While there are a few monetary provisions, the lack of a payment to residents will likely not sit well with some.
For years, Newsom and other Democratic politicians have campaigned on reparations and that bill has now come due. A card and an apology is not going to cut it.
In past hearings, speakers demanded cash in large amounts. Rep. Barbara Lee (D., Cal.) declared that “Reparations are not a luxury, but a human right long overdue for millions of Americans. We are demanding that the government pay their tax.”
She was not talking about a heartfelt apology.
Nor were others at the hearing.
In prior hearings, speakers have been asking “where’s the money.” Some warned the Democratic task force that they would not vote for the party unless they received money before the 2024 elections.
San Francisco’s board of supervisors is also facing the same expectations after a recommendation of its African American Reparations Advisory Committee to give $5 million to each eligible Black resident as reparations.
Some balked at even that figure. Reverend Tony Pierce asked “Where’s the money? Where’s the cash? Where’s the check?” “$5 million, San Francisco’s already made a move. $5 million is nothing.”
Some congressional Democrats have pushed for similar federal reparations and passed a bill out of the House Judiciary Committee in 2021 that failed to receive a floor vote. BET founder Robert Johnson has called for $14 trillion in federal reparations.
Even Disney has gotten into the act with a controversial children’s episode in which cartoon children demand reparations.
Most recently, Rep. Cori Bush (D., Mo.) introduced her bill for a $14 trillion payment to black Americans. Bush could not answer where the money would come from and just said that the source is a matter of ongoing discussions.
Among the Democrats supporting the bill was Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D., N.Y.) who explained “The federal government backed slavery, right? So the federal government needs to hold itself accountable for that. And then policies that have continued throughout American history have continued to inflict harm on Black Americans.”
The years of calls for reparations have created a greater expectation, even an urgency. One well-known California activist declared: “It’s a debt that’s owed, we worked for free. We’re not asking; we’re telling you.”
