California’s official task force on reparations has delivered its final report to the state legislature.

The report includes a formula for determining direct financial compensation, along with more than 100 other recommendations, including establishing universal health care, implementing rent caps in historically redlined neighborhoods, and making Election Day a paid holiday.

And in their report, the authors spent a significant amount of time explaining why reparations are necessary for the descendants of enslaved Black Americans, and why the government is responsible.

Three years ago, host Trymaine Lee spoke about this case for reparations with Nikole Hannah-Jones,  creator of the america-slavery.html">1619 Project, and now, a journalism professor at Howard University. The conversation came right after Nikole published her article “slavery.html?action=click&module=Top%20Stories&pgtype=Homepage">What is Owed” in her role as a staff writer for the New York Times Magazine. 

In light of California taking one small step closer toward reparations, we’re bringing back that discussion.  

This podcast was originally published on June 24, 2020.  

For more:

• California's reparations report excludes payment plan but is full of program proposals
• For two California reparations task force members, the hard work comes next
• Reconstructed: Birth of a Black Nation