The absurdity of Reparations in California

As many of you probably know by now, the state of California is considering paying reparations to Black Californians for “the enduring economics effects of racism and slavery.” The news comes from a task force created by Governor Gavin Newsome in 2020, which, has spent the past few years studying the effects of racism against Blacks in the golden state. Specifically, they have studied: housing discrimination, mass incarceration, unjust property seizures, devaluation of Black businesses, health care and loss of property/land via eminent domain.

According to the Governor’s task force, those eligible would be “descendants of enslaved African Americans” or “of a free Black person living in the United States prior to the end of the 19th century." Proof would be required, the terms of which are being still being debated.

As of this writing, the payouts considered would total $569 billion dollars, or about $223k per person, although it is estimated that the final number could be much higher - that will be decided sometime next year.

According to Wikipedia, CA is estimated to have 2 million Black residents whom are descendants of slavery. Ultimately, the legislators and Governor will make the decision based on the task force’s recommendations.

Recently, the task force held a meeting in Oakland and allowed public comment. They were met with demands for even more money as well as land for compensation - some 15-20 acres each. One person demanded as much as $800,000 per person and, according to some reports, said that if demands were not met things could get “ugly.”

Obviously, this is not the first time a discussion around reputations for Black Americans has come up. It seems to get recycled every election year and like clockwork, it always spurns a fiery debate.

What’s different this time around is that it is being discussed in a single state, as opposed to nationwide, and a state that has a unique history when it comes to racism, discrimination, slavery and lad theft.

Now, while this is all well and fine for discussion, as it forces people to consider and think about AmeriKKKan history in particular, this particular discussion annoys me for a few key reasons, which I will get into.