SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KERO) — California took a big step this week toward becoming the first U.S. state to make some form of restitution a reality by tackling the divisive issue of which Black residents should be eligible to receive reparations for the atrocity and injustices of slavery and racism.
A state task force narrowly decided in favor of limiting compensation to the descendants of free and enslaved Black people who were in the U.S. in the 19th century.
But whether the Tuesday vote spurs other states and cities to advance their own proposals, and whether they adopt California’s controversial standard for who would benefit, remains to be seen.
