George Floyd mural in Southern California. His death at the hands of a white police officer was one of the sparks that led to the creation of the panel. Photo: MediaNews Group RM Black Californians can receive up to $1.2 million (£950,000) each in decades of compensation. racial injustice.
Plans approved by the Governor's Reparations Task Force provide compensation for mass incarceration, housing inequality, and healthcare.
One estimate puts the plan at $500 billion, dwarfing California's annual budget of $296.9 billion at a time when the state's deficit is $22.5 billion.
The proposal was drafted by a nine-member panel created by California Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom, who is promised a run for the White House following the death of George Floyd, a black man whose murder was committed by a police officer. sparked nationwide protests in 2020.
The report must be submitted to the state legislature for final approval by July 1.
The report was commissioned by State Governor Gavin Newsom. Credit: AFP
California is the most advanced of several states in developing plans to compensate black Americans for past inequalities, including slavery.
Similar initiatives were developed by the Detroit City Council and Amherst in Massachusetts.
A Pew Research poll showed that 77% of black Americans and 18% of whites supported reparations.
California proposals drafted with the help of the group economists, were calculated in great detail.
For example, redline compensation, where banks denied mortgages to people living in black areas, is estimated at $3,366 a year.
This could mean that some black Californians get up to $148,099.< /p>
Compensation for excessive police work and mass incarceration as a result of the war on drugs is estimated at $2,352 a year, which means that an African American living in California from 1971 to 2020 should receive $115,260.
And based on life expectancy, the health disparity compensation is $13,619 per year of residence.
Based on a California life expectancy of 71 years, the total payout is $1.2 million.
Concerns. litigation by excluded people
About 2.5 million Californians, 6.5% of the state's total population, identify as black.
However, under the proposals, not everyone will necessarily be eligible for damages, and it is feared that the scheme could spark a wave of lawsuits from excluded blacks.
The task force said the scheme should be limited to those «determined that a person is an African American descendant of an enslaved chattel or a descendant of a free black person who lived in the United States prior to the late 19th century.»
This will reduce the number of people eligible for compensation to less than two million people.
It will require the creation of a «family branch» to view family trees to see who will claim this scheme if it is passed by California legislators.
The reimbursement may not be in cash and could be given in the form of housing vouchers and tuition grants, for example.
Not enough, public figures say
Barbara Lee, Democratic US Congresswoman, welcomed the plans: “This is a model for other states seeking redress, realistic ways to address the need for redress.”
But some residents who attended the meeting in Oakland where the plans were laid out called the scheme inadequate.
Reverend Tony Pierce said the US failed to deliver on its promise to offer every freed slave 40 acres and a mule.
“You know what that number is. You're trying to talk about the present, but you're researching slavery and don't say anything about slavery, nothing.
So the ambiguous figure from the 1860s for 40 acres to today is $200 million for each and every African American ”.
Elaine Brown, a former Black Panther activist, urged people to take to the streets to express their displeasure.
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