The California Reparations Task Force kicked off today, June 1st, 2021! Ms. Kamilah V. Moore was elected Chair and Dr. Amos Brown will serve as the Vice-Chair.
Former State Assemblymember and Current State Secretary of State Dr. Shirley Weber ushered Assembly Bill 3121 (AB 3121) through the California Legislature resulting in the enactment of a task force responsible for developing a reparations proposal for African Americans and to study the institution of slavery and the effects the legacy of enslavement has on African Americans. The members of the Task Force include Dr. Jovan Scott Lewis, Don Tamaki, Senator Steven Bradford, Dr. Amos Brown, Dr. Cheryl Grills, Lisa Holder, Kamilah V. Moore, Assemblymember Jones-Sawyer, Dr. Jovan Scott Lewis, City Councilwoman Monica Montgomery Steepe, Don Tamaki. Written comments and questions can be submitted to ReparationsTaskforce@doj.ca.
Community Health Councils participated in the June 1st meeting and provided verbal comments. You can read the comments below.
“Dr. Amos Brown quoted Nike, in saying that we need to ‘Just Do It’. Reparations are not just about restorative justice for the direct descendants of slavery. Advancing Reparations is about repairing the ongoing harm that is being experienced by black families and children as a result of historic, systemic racism. Reparations are about dismantling racist systems that actively and daily oppress, imprison, murder, and literally destroy the hopes and aspirations of all black peoples in this state and country. Reparations are about acknowledging the fact that capitalism, neoliberal or otherwise, will never work for black people because we have never owned the means of production, because we are the means of production and our bodies have not been our own. Reparations are not welfare, they are justice in the midst of ongoing injustice. Reparations are representative of our collective struggle towards a more compassionate and equitable society. I applaud my state in taking this step and I look forward to actively working to educate and mobilize other Californians in advancing reparations as a symbol to other states, that we can and will stamp out the vestiges of slavery here and across the country. Thank you.”
– Michelle Burton, Director, Social Change Institute.
Russia Chavis, MPP
Vice President, Policy and Government Affairs
Community Health Councils
Screen shot from the task force taking the oath of office (Twitter).