Just this week the state Assembly passed legislation via a bipartisan, 60 – 14 vote, to establish a task force to study and develop reparation proposals for African-Americans. The bill is AB 3121, as introduced by Assembly Member Shirley Weber (D-San Diego).
The bill would require the task force to, among other things, identify, compile and synthesize the relevant corpus of evidentiary documentation of the institution of slavery that existed within the United States.
It would also require the task force to recommend, among other things, the form of compensation that should be awarded, the instrumentalities through which it should be awarded and who should be eligible for this compensation.
The bill would require the task force to submit a written report of its findings and recommendations to the legislature.
“The discriminatory practices of the past echo into the everyday lives of today’s Californians… We seem to recognize that justice requires that those who have been treated unjustly need the means to make themselves whole again,” said Weber.
If the bill passes the Senate and is signed by the Gov. Gavin Newsom, California would become the first state in the union to create an official task force to study the issue.
