The controversial California Reparations Task Force has called on the state legislature to end the child support debt owed by black residents, alleging that the nation’s laws have stunted their growth and separated African-American families.
The task force released its final report last week that presented a series of calculations that could amount to hundreds of billions of dollars in payments.
The 1,100-page document revealed that the state’s black residents make up a larger percentage of those who owe child support debts than their share of the state’s population.
The task force alleged that the “discriminatory” laws “have torn apart African-American families” and that one of its effects is the “harms” caused by “the disproportionate number of African-Americans who are saddled with child support debt.”
The report claims that the 10 percent interest the state charges for back child support has prevented black residents from finding employment, maintaining a home and continuing their education due to the legal consequences of not paying such debt.
Morris Griffin, from Los Angeles, speaks during the public comment portion of the Remedies Task Force meeting in Sacramento, California
Long-time resident Walter Foster, 80, holds a sign as the Repair Task Force meets to hear public input on repairs at the California Science Center in Los Angeles.
State Senator Steven Bradford, Secretary of State Shirley Weber, task force member Lisa Holder, and Assemblyman Reggie Jones-Sawyer hold a final report from the California Task Force to Study and Develop Remedies Proposals for African Americans during a hearing in Sacramento, California on Thursday.
‘The Task Force recommends that the Legislature enact legislation to cancel all accrued interest on past-due child support, requiring only payment of the principal due,’ according to the report.
“At a minimum, the proposition recommends that the Legislature eliminate the potential accrual of interest on child support debt for low-income parents,” the report says.
‘The Task Force further recommends that the Legislature amend Family Code section 17560, the ‘offers in compromise’ provision, to allow offers in compromise and forgiveness of child support debt based solely on financial circumstances ( sic) of the parents and the ability to pay,’ he added.
The report is the culmination of two years of investigation by the task force into what it says is the historic discrimination faced by black Californians and their ancestors in the state.
He also offers a broad description of the ways in which he accuses the state of wronging the descendants of black slaves.
The state legislature will now determine which aspects of the report, including monetary compensation for black residents, it will approve or reject.
The report is the culmination of two years of investigation by the task force into what it says is the historic discrimination faced by black Californians and their ancestors in the state.
Kamilah Moore (pictured), an intellectual property and entertainment lawyer who led the task force, called the past two years a whirlwind
The Remedies Task Force meeting takes place on May 6, 2023, in Oakland, where Assembly Bill 3121 was discussed
The landmark report, which has taken two years to produce, was presented to state lawmakers after a heated meeting in Sacramento where task force members called the document a “truth book.”
But the report will stir further controversy among opponents of reparations, after it repeated dazzling estimates about the cash value of the inequalities blacks face in California.
A 1,200-page executive summary of the report said the “mass incarceration and over-policing of African Americans” was equal to $228 billion.
The group did not put a general figure on reparations in the document, but previously touted up to $800 billion to be given to blacks.
Lisa Holder, a civil rights attorney and member of the task force, called the report a “truth book” that “will be a legacy, will be a testimonial to the whole story.”
“Anyone who says that we are color blind, that we have solved the problem of racism against black people, I challenge you to read this document,” he said.
Kamilah Moore, an intellectual property and entertainment attorney who led the task force, called the past two years a whirlwind.
“It’s been very intensive work, but also very cathartic and very emotional,” he said. “We are standing in the shoes of our ancestors to finish, essentially, this sacred project.”
The reparations task force was established by California Gov. Gavin Newsom following the 2020 killing of George Floyd. Newsom and state lawmakers must approve the report before reparations can be paid.
In all, the panel proposed more than 100 policies and also called for a formal apology for “the perpetration of gross human rights violations and crimes against humanity against African slaves and their descendants.”
The state reparations panel is the first of its kind in the United States. But his recommendations are far from becoming reality.
State legislators and Governor Gavin Newsom must agree to the payment of any money or the adoption of any policy changes.
The California panel did not recommend a fixed dollar amount for financial reparation, but endorsed controversial economic methodologies for calculating what is owed for decades of excessive policing, disproportionate incarceration and housing discrimination.
Initial calculations pegged California’s potential cost at more than $800 billion, more than 2.5 times the state’s annual budget.
The estimated cost was lowered to $500 billion in a later report, though no explanation was given for the change.
The panel has recommended prioritizing the elderly for financial compensation.
Economists recommended nearly $1 million for a 71-year-old black person who lived his entire life in California, or $13,600 per year, for health disparities that shorten life spans.
Black people subjected to aggressive surveillance and prosecution in the ‘war on drugs’ from 1971 to 2020 could each receive $115,000 if they lived in California during that period, or more than $2,300 per year, according to estimates.
More than 200 people gathered at the meeting in Sacramento, with an overflow crowd outside the room. Inside, many stood at one point and began a call and response demanding action.
‘What we want?’ someone yelled. “Reparations,” the crowd responded.
‘When do we want them?’ she asked. ‘Now!’
The nine-member reparations panel met in June 2021, a year after Newsom signed the legislation creating the group. Newsom and legislative leaders chose the members, including lawyers, educators, elected officials and civil rights leaders who are descendants of enslaved people.
Federal repair efforts have stalled for decades, but cities, counties, school districts and universities have taken up the cause.
An advisory group in San Francisco recommended that qualifying black adults receive a lump sum of $5 million, guaranteed annual income of at least $97,000 and personal debt forgiveness.
San Francisco supervisors are supposed to accept the proposals later this year. But he’s currently battling a separate set of problems, including an exodus of businesses downtown amid crime, homelessness and drug abuse.
New York could soon follow California by creating a commission to examine the state’s involvement in slavery and consider addressing the current economic and educational disparities blacks experience.
