*We reported previously that a task force examining reparations for Black residents in California recently released its final report with more than 115 recommendations for how the state should compensate those harmed by slavery and “historical atrocities,” per CNN.
Recommendations in the landmark report, comprised of more than 1,000 pages, include a formal apology on behalf of California to descendants of people enslaved in the United States and recommendations for reforms linked to health care, housing, education and criminal justice, among other areas.
According to a Pew Research Center survey, a majority of whites, Asians, and Latinos opposed reparations for Black Americans, Essence reports. These same groups are not as critical of reparations payments to Holocaust Survivors, immigrants, and Ukrainians.
Many Black Americans support reparations but also consider reparations payments “unlikely to happen in their lifetime,” Pew reports.
Below is a list of how many states are handling reparations, via Essence:
- Florida: In 1994, by passing a reparations law, Florida was the first state to do so. The statute sets “aside $2 million for survivors of the 1923 Rosewood massacre where a white mob burned churches and buildings and killed at least six Black residents.”
- Illinois: Evanston, a suburb of Chicago, is the first U.S. “city to make reparations available to Black residents through a $10 million housing project in 2021.”
- New Jersey: The last state in the north to abolish slavery, and home to the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice launched a council to study the lasting impact of slavery” and provide recommendations for methods to achieve racial equity.
- New York: A bill creating “a commission to consider reparations to address the lingering, negative effects of slavery” is awaiting signature by Governor Kathy Hochul.
- Virginia: In 2021, a reparations bill was passed targeting schools that have links to slavery.
- Washington: Governor Jay Inslee signed a bill into law that would “create a downpayment assistance program for people affected by the racist covenants,” and “[d]escendants of those discriminated against would also qualify under the law.”
READ MORE: California Reparations Task Force Wraps Up 2 Years of Work – Releases FINAL Set of Recommendations
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