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The eligibility requirements are now known for getting reparations in California.
The state reparations task force says anyone who is the descendant of a Black slave or free person living in the U-S before 1900 is eligible for compensation. The task force voted five-three in favor of the guidelines. "No one asked me if my ancestors were enslaved in the United States or if they were enslaved in Jamaica or if they were enslaved in Barbados," said task force member Lisa Holder, a civil rights attorney. "We have to embrace this concept that Black lives matter, not just a sliver of those Black lives, because Black lives are in danger, especially today."
However, critics of the task force say that the state of California has no obligation to pay up, given that the state did not practice slavery and did not enforce Jim Crow laws that segregated Black people from White people in the southern states. The task force is slated to meet once again Wednesday and hold a series of meetings throughout June before members give their final recommendations on requirements and eligibility mandates. A reparations proposal is due by July 2023 for the Legislature to consider turning into official state law.