A California committee was formed to determine the number of reparations that black people should receive for slavery and past discrimination. It determined that each California resident who is “Black” or “African American should be paid $223,000 per person for “housing discrimination.”
The cost of reparations for housing alone — which includes four causes that the committee will be considering — would exceed $569 billion. This is $40 billion more than the total state budget.
The committee also recognized mass imprisonment, unjust property seizure, and devaluation of Black businesses and healthcare as causes for reparations.
After the Democratic legislature approved its creation, the committee was established in 2020. The committee has until June 2023 in order to submit its recommendations.
Jovan Scott Lewis, a professor from the University of California, Berkeley and a member of a task force, stated to the New York Times that “We are looking into reparations on a scale that is the biggest since Reconstruction.”
The task force determined that Californians who are eligible for reparations would be those who were descendants of enslaved African Americans, or a “free Black person” living in the United States before the end of the 19th Century. This means that nearly 6.5 percent of Californians, or 2.5 million people, identify themselves as Black or African American. The task force is currently examining how reparations should be distributed. Some prefer tuition and housing grants, while others want cash payments.
This is the most important issue. How do you prove eligibility? What amount of “black blood” is required to get any cash? These are difficult issues to resolve fairly. However, no one on the commission cares about fairness. It’s a punitive form of “justice” that must be stopped before it can get started.
These are some of the suggested reparations in the draft proposal.
Calculate the value of the property that black Californians have lost due to ‘racial terror’ theft or destruction and then distribute it back.
All teachers must be required to complete anti-bias training.
Recruit black educators for K-12 schools
Scholarships for black high school graduates are available to help cover four years at an accredited school.
Compensation for individuals who were forced from their homes by the state, such as highway and park constructions
In order to invest in the environmental infrastructure, create funding
In black neighborhoods, ensure equal access to national resources and parks
Families who were not allowed to inherit if they were white were eligible for compensation
Compensation for those who were discriminated against and deprived of their rightful profits from artistic and creative, athletic, intellectual, and other endeavors
Raising the minimum wage in predominantly African industries such as agriculture and food is a good idea.
Increase the minimum wage for workers with experience
Establish a fund to support black-owned companies and remove licensure barriers that hurt black workers
People whose health is permanently damaged by anti-black healthcare should be compensated
The U.S. courts can handle claims for those who have suffered an injury related to racism. Why should we create a separate class for supplicants solely based on race?
Slavery was evil, and the blatant discrimination in the United States that was prevalent up until recently was a violation of the law. Discrimination exists, but how can it be eradicated? This question affects all of us, white, black, yellow, and red, as well as every other color. This is an American problem. It’s an American problem. The American solution is to work together and not create committees demanding that wealth and money be transferred to one race.
