Black Californians who can prove they are descendants of slaves, may be eligible for state-backed reparations.
A committee established by state law in 2020 recommends that those families be eligible for reparations. It will not extend to all African Americans. Just those who can show they are descendants of slaves.
It makes California the first state to move toward providing reparations to the descendants of enslaved people.
The legislature has not yet allocated any funding for compensation. The vote on the committee was 5-4 on eligibility.
The reparations could come in the form of stimulus checks, free college tuition or grants for businesses and home ownership.
The California reparations task force will issue a report to the state legislature by June first.
Then the legislature and the governor will act on its recommendations.
