One member of the California Compensation Task Force is frustrated that the headlines have been dominated by the $800 billion figure he is expected to recommend.
The actual amount the state pays to black residents, said Cheryl Grylls, a member of the task force, is the “least critical” aspect of the program, which is ultimately about finding out how the harm is done.
The latest proposals call for a payment of more than $400,000 to each of the state’s 1.8 million residents, which would total about $800 billion — more than double California’s roughly $300 billion annual budget.
In 2020, California became the first state to form a Compensation Task Force, which is still in the process of finalizing the payment of the amount it will recommend that it be paid.
The task force is due to release a final report outlining the proposed reward on July 1, after nearly three years of research and deliberation. Once submitted, the proposal will be considered by state legislators.
Task force member Cheryl Grylls said the actual amount paid by the state was the “least important” aspect of the program.
The task force is scheduled to release a final report outlining the proposed reward on July 1. Then state legislators will consider the proposal
The point of confusion in the discourse on reparations was whether the amount recommended by the task force would be a literal proposal to the legislature or rather a broader estimate of the losses suffered by blacks from decades of inequality.
“We want to make sure that this is presented in a way that doesn’t promote preoccupation with the dollar number, which is the least important part of this,” said Cheryl Grylls, a member of the government task force. CalMatters.
It’s important, but it’s the least important in terms of being able to get to a point in our country’s history and in California’s history where we realize that the damage cuts across multiple regions and domains and that repair has to go along with that.
It’s really unfortunate. I am really sad to see that our news media is not able to improve on nuances. She said it was like ‘what’s going to be exciting’ versus what’s important’.
The task force has produced thousands of pages of reports outlining needs for reparations, including mass incarceration, unfair property forfeiture, devaluation of black businesses and inequities in health care.
But during a task force meeting last month, Sen. Stephen Bradford said it would be an “uphill battle” to get the legislature to pass any recommendations, CalMatters reported.
Assemblyman Reggie Jones Sawyer (left), who also sits on the panel, said the recommendation for a letter of apology from the state of California is one of the most important. Pictured is State Senator Stephen Bradford, right
The task force has produced thousands of pages of reports outlining causes for damages, including mass incarceration, unfair property forfeiture, devaluation of black businesses and inequities in health care.
Kamila Moore, chair of the committee, said the compensation component of the recommendation was largely done. Copies of the interim report issued by the task force last year
One of the association’s members, David Alvarez, told the publication that he supported the task force’s work in shaping its recommendations, but would not comment on the raw numbers that were distributed.
“I appreciate the work done by the Reparations Task Force,” he said.
The staff is led by respected members of the African American community who have taken the time to study and discuss these historical relics over the past two years.
“Once the working group has concluded their meetings and issued a final report with recommendations, I will review the full findings.”
The task force is currently examining two methods by which beneficiaries are created.
Either it will recommend that a standard sum be delivered to all descendants of American slaves residing in California or the compensation will be distributed based on specific individual losses, such as imprisonment or housing discrimination.
said Camilla Moore, chair of the committee KCRAIt is now up to the state legislature to determine the dollar amount, based on the methodology recommended by economists and approved by the task force.
The staff is pretty much done with respect to the compensation component. Our task was to create a methodology for calculating different forms of compensation that was consistent with our findings.
Assemblyman Reggie Jones Sawyer, who also sits on the panel, told CalMatters that the crucial recommendation is to issue a letter of apology, and that “doesn’t cost a dime.” “I think one is just as important as the others,” he said.
