A number of African-Americans could see reparations for slavery after the California Senate gave green light to the task force that has been deployed with the intention to study the matter and come up with suggestions for compensations.
As the state Senate ruled in a 33-3 vote on Saturday, a commission consisting of nine members would be deployed to address the topic of racial injustice and come up with reparations for slavery.
While the bill still has to pass the Assembly, it is believed that it will not be opposed due to the majority of members already showing their support for the bill’s earlier version.
Although the state of California was officially free of slavery prior to the Civil War, Senator Holly Mitchell claimed that slavery across the nation “birthed a legacy of racial harm and inequity that continues to impact the conditions of Black life in California.” Mitchell also spoke out about the steps that were taken at the time to allegedly repress Black people through legal means.
As the senator argued, racial injustice nowadays shows in disproportionate academic performance, homelessness, and unemployment among other factors.
If the bill passes, the commission will be formed and start their assemblies by June next year. They will be asked to come up with a concrete plan on how reparations will be carried out, who will be eligible, and what the reparations will include.
“If the 40 acres and a mule that was promised to free slaves were delivered to the descendants of those slaves today, we would all be billionaires,” Gardena-based Senator Steven Bradford, who supported the proposal, expressed.
“I hear far too many people say, ‘Well, I didn’t own slaves, that was so long ago.’ Well, you inherit wealth – you can inherit the debt that you owe to African-Americans.”
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Replaced!