California panel approves reparations proposal of up to $1.2 million EACH for black residents
Activists demand more than $200 million at heated public meeting
California’s reparations task force has approved recommendations which could give black residents $1.2million each as compensation for slavery and discrimination.
The nine-member committee voted Saturday to approve proposals on how the state can compensate and apologize for generations of harm caused by discriminatory policies.
A black resident in California who has lived in the state their whole life until the age of 71 could receive more than $1.2million in compensation, if the recommendations are forged into law.
But residents who attended the official meeting in Oakland hit out at the estimated costs of reparations, which some believe it is ‘nowhere near enough,’ demanding $200million direct cash payments to individuals instead.
California became the first state to form a reparations task force in September 2020 following national protests over the death of George Floyd who was killed by a white Minneapolis Police officer.
Its final report is to be sent to lawmakers before July 1 where it will forecast compensation estimates calculated by several economists the group is working with.
The amount these reparations would cost the state were not outlined in the report but previous calculations from economists predicted it could cost around $800billion- more than twice California’s approximate $300 billion annual budget.
