Foundational Black American News Update For 5/8/2023

California Reparations Task Force Recommends Payments for Qualifying Black Residents

 

The California Reparations Task Force suggested during a public meeting in Oakland, California, that the state should offer payments of up to $1.2 million to qualified Black residents and formally apologize to them. The task force, consisting of nine members, will send this recommendation to the state's legislators. 

Representative Barbara Lee, D-Calif., who attended the meeting, emphasized the moral justifiability of reparations and their potential to address long-standing racial disparities and inequalities.

Furthermore, the panel's recommendation provides specific payment breakdowns for various types of historical discrimination. For instance, Black residents who experienced redlining by banks would receive $3,366 each year they lived in California between the early 1930s and the late 1970s. The total payment for those living in the state during this period would be up to $148,099.

Here are two videos on the topic: 

 

 California Wasn't A Slave State! - Traci Andreas

Except nobody owes you a dime. You are not nor were you ever a slave and nobody alive today owned slaves. California was not a slave state. Get a damn job

— Traci Andreas (@TraciAndreas) May 8, 2023

 

 Or was it?

 Tariq Nasheed On California Not Being A Slave State

 1:37 : "In San Bernardino, which soon swelled to 3,000 people, the colony had at least 30 Black slaves, with Smith’s 14 slaves making him the largest slaveholder in the western United States." Benny Mason was one of those slaves ; according to David Allen (2020), "Born into slavery in 1818 in Georgia, Mason was acquired by a Mississippi farmer who, with a caravan of other Mormon converts, traveled to Salt Lake City, Utah, in 1848" (p. 1). 

1:42: Tariq Nasheed is correct on the second point; the American Civil Liberties Union Of California (ACLU) cited, " No black or mulatto person, or Indian, shall be allowed to give evidence in favor of or against a white man." (Dogmo Studios, Eliza Wee, @ewee, 2018b, 2019)

 The following quote gives further perspective on the housing situation:

"While the U.S. homeownership rate increased to 65.5% in 2021, the rate among Black Americans lags significantly (44%), has only increased 0.4% in the last 10 years and is nearly 29 percentage points less than White Americans (72.7%), representing the largest Black-White homeownership rate gap in a decade." (U.S. Homeownership up, But Black-White Gap Persists, 2023, para, 1).

The housing situation has not improved; the U.S. Census data showed: "The gap between White and Black homeownership rates is wider now than it was in 1960, when housing discrimination was rampant and legal, U.S. Census Bureau data shows. In 2022, 74.6% of White households owned their homes, compared with 45.3% of Black households — a gap of more than 29 points."

Find more statistics at Statista

 

 

Three Key Additional Points  

1. While California may not have been a slave state, it is not immune to the legacy of slavery and the ongoing effects of institutional racism. Despite being a "free state" during the Civil War, California still had discriminatory laws against Black Americans, including laws prohibiting them from owning property or testifying against white people in court. It was not until the Fair Housing Act of 1968 (54 years ago not slavery times) that black people began buying  property (Massey, 2015). 
   
2. The argument that California is not a slave state misses the point of reparations. Reparations are not just about compensating for the horrors of slavery but also about addressing the broader legacy of racial injustice that continues to impact Black Americans. This includes redlining, discrimination in housing and employment, and other forms of systemic oppression that have denied Black Americans the opportunity to build wealth and achieve true equality (Mapping Inequality, n.d.).
   
3. The fact that California was not a slave state does not absolve it of responsibility for its role in perpetuating racial injustice. Like every other state in the US, California has a long history of racism and discrimination against Black Americans. From discriminatory laws and policies to acts of violence and oppression, California has played a part in creating and maintaining racial inequality. Reparations are one way to acknowledge this history and move towards a more just and equitable future (Reparations Reports, n.d.).

Stay tuned for the upcoming reparations report, highlighting much more information.

References

Allen, D., & Gqlshare. (2020, August 30). Biddy Mason: 5 years a slave in San Bernardino, she became wealthy in DTLA. Daily Bulletin. https://www.dailybulletin.com/2020/08/30/biddy-mason-5-years-a-slave-in-san-bernardino-she-became-wealthy-in-dtla/

Dogmo Studios, Eliza Wee, @ewee. (2018, June 28). George Gordon - Gold Chains: The Hidden History of Slavery in California | ACLU NorCal. ACLU of Northern CA. https://www.aclunc.org/sites/goldchains/explore/george-gordon.html

Hagstrom, A. (2023, May 7). California reparations panel approves payments of up to $1.2 million to every Black resident. Fox News. https://www.foxnews.com/politics/california-reparations-panel-approves-payments-1-2-million-every-black-resident

U.S. Homeownership Up, but Black-White Gap Persists. (2023, March 2). www.nar.realtor. https://www.nar.realtor/newsroom/more-americans-own-their-homes-but-black-white-homeownership-rate-gap-is-biggest-in-a-decade-nar

Lisa Cabrera. (2023, May 8). California’s reparations panel approves final recommendations including payments and apology [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TH6yiVHh_sY

 

Mapping Inequality. (n.d.). https://dsl.richmond.edu/panorama/redlining/#loc=15/32.329/-90.197&city=jackson-ms

Reparations Reports. (n.d.). Ca.gov. https://oag.ca.gov/ab3121/reports

Massey D. S. (2015). The Legacy of the 1968 Fair Housing Act. Sociological forum (Randolph, N.J.), 30(Suppl 1), 571–588. https://doi.org/10.1111/socf.12178

Stanford Center on Poverty and Inequality. (2016, December 6). Segregation in the U.S.: Douglas Massey [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxICQqDPD4g

 Tariq Radio. (2023, May 6). Tariq Nasheed at the California Reparations Hearing in Oakland [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5oTdtZHy0uc