Officials mull financial reparations for Black Californians, sparking discussions of racism and stereotyping

In a state measured to have the fourth largest economy in the world, California’s African American Reparation Task Force is moving closer to determining what eligible Black residents should be repaid for ancestry in slavery and centuries of discrimination — an effort that began last year and has continued into two formal meetings in Sacramento.

After the 2022 release of a nearly 500-page report detailing California's history and discrimination against African Americans — ranging from the 19th century to present-day — the force is suggesting the state would owe a total of almost $640 billion to 1.8 million Black Californians with an ancestor prior enslaved in the U.S. 

According to Orange County Register, this could be a key step toward California becoming the largest U.S. jurisdiction to pay out billions of dollars in reparations over the coming years.

In 2021, Evanston, Illinois became the first U.S. city to provide financial reparations to Black residents, which included housing grants in 2021 and subsequent years. In Evanston, qualifying residents must either have lived in or have been a direct descendant of a Black individual who lived in Evanston between 1919 to 1969 and suffered discrimination in housing because of city ordinances, policies or practices.

Today in California, the African American Reparation Task Force,  created by Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2020 following the death of George Floyd, is following in Evanston’s footsteps. The task force, consisting of civil rights leaders, policymakers, economists and scholars, was formed by California Assembly Bill 3121 authored by Secretary of State Shirley Weber. 

According to the 2022 historical report of discrimination, there are instances where, despite California’s status to have not permitted slavery, Black citizens were unlawfully enslaved and their properties were stolen and petitioned for resale.

The return of stolen property from Black ancestors to their descendants is one issue currently being addressed by Newsom’s task force. In a July 2022 win for repatriation advocates, Los Angeles County returned the deed to a prime beachfront property that had been forcibly taken from a Black couple a century ago, the descendants making almost $20 million from the resale of the property.

Alexis White, a 2021 Harvard University graduate and social justice entrepreneur, has led civil rights justice initiatives in Mississippi for Black communities. According to White, financial reparations in states like California are a logical and ethical policy toward justice. She said that in a capitalist country like the U.S., where money holds so much value, creating reparation systems is the “right thing to do” for Black Californians whose family land has been stolen.

“I think that (the financial compensation) is incredibly progressive, and I think that it is both logical and ethical,” White told The Panther. “I think that the most important thing about creating policies is that they are supposed to rectify the wrongs, or the initial sins of our country, making sure, again, that these policies are both logical and ethical.”

The two-day public meeting in Sacramento commenced on March 4 as a result of more than a year of the task force diving into California history to make the case for reparations — like the return of stolen property — for descendants of enslaved Californians. 

However, according to the CA Secretary of State Shirley Weber in a KCRA 3 interview, reparations will be hard to determine, noting that California's task force has yet to say who would pay these sums.

“After 400 years of depreciation and deprivation, it will take more than a moment to get to a point with a sense of fairness and parity,” Weber said in the March 2 interview.

According to White, reparations are a good solution on an economic level. However, White noted that social and current discrimination is still prevalent for Black individuals in the U.S.

“My question is, ‘What would a policy look like that can address policing or the white ‘gaze’?’” White said. “I don’t think that some of these social realities of discrimination are going to be able to be addressed through a policy alone.” 

For some Black university students, the issue of discrimination and racism affects their everyday lives. 

“Even if they give us money, what is going to be done to stop the constant discrimination and racism that we are facing on a day-to-day basis?” freshman political science major Aaliyah Hale told The Panther. “(Racism) was not only something that happened 100 years ago. It is something that is very very real right now, and people forget that.” 

Hale continued to speak about the discrimination that affects her on a day-to-day basis.

“If I am in the cafeteria, and I’ve had a long day, I look tired. I have noticed this happens a lot to me, where a white girl will come up to me and say ‘you look really pretty, but I didn’t want to say it because you look really mean,’” Hale said. “Three people have actually said that to me. They assume that I am the ‘angry Black woman’ just because I am tired. I have a right to be tired, just like every other human being on this earth.”

Cheyenne Hamilton, a sophomore political science major at Chapman, shared similar sentiments with the Panther. 

“Honestly, that is a lot of money they are about to hand out… do you know how many people still go through injustice and it is part of their daily life?” Hamilton said. “Me and my roommate just walked into a Stater Brothers, and the security guard followed us like we were going to steal everything that was on the shelf. That’s not the first time that has happened to me.” 

According to Hale, implementing the current issue of racism into college textbooks and federal reparations does not equate to the potential that more conversations surrounding diversity and inclusion could have on college campuses in and outside of classrooms.  

“I feel like (diversity and inclusion) needs to be talked about way more and more people should press the common issue of racism and discrimination,” Hale said. “Implementing it into textbooks isn’t even enough. We need to talk about it. The directors of diversity and inclusion (at Chapman) should come out with podcasts or have meetings in Memorial Lawn to talk about a very pressing issue in society today.”

According to Hamilton, although federal reparations are a step in the right direction, she wishes there was a quicker solution for present discrimination. She noted that the death of George Floyd — which sparked the California reparations — shed light on the actual incidences and raising awareness of them is part of the present-day solution. 

“I just wish there was a way where when incidents happen, they aren’t just mulled over,” Hamilton said. “In the news, the police officer (from the Floyd tragedy) was on paid leave, not unpaid leave. There are tons of incidents where police officers do the minimal crime and are set on unpaid leave, but then in this situation, he had paid leave. Why pay him? He killed an innocent person.”

According to Hale, it is difficult to be among Chapman’s population of Black students, noting that in many of her classes, she is often the only Black student.

“I shouldn’t feel like I am obligated to educate every single non-Black person that I encounter, which is quite often,” Hale said.

Hamilton brought to attention that although there are university efforts to be more inclusive, she is left feeling obligated to be “the face of diversity” at Chapman without any individual support from the institution itself.

In light of the financial reparations for Black California residents, university students and Orange County residents like Hale and Hamilton continue to bring to attention the need for more awareness of present-day struggles faced in addition to historical discrimination. 

“Actions speak louder than words, as many activists say,” Hamilton said. “Schools try to be more inclusive for Black students, but are you (the schools) advertising that you are trying to be more inclusive? Are you actively reaching out to all the students whether they feel like they are being discriminated against or not, (or) are you (just) reaching out and showing us programs and events that are offered?”