California Reparations Task Force Overview

JF Grad and Coalition team member Laurie Cotulla has focused on the California Reparations Task Force as a follow-up to completing the Faith and Racial Justice programs in 2022. She followed the proceedings and attended the in-person meeting and public hearing in Sacramento on March 3. She has shared her experience and summary of the Task Force meetings and process. We thank Laurie for her dedication and focus on this key issue as California works to address racial inequity and injustice.

By Laurie Cotulla

One question I had was why California was the first state to formally study the issue of reparations for decedents of African Americans subject to chattel slavery in the United States, when California entered the union as a “free state.” Following this subject over the past year has been an enlightening experience. I reviewed the preliminary report published in June of 2022, attended one of the in-person public hearings in early March of this year, listened to live streamed broadcasts of the additional public hearings in late March, and read the executive summary of the draft final report released at the end of April. 

Assembly Bill 3121 (AB 3121) introduced by Shirley Weber, (now the California Secretary of State) was passed in 2021 and signed by Governor Newsom in September 2021. The bill required the formation of a nine-member panel to study the case for and methodology for reparations for African Americans, with special consideration given to descendants of enslaved persons in the United States. Early in the Task Force deliberations, it was decided that only African American descendants of enslaved persons or descendants of African Americans living in the United States at the end of the nineteenth century would be eligible for reparations. The Task Force mandate required that a final report be submitted to the legislature by the end June 2023. 

Maureen Simmons, who wrote the text of AB 3121, discussed her background in studying reparation proposals, both here in the United States and in other countries. She emphasized her opinion that reparations should be for the benefit of descendants of persons subject to chattel slavery, that “lineage matters.” This sentiment was later echoed by many of the public commenters as well. Ms. Simmons also acknowledged that reparations will not end discrimination against African Americans, just as German reparations paid to Jewish people did not end antisemitism. The Task Force was encouraged to use this opportunity to set a standard and a model that could be used by other states and at the National level.

The Task Force heard testimony from the Economic Advisory panel experts and discussed time frames associated with five major harms:

1) Unjust property taking

2) Damage to Black businesses (1850 to 2020)

3) Health outcomes (1900 to 2020)

4) Housing discrimination (1933 to 1977 due to “red-lining”

5) Over incarceration and over policing (1970 to 2020 starting with the “war on drugs”). 

A second question was whether there would be a California residency requirement for reparations eligibility, and what definition would be used. There are several different criteria used in California to define “residency” and “domicile,” and further research and discussion would be required.

One of the proposals discussed in depth was the creation of a separate government agency responsible for implementation of the reparations proposals. Expert witnesses described the background rationale and need for this type of agency. The proposed California Freedman’s Affairs Agency (CFAA) would develop regulations, provide education, genealogy research assistance, and resolve eligibility disputes, among other functions. The formation of this type of entity was strongly endorsed by the Task Force, as was the recommendation that this be a government body, not a CBO (community-based organization) or an NGO (Non-government Organization). Reparation should appear as the responsibility of the government which caused the harm in the first place.

As is evident from this summary, there has been much time and effort put into the Task Force fact gathering and development of reparations proposals. It remains to be seen what the outcome will be, but it is clear that California is once more on the cutting edge of change.