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Transcript/Script((PLAYBOOK SLUG: CALIFORNIA REPARATIONS
HEADLINE: California Studies Reparations for Black Residents Who Descended from Enslaved
TEASER: Money, education and housing subsidies are among the possible remedies discussed by a state task force
PUBLISHED AT: Wednesday, 06/22/2022 at 9:40am
BYLINE: Michelle Quinn
CONTRIBUTOR: Matt Dibble
DATELINE: LOS ANGELES
VIDEOGRAPHER: Matt Dibble
PRODUCER: Matt Dibble
SCRIPT EDITORS: Mia Bush, Salem Solomon [DJ OK for balance]
VIDEO SOURCE (S): VOA, Zoom, AP, Reuters, National Archives and Records Ad ministration
PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV X RADIO X
TRT: 3:10
VID APPROVED BY: mia
TYPE: TVPKG/RADIO
EDITOR NOTES: Government-issued Zoom account was used to interview subjects for the piece. ))
((INTRO))
[[In California, a first-in-the-nation state task force is studying the treatment of Black residents from the slavery era to the present to determine whether the state should pay reparations. The topic was on the forefront of some people’s minds during recent Juneteenth celebrations around the state. Michelle Quinn reports.]]
((NARRATOR))
Juneteenth in Los Angeles was commemorated with a giant street party to mark the end of slavery in the U.S.
((NAT SOUND))
"We can't talk about Juneteenth if we're not talking about ..."
"Reparations!"
((NARRATOR))
It’s also an opportunity for residents to discuss reparations over the legacy of slavery.
[[FOR RADIO: Marcus Alexander Champion is a community organizer]]
((Marcus Alexander Champion, Community Organizer))
“We are the ones who make sure these legislators pass this reparations language. We are the ones who make sure that they put in the work to make sure our community is made whole from being broken.”
((NARRATOR))
California is the first state to look at reparations to Black Californians who descend from enslaved people. A state task force recently issued an interim report making the case that the state should compensate residents who can trace their lineage to an enslaved person.
[[FOR RADIO: Kamilah Moore is the chair of the California Reparations Task Force]]
((Kamilah Moore, California Reparations Task Force))
“I see the cause for reparatory justice for African Americans being one of those progressive causes that California proudly is championing and pioneering.”
((NARRATOR))
The task force has reenergized talk of reparations, long a dream for many Black Americans. What might it be? Housing and education credits? Cash?
[[FOR RADIO: People at the Juneteenth celebration in the Crenshaw district of Los Angeles shared their thoughts on reparations.]]
((Rabin T. Woods, Los Angeles Resident))
“It doesn't have to be so much that's going to destroy the country. But definitely, we need to have some credit repair.”
((NARRATOR))
((Courtesy of: National Archives and Records Administration))
When California entered the U.S. as a state in 1850,
((NARRATOR)) ((Courtesy: Library of Congress))
slavery was made illegal here.
((NARRATOR))
Reparations is about fulfilling the promises made after the Civil War to help freed people, says Moore, the task force chair.
((Kamilah Moore, California Reparations Task Force))
“Reparations really addresses, you know at the heart, yes slavery, but also you know the broken promise of reconstruction in this country.”
((NARRATOR))
Calls for reparations have gained momentum in recent years receiving a boost after the 2020 police brutality protests. Sixty-two percent of Americans say that the U.S. government has a responsibility to reduce slavery’s effects, according to a 2021 Gallup survey. Some critics question the scope of the California task force and whether too much time has passed to correct the historical wrong of slavery.
[[FOR RADIO: Richard Epstein is a law professor at New York University. He spoke to VOA over Zoom.]]
((Richard Epstein, New York University School of Law)) ((Courtesy: Zoom))
“To what extent do you treat wrongs that were committed two hundred years ago as social wrongs for which there has to be recompense today to a group of individuals who suffered no such thing?”
((NARRATOR))
At a community event, residents spoke about the impact of racism.
((Jennifer Williams, Los Angeles Resident))
“I am a California native, a descendant of African slaves on both sides of my family, one of which was lynched publicly in the Jim Crow South.”
((P. Jones, Los Angeles Resident))
“A debt is owed, otherwise, we will continue to be disadvantaged and left out of what our ancestors have built.”
((NARRATOR))
There are worries that talk of reparations will be just that –– talk. But the state process has given some a sense that there’s progress on the issue.
[[FOR RADIO: Kaya Dantzler is a community organizer.]]
((Kaya Dantzler, Community Organizer))
“It's a step forward. Of course, I want things to move as swiftly as possible.”
((NARRATOR))
The task force has until next summer to finalize its recommendations.
((Michelle Quinn, VOA News, Los Angeles))
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
NetworkVOA
Location (dateline)LOS ANGELES
BylineMichelle Quinn
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English
