A new task force in California will meet for the first time today to try to determine how to compensate African Americans whose relatives were enslaved in this country 150 years ago.
The task force’s aim is to educate Californians on the history of slavery and research ways the state can provide reparations. Additionally, it will complete a report which will inform policy to the legislature.
The nine-member task force, five of whom were appointed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, was created in a bill by then-Assemblywoman Shirley Weber, D-San Diego, now California’s secretary of state.
The bill as created by Weber requires that one member be from academia with extensive knowledge of Civil Rights
“This is not just about California, this is about making an impact, and a dent, across the rest of the country,” Newsom said moments after signing the bill during a ceremony broadcast on his YouTube channel.
According to reporting by the Times of San Diego, appointees include Loyola Marymount University professor Cheryl Grills, attorney Lisa Holder of Los Angeles, a reverend, Amos C. Brown of San Francisco, anthropologist and geographer Jovan Scott Lewis of Berkeley and attorney Don Tamaki of Piedmont.
The inaugural meeting will take place via video and telephone conference. The public is encouraged to join the meeting at https://primetime.bluejeans.com/a2m/live-event/wtzpbzcv.
If you are joining via a mobile device, download the Blue Jeans App and click here: https://primetime.bluejeans.com/a2m/live-event/wtzpbzcv. Enter the event ID: wtzpbzcv.
If you are joining by telephone, dial one of the following numbers and enter the PIN followed by # to confirm:
1. +1 (415) 466-7000 (US), PIN 3749464#
2. +1 (760) 699-0393 (US), PIN 1544073533#
Recordings of the Task Force meetings will be available at: https://oag.ca.gov/ab3121/meetings.
Documents that will be reviewed during the meeting will be available in advance of the meeting at: https://oag.ca.gov/ab3121/meetings
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