The first area of ​​reparations they are considering is compensation. It is a direct payment to people who are descendants of people who were enslaved in the United States and now live in California. We don’t know the exact number of how many people will receive this money or how much it will be, but they are still working on it. is to create a new government agency called the Freedmen’s Affairs Bureau, which may process payments for

The other form of compensation they are primarily looking at is a way to stop the damage from progressing, and the way they want to be is to change national policy. is under consideration. One is to repeal or amend Proposition 209. This is a California law that prohibits policies that benefit or discriminate against certain racial groups. Originally passed in 1996 and reaffirmed by voters in 2020. Task Force member Donald Tamaki said at Saturday’s meeting that the simple Proposition 209 presents would be to address racial inequality. Presenting a contradiction, he said, “Obviously this was created by hate…and racism, and now we can’t think of race to solve it.”

This weekend, the task force has been discussing how to turn that recommendation into law.

Each recommendation made by the task force must be taken up by an individual member of parliament. Some recommendations can be quite extensive, so legislators will need to narrow down their proposals and work out details that the task force couldn’t reach. need to do it. [state] The legislature makes sure that the reparations plan becomes a reality for the people.

Task force member Reverend Amos Brown stressed at yesterday’s meeting that there is still a long way to go with these recommendations. He said, “We still have miles to go, and before I go to sleep, I promise I will keep my promises. If anything becomes a reality, and a meaningful and important change in the lives of black people in California.” to bring about”.

I think it will take a significant amount of public support to pass these bills. What is the Task Force doing to encourage public support for their recommendations?

One of the big things they’re doing is working on public education programs. It means collecting all the information that was contained in that report and making sure that the people of California actually know their history, and his one way they do it is this Trying to develop a curriculum that incorporates information into schools. They also talked about creating a grants program to support documentaries and public art projects. But all that hasn’t happened yet.

One of the big things that came out of the public comments during the meetings yesterday and today is the lack of real public awareness of what the Task Force is doing.

A public commenter who identified himself as John Mudd this morning addressed the sentiment: Ultimately, the passage of these recommendations will depend on whether Californians support them. Many people want to assure people that task forces exist, that they are aware of the work they are doing, and that they are participating in supporting these proposals as they move. I feel like I still have a lot of work to do to let you know. through parliament.

What’s next for this task force?

They plan to meet in person a few more times before the June deadline. Once in March, once in May, and he has a final meeting in June to finalize the recommendations.there is also invoice Now in the legislative branch to extend the task force’s work for another year. It doesn’t change the deadline. Final recommendations are still due to be submitted in June, but task force members are working together to give more time to guide these proposals through the state legislature and potentially into law. Become.

Annelise Finney, Rachael Vasquez, Beth LaBerge, and Attila Pelit of KQED contributed to this report.