cared so much about this, they would have put more care into it.”
“A lot of these recommendations California is currently working on, so their inclusion here is meaningless. Others are now pretty much illegal, like the repeal of Prop 209 since that was solidified into federal law on Thursday. And still others are not a matter for the legislature to decide, but rather voters, the court system, or other means. Some are even repeated numerous times, like abolishing the death penalty.”
“There are some good ideas in here. Addressing food injustice, for example, like solving food deserts, is a major issue, but one that also affects more than just African Americans. Issuing an apology for past injustices is also fine. But, again, a lot we are already doing here. Like NCAA athlete compensation. That has been on the books in California for awhile now. There was no reason to put it in here. And then there are others that are just political minefields, like not requiring ID to vote.”
“What is going to happen is that the ones ultimately put into a bill are the zero or low cost things listed here, along with the recommendations that California has either done or has already been working on. A lot of the other ideas, well, there is just no way no sane members of the legislature will try.”
“If the Task Force’s goal was try to get legislation passed or help convince the public to bring about some of the more controversial ideas here, they went the wrong way with this report. I wouldn’t be surprised if no bill comes up as a result of this. This was not something to feel proud about.”
It is currently unknown what, if any, bills will be written as a direct result of the report in the next session.
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The Democrat party promoted slavery, segregation, discrimination, Jim Crow laws, lynchings, KKK, etc. It’s time that California Reparations Task Force members got off the Democrat’s plantation and start holding their Democrat masters accountable?
My dog’s wet bowel movement smells better than this mess.
Leave it to our leaders to ignite a race war then get termed out and move to Texas where they have laws and equal justice.
The reparations task force using our tax dollars came up with this crap? If any member of our Legislature supports this they need to be replaced at the ballot box. Stop voting for Democraps!
There’s a basic scientific principal: “correlation is not causation.” What that means is that, while it may well be true that blacks own fewer homes and have more medical issues, there’s no proof whatsoever that these problems were caused by “racism,” much less by slavery. Any social scientist will tell you that there are many factors that contribute to social problems, and blacks are not the only group who suffers from them. The entire reparations argument starts from a presumption that slavery has caused all these social problems, but that is actually what needs to be proven first — before a penny of reparations is even considered.
California was not a slave state and my ancestors were not slave owners, nor was I or any of the Black people who are currently alive were alive during the slave era. I strongly oppose my tax dollars going to any of this. Enough is enough- it is just really sad that there are so many voters in CA that approve of this state legislature.
If they want to give cash out to any individuals, I think the cash should come out of the pay of the elected officials of this state, for what they do they are well overpaid.