Reparations Task Force Makes History With Hearing In San Francisco Church
SAN FRANCISCO (KPIX 5) – A state task force on reparations, the first of its kind in the nation, made history by holding its first hearing at a church in San Francisco on Wednesday.
"It is absolutely an amazing day to be at the first, in-person hearing, at the famous, historic Third Baptist Church," said Chris Lodgson with the Coalition For A Just & Equitable California. "So it's a very exciting, very, very historic day."
For the grassroots organizers who spent years just trying to get this item on California's agenda, the first public hearing of the state task force was a milestone; a sign that reparations are closer to becoming reality.
"You know, a lot of times things in government come from the top down," Lodgson said. "This is something special. This actually came from the bottom up."
"It means, to me, that a change is on the way," said Cora McCoy of San Francisco. "That's overdue."
McCoy was one of those who came to watch the proceedings in person.
"My parents were poor," McCoy explained to KPIX 5. "They were sharecroppers, working in the fields."
"My great grandparents, all four, were enslaved," said retired teacher Dorthy Hines. "So they didn't take anything with them."
Hines was on hand to offer testimony on how the state might approach the genealogy challenge.
Last month, the task force decided that reparations will be limited to descendants of slaves or free Black people in the United States as of the 19th century. For many families, that will be difficult.
"With each passing generation it becomes much more difficult to get reparations," Hines said. "Because the history is lost."
California's process is really just getting started. The task force will work through 2023 before submitting a plan to the legislature. From that point, there is no timetable.
"Listen, we have been working on this for 400 years," Lodgson said. "So we can put in two years, three years. If we do this here, I think the federal government is going to be under a lot of pressure to actually do the same thing, just on the federal level. That's where I think the flight ultimately has to go."
The task force will be holding traveling meetings and listening sessions around the state. A second day of testimony will be held at Third Baptist on Thursday.