The historic reparations task force in California held its first meeting Tuesday (June 1), launching the study to determine what slavery reparations could look like for residents of the state. The nine-member task force is the first of its kind in the nation and was formed after the passage of Assembly Bill 3121, authored by Secretary of State Shirley Weber last year. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the bill into law and now the task force can begin its work.
“You’re here today not just to sit and answer to say was there harm, but your task is to determine the depth of the harm and the ways in which we are to repair that harm,” Weber said at the group’s inaugural meeting, the Los Angeles Times reported. “There has been enough research for the face that slavery still has an impact today.”
The group will work to determine what type of reparations are appropriate for California, who would be eligible to receive them, and more.
The members appointed to the task force are: Cheryl Grills, a clinical psychologist; Amos C. Brown, longtime pastor of Third Baptist Church of San Francisco; Lisa Holder, civil rights attorney; Donald Tamaki, a lawyer who argued in front of the Supreme Court; Jovan S. Lewis, associate professor of geography; State Sen. Steven Bradford; San Diego City Council member Monica Montgomery Steppe; Assemblyman Reggie Jones-Sawyer; and activist-lawyer Kamilah Moore who will serve as the chair of the task force.
The group will meet 10 times over the next two years, with a mandated report being due to the state Legislature next year.
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