I started seeing the word reparations.

Reparations Reparations, reparations Reparations.

I have unanimous consent that I may hear after be considered as the primary sponsor of HR40, the commission to study and develop reparation proposals for African Americans Act.

Okay, so you've heard the word reparations and you might be wondering, what does it mean?

Why are we talking about it?

Some define reparations as repairing past harms or atonement for sins or more curtly pay what you owe.

We are coming to get our check So let's get into it.

Why reparations?

Well, the descendants of formerly enslaved black people are still waiting for the restitution from the effects of chattel slavery which has touched every facet of black life in this country since 1619.

Even in the promised land of the West California Census records show that there were at least 600 enslaved people of African descent in California throughout the Gold Rush.

The state even passed an act in 1852, which deputized slave owners and state officials with the right to violently capture formerly enslaved people.

These horrific practices had generational ramifications impacting descendants of the enslaved in all areas of life.

So when we talk of reparations as the monetary debt owed to black people it's just scratching the surface and paying back the people whose backs this country was built on.

Even though slavery was abolished in 1864, the racist system in which the practice came from steel plagues the community to this day.

Black people are 20% more likely to be stopped without just cause than a white person.

In California.

The imprisonment rate of African-American men is 10 times the rate of white men.

Nationally, black women are three times more likely to die from pregnancy related causes than white women.

In California.

Black mothers are four to six times as likely to die from birth related causes and twice as likely to suffer maternal morbidity than all other racial groups.

Three out of five black Americans live in communities with uncontrolled toxic waste sites and black applicants have an 80% higher mortgage denial rate compared to white applicants.

So it's not a surprise that African Americans have repeatedly petitioned for reparations.

HR40, a federal bill that was introduced in 1989 was focused on developing a pathway for reparations and is yet to gain support.

While here in California, Secretary of State.

Dr. Shirley Weber introduced state Bill AB 3121 which passed in September, 2020.

Making, California, the first in the nation to dedicate a task force to studying and developing a plan for reparations.

So where do we go from here?

How do you repair the damage that has been done?

Follow our video series as we explore the history of reparations and how California is addressing it today.