California became the first state in the nation to come up with a plan to address reparations for slavery and the lingering effects of anti-Black racism in the United States. What is the plan, why is it needed, and where do we go from here? Watch the ABC7 Originals documentary “California’s Case for Reparations.”
California made history in 2020 with the creation of the nation’s first state-level task force to study and develop reparations for the descendants of enslaved African Americans. The state made history again in 2023 with that task force releasing its monumental report outlining California’s anti-Black policies that extended beyond slavery and the more than 100 recommendations for making the community whole.
This Black History Month, California made history once more as the state legislature became the first in the nation to seriously consider reparations for the descendants of the enslaved.
The ABC7 Originals documentary: “California’s Case for Reparations” uplifts the stories of families who could be repaired by reparations, explores the groundbreaking work of the reparations task force, and examines the package of legislation being proposed and if there is the political will to pass it. The documentary also answers the question “Are reparations radical?” by revisiting the successful push for redress by Japanese Americans incarcerated during WWII.
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Meet the Reparations Task Force:
- Senator Steven Bradford
- Dr. Amos C. Brown
- Dr. Cheryl Grills
- Lisa Holder
- Assemblymember Reginald Jones-Sawyer
- Dr. Jovan Scott Lewis
- Kamilah Moore
- Councilmember Monica Montgomery Steppe
- Donald K. Tamaki
Source: ABC7
