{"id":21202,"date":"2022-01-24T19:36:16","date_gmt":"2022-01-25T03:36:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=21202"},"modified":"2022-01-24T19:36:19","modified_gmt":"2022-01-25T03:36:19","slug":"california-paved-the-way-for-reparations-conversation-will-america-ever-follow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2022\/01\/24\/california-paved-the-way-for-reparations-conversation-will-america-ever-follow\/","title":{"rendered":"California paved the way for reparations conversation. Will America ever follow?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sfchronicle.com\/author\/justin-phillips\/\" target=\"_blank\"><\/a><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sfchronicle.com\/author\/justin-phillips\/\" target=\"_blank\">Justin Phillips<\/a>  Jan. 23, 2022  (SFChronicle.com)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/s.hdnux.com\/photos\/01\/23\/55\/01\/21942347\/6\/1200x0.jpg\" alt=\"Rep. Barbara Lee introduced legislation in 2020 calling for the creation of a national commission to study the legacy of slavery in America. It\u2019s unlikely Congress will ever pass it, despite other countries taking similar approaches to address past atrocities.\"\/><figcaption>1of2Rep. Barbara Lee introduced legislation in 2020 calling for the creation of a national commission to study the legacy of slavery in America. It\u2019s unlikely Congress will ever pass it, despite other countries taking similar approaches to address past atrocities.Yalonda M. James\/The Chronicle 2021<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/s.hdnux.com\/photos\/01\/23\/55\/01\/21942348\/6\/1200x0.jpg\" alt=\"A mural by former Black Panther Emory Douglas called \u201cReparations\u201d hangs in the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art in 2021. Reparations for descendants of slaves will again be a hot topic in California as the state\u2019s reparations task force begins its second year of studying slavery\u2019s legacy.\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Redress for historical injustices was a focus during Rep. Barbara Lee\u2019s panel discussion on racial healing and reparations&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/watch\/live\/?ref=watch_permalink&amp;amp;v=615902333071163\">on Jan. 18,<\/a>&nbsp;which is why the Oakland Democrat also talked about her House bill to create a&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.congress.gov\/bill\/116th-congress\/house-concurrent-resolution\/100\">Truth, Racial Healing and Transformation Commission<\/a>&nbsp;to study slavery\u2019s legacy in the U.S.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the nearly two years since being introduced, the bill hasn\u2019t received a committee hearing, much less a vote on the House or Senate floor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Calling this legislation a long shot would be too kind. Congress is jammed up by angry Republicans and moderate Democrats aligning themselves with conservative agendas. This is the kind of environment where forward-thinking legislation like Lee\u2019s gets introduced, then quickly dies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI understand the political context we\u2019re all dealing with,\u201d she said during the panel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What she\u2019s saying is she understands America. This country was founded on the violent, subhuman treatment of people with melanated skin. It has rarely chosen to look back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Other, braver countries have reaped the benefits of interrogating past sins. A key difference is they didn\u2019t wait hundreds of years to do so.More for you<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sfchronicle.com\/politics\/article\/Martin-Luther-King-Jr-warned-of-the-white-16777265.php\">Martin Luther King Jr. warned of \u2018the white moderate\u2019 60 years ago. His lesson holds true \u2014 with a twist<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sfchronicle.com\/bayarea\/justinphillips\/article\/It-s-time-to-take-the-dogs-out-of-policing-16758608.php\">It\u2019s time to take the dogs out of policing<\/a><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>South Africa started its&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.usip.org\/publications\/1995\/12\/truth-commission-south-africa\">Commission of Truth and Reconciliation<\/a>&nbsp;one year after the country\u2019s 34-year apartheid regime ended in 1994 to explore painful human rights violations, including abductions and killings. The commission\u2019s discoveries led to sweeping reforms in health care and educational institutions, along with reparations for the families of victims.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>About&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.rcaanc-cirnac.gc.ca\/eng\/1450124405592\/1529106060525\">60 years after mandatory attendance<\/a>&nbsp;for Canada\u2019s brutal Indian residential school system ended, the country created its own Truth and Reconciliation Commission. From the late 1800s to the mid-1940s, this school system prioritized the erasure of Indigenous culture in Canada. Earlier this month, Canada\u2019s government agreed to pay $31.5 billion to fix country\u2019s welfare system and to pay reparations to indigenous people harmed by it, a settlement aided by what the country learned from its commission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Chattel slavery cemented America\u2019s racial hierarchy where whiteness is at the top and people of color are at the bottom. California sees this in modern racial disparities in