California Reparations Task Force releases interim report 6/02/22 Transcript

Speaker 1: (00:00)
KCAL 9 News at 9:00.

Juan Fernandez: (00:02)
“Read the report with an open heart and an open mind,” that’s the message from the Chair of the California Reparations Task Force.

Pat Harvey: (00:08)
The panel just released the findings of their groundbreaking interim report, which calls for reparations for African Americans. KCAL 9 political reporter, Tom Wait, has more.

Kamilah Moore: (00:20)
I hope that all people, regardless of color and creed, really read this report with an open heart and an open mind.

Tom Wait: (00:28)
Kamilah Moore, chair of the trailblazing California Reparations Task Force, urging the public to see for themselves the findings in their interim report.

Kamilah Moore: (00:37)
The conclusion of the report is, reparations are owed and what this interim report, which is nearly 600 pages long and 13 chapters, it pretty much details or substantiates the claim for reparations for the African American communities.

Tom Wait: (00:55)
The report came together with exhaustive analysis from historical records, testimony from experts and members of the community, among other elements. The report says in part 400 years of discrimination has resulted in an enormous and persistent wealth gap between black and white Americans. The report breaks down in great detail, the devastating consequences of slavery and the continued systems of institutional racism that carry on in the legal system, housing, employment, and beyond.

Kamilah Moore: (01:25)
Now, this report also marks the study phase in our efforts, and the next phase is the development phase where the nine-member task force is having intentional conversations about, okay, what does reparations look like in light of these harms that we just outlined.

Tom Wait: (01:40)
Jody Armour is an author and professor of law at USC. He studies and teaches about the intersection of race, law, and politics.

Jody Armour: (01:48)
This is an important moment for us collectively, because if we don’t share our common truth, we can’t share our common purpose.

Tom Wait: (01:54)
Professor Armour points out just a couple of examples of inequities playing out today, the disproportionate black populations in the prison system and among the unhoused.

Jody Armour: (02:04)
And you can’t help but notice that they’re disproportionately black, that 75% of them are black. And you go to San Clinton where I take my students again, we see the demographics, blacks are grossly overrepresented in those two most miserable places in our society, skid row and cell block.

Tom Wait: (02:22)
Also in the report, black achievement, despite oppression.

Kamilah Moore: (02:26)
In this report, you’ll find a detailed list of contributions of the African American community to the state of California and the United States, despite the ongoing oppression and human degradation that my community experiences.

Tom Wait: (02:41)
Governor Gavin Newsom signed the bipartisan legislation creating this panel back in 2020, making California the only state to move forward with such a study, and a plan. Reporting from the newsroom, I’m Tom Wait, KCAL 9 News.