SFF was a proud sponsor of CalMatter’s inaugural IdeasFest where CEO Fred Blackwell participated a panel called Why and How Can California Atone? regarding California reparations. Joining him were:
- Dr. Corey Jackson, California Assemblymember, District 60
- Kristin Nimmers, Policy Manager, California Black Power Network
- Moderated by Neil Chase, Chief Executive Officer, CalMatters.
CalMatters’ account of the panel is excerpted below:
Acknowledgement, apology and atonement are the three keys to reparations, said California Assemblymember Corey Jackson during a panel at the CalMatters Ideas Festival on June 6.
The panelists discussed how to solve ongoing issues within the Black community, such as housing, health care and mass incarceration. Joining Jackson on stage were California Black Power Network Policy Manager Kristin Nimmers, and CEO of the San Francisco Foundation Fred Blackwell.
A 1,000-page report released last year by a statewide task force is about far more than just giving out cash to the descendants of enslaved people, Blackwell said. It’s about correcting a system of racism and discrimination.
“The focus on cash payments and the way that it is being framed, is clickbait. It is to get eyes on payments and eyes on screens,” Blackwell said.
Turning the more than 200 recommendations from the reparation report into law would not be possible without the hard work and dedication of the reparations task force, Blackwell said. To start, state legislators in the Black Caucus are introducing a 14-bill package, Jackson said.
Read the full story.
Learn more:
- SFF’s Equity Agenda
- CalMatters’ Reparations Coverage
