Kern leaders share conflicting opinions on reparations as task force edges toward final report
After nearly two years, the California Reparations Task Force is edging closer to a final report for reparations for state lawmakers. The task force made a huge step after a recent vote that recommended that the state issue a formal apology for slavery and potentially provide billions of dollars in cash payments. Seventeen's Makayla Armstrong in studio with us tonight on how Kern County leaders feel about this historic effort. Makayla. As the task force inches closer to fulfilling its task of a report of remedies and compensation for descendants of enslaved African Americans, the task force has welcomed arguments for and against even from those who could benefit from its approval. Reparation Task Force approved a 500-page document of how the state may compensate and apologize to lack residents for generations of harm caused by enslavement. The panel assesses potential payment based on discriminatory harms than voting, housing, education, and disproportionate policing and incarceration.
Arms that Kern County pastor and activist Ralph Lantani says continue to plague black Californians today. You can't just say that happened in the past and there's no effect today. It is there because the facts speak for itself. However, Pastor Angelo Frazier does not see it the same and says reparations could be divisive. I think this is going to wind up dividing us as a people as a nation because yes, there's racism, but I don't believe the country's racist. Yes, we've had challenges, but we've overcome a lot of those challenges. And so I think money by itself can set us up for failure again.
Reparations have been given other races, but the two pastors disagree on whether it's appropriate now. If you look down on another people because of this or that or in this case color and do things ignorant that have a negative impact on it, it's going to hurt the country. It hurts families. It begins deterioration. We can turn it around through reparations. I think to blanketly say just because you are this, we're giving you that. I think it does a disservice to any race.
For Anthony, this hits close to home after being on the front lines of this fight for decades. And he hopes as the task force edges closer to presenting its final report, it will be approved. I saw what it was back in the sixties when we were talking about it. People were still losing lives, even up to the date of George Floyd or more. And right now in our systems are problems that still show something was wrong. And there's reasons for that that go back to the days of devaluing one human from another that was in power. The task force is scheduled to meet June 30th for the last time to formally accept the report and hand it off to legislators where a decision will be made on approval.
Mikaela Armstrong, 17 News. And a footnote here. Mikaela Armstrong anchored and produced a half hour report on this very issue. It's called reparations. Let's talk about it. You can find that 17 News special report on our website, KGET.com.
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