On Oct. 14, Santa Clara University School of Law’s Center for Social Justice and Public Service hosted an important and timely symposium: Reimagining Reparations in California – from the Broken Promise of “Forty Acres and a Mule” to the CA Task Force to Study and Develop Reparations Proposals for African Americans. An impressive group of experts traveled from around California and the world to discuss the concept of reparations, their historical necessity, and the work of the Task Force.
The California Task Force to Study and Develop Reparations Proposals for African Americans was established by California Assembly Bill 3121 with the purpose (1) to study and develop reparation proposals for African Americans; (2) to recommend appropriate ways to educate the California public about the task force’s findings; and (3) to recommend appropriate remedies in consideration of the Task Force’s findings. Kamilah Moore, Chair of the Task Force, presented parts of the Task Force’s 500-page Interim Report which explores the ongoing and compounding harms experienced by African Americans as a result of slavery, California policies, and the lingering effects on American society today. The interim report also includes a set of preliminary recommendations for policies that the California Legislature could adopt to remedy those harms. Ms. Moore also shared what work remained for the task force and what different kinds of reparations are being considered in a discussion moderated by Santa Clara Law students Leah Lambert and Kyle Perkins.
Dean Michael Kaufman gave an inspiring welcome to the symposium participants and audience. Further presentation and discussion around the framing of the concept of reparations and necessity came from Santa Clara University Professor Harry Odamtten (African and Atlantic History SCU), Dr. Joanna Thompson (Director, Multicultural Learning, SCU), and moderator Professor Margalynne Armstrong (Santa Clara Law). A moving presentation of concrete examples of the past and ongoing harm of slavery and racism came from Terrance Evans, President of Charles Houston Bar Association.
Professor Deborah Moss-West (Katherine & George Alexander Community Law Center) moderated a final discussion on reparations in a broader context in the form of examples of reparation programs and forms of redress. Other presenters included Task Force member Don Tamaki, who gave keen insight into his work on this Task Force as well as his involvement in Korematsu v. the United States, overturning Fred Korematsu’s conviction for refusing incarceration during the mass roundup and internment of Japanese Americans during World War II and providing a key legal foundation in the decades’ long Japanese American Redress Movement; James Woodson, Executive Director, Black Power Movement; Professor Roy Brooks, University of San Diego School of Law; and Dr. Ron Daniels, Convenor, National African-American Reparations Commission.
The event was sponsored by the Center for Social Justice and Public Service, the Katharine and George Alexander Community Law Center, the Black Law Students Association, and the University Office of Diversity and Inclusion. The members of the symposium planning committee were Prof. Margalynne Armstrong, Prof. Deborah Moss-West, Ms. Kerrie Bindi, Dr. Raymond Plaza, Prof. Evangeline Abriel, and law students Chelsey Jordan, Traniece Baker, and Jason Cowan. The planners also express their gratitude to Dean Michael Kaufman for his support and encouragement of the symposium and this important topic. Special thanks to the law student volunteers for their indispensable support: Lucero Carrasco, Evan Chang, Eamon Condon, Eduardo Fisher, Molly Karasick, Eric Lee, Victoria Marion, Ally Phan, Samuel Plante, Nicole Poirot, Astrid Souto, London Webster, Max Wetzer, and Kyle Vogel. The Center for Social Justice and Public Service is grateful for the work of the Task Force itself and the symposium speakers in their efforts to advance the goals of social justice, and looks ahead to the Task Force’s final report, due prior to July 1, 2023. For more information, including a recording of the event, visit the symposium webpage. For more information on the ongoing work of the Task Force, visit the Reparations Task Force webpage.
Task Force Chair Kamilah Moore with SCU Law Students Leah Lambert and Kyle Perkins