vaccine access issues for the Black and brown communities hardest hit by the pandemic; Black homeowners facing modern day redlining; and the achievement gaps between white students and Black, Latino and poor students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Yet the closest thing America has to any of the aforementioned commissions is California\u2019s first-in-the-nation reparations task force,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sfchronicle.com\/bayarea\/justinphillips\/article\/These-questions-will-decide-California-s-future-16739388.php\">which started in 2021,<\/a>&nbsp;roughly 400 years after slavery first began and 156 years after Congress abolished it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>California\u2019s task force understands the landscape it\u2019s navigating. Last year, the group spent a significant amount of time in its public meetings breaking down chattel slavery\u2019s history in America, including California.&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/oag.ca.gov\/system\/files\/media\/tf-meeting-notice-agenda.pdf\">Based on the upcoming agenda<\/a>&nbsp;for its Jan. 27-28 meetings, the topics have matured into nuanced terrain: discrimination in technology, reparations eligibility and how the disenfranchisement of the Black community impacts our mental health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The lack of serious consideration for Lee\u2019s bill should serve as a reminder that America has a limited desire to dive deep into the ways slavery\u2019s legacy still shapes this country. It may also indicate that California\u2019s reparations task force faces an even greater challenge this year in educating an increasingly apathetic public about the past.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We can\u2019t assume California is immune to a specific, modern struggle we see throughout America: an inability to reach a consensus about the history of racism and its prevalence today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s heartening to see politicians such as Lee, a former Black Panther and a pioneer of progressive ideas, push the U.S. to buy into the work California is doing around reparations. The fact that America won\u2019t only amplifies the importance of our state task force.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Lee\u2019s legislation says slavery \u201cfractured our nation.\u201d This remains the case, which is why California\u2019s reparations task force has an unenviable mission in 2022 of convincing more folks that racism isn\u2019t individual, it\u2019s systemic, and our state can\u2019t heal until we\u2019ve all embraced that fact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>San Francisco Chronicle columnist Justin Phillips appears Sundays. Email:&nbsp;<a href=\"mailto:jphillips@sfchronicle.com\">jphillips@sfchronicle.com<\/a>&nbsp;Twitter:&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JustMrPhillips\">@JustMrPhillips<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sfchronicle.com\/projects\/podcasts\/fifth-and-mission\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Fifth &amp; Mission<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Justin Phillips joined The San Francisco Chronicle in November 2016 as a food writer. He previously served as the City, Industry, and Gaming reporter for the American Press in Lake Charles, Louisiana. In 2019, Justin also began writing a weekly column for The Chronicle&#8217;s Datebook section that focused on Black culture in the Bay Area. In 2020, Justin helped launch Extra Spicy, a food and culture podcast he co-hosts with restaurant critic Soleil Ho. Following its first season, the podcast was named one of the best podcasts in America by the Atlantic. In February, Justin left the food team to become a full-time columnist for The Chronicle. His columns focus on race and inequality in the Bay Area, while also placing a spotlight on the experiences of marginalized communities in the region.VIEW COMMENTSTop of the News<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sfchronicle.com\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sfchronicle.com\/img\/logos\/black\/logo.svg\" alt=\"newspaper's home\"\/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sfchronicle.com\/img\/core\/hearst_newspapers_logo.svg\" alt=\"HEARST newspapers logo\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>\u00a92022 Hearst<br><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Justin Phillips Jan. 23, 2022 (SFChronicle.com) Redress for historical injustices was a focus during Rep. Barbara Lee\u2019s panel discussion on racial healing and reparations&nbsp;on Jan. 18,&nbsp;which is why the Oakland Democrat also talked about her House bill to create a&nbsp;Truth, Racial Healing and Transformation Commission&nbsp;to study slavery\u2019s legacy in the&#8230; <a class=\"continue-reading-link\" href=\"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2022\/01\/24\/california-paved-the-way-for-reparations-conversation-will-america-ever-follow\/\"> Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr; <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21202"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21202"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21202\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21203,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21202\/revisions\/21203"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21202"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21202"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21202"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}