For years, California has explored a variety of policies aimed at providing reparations for anti-Black racism. Now, one of the state’s counties has moved forward, approving a multifaceted reparations plan for Black residents. While critics warn of budgetary concerns, the county leaders have left open the possibility of expanding their recommendations to include cash payments as well.
Alameda County, California, approves reparations policies despite budget concerns
After two years of consideration, the Alameda County Board of Supervisors voted 5-0 on June 30 to approve a multipronged reparations plan to redress the impact of anti-Black racism in the county. The framework for the county’s reparations plan focuses on implementing policies and increasing investments to improve the lives of Black residents, focusing on areas such as education, housing, health care, Black economic development and criminal justice reform. The county will create a permanent standing committee to provide oversight as its recommendations are implemented. The approval of the reparations plan came despite the county earlier facing a $91 million budget deficit, which was resolved earlier this year through significant cuts, including the elimination of dozens of vacant public jobs and budget cuts across a number of departments.
Cash payments not yet part of Alameda County program, but will be implemented nearby
For now, the Alameda County plan does not include direct cash payments to Black residents, but the board did not rule out such reparations payments in the future. As explained by Supervisor Nate Miley to Fox News Digital, one of the key champions of the reparations process, the county is going after “low-hanging fruit — some immediate things we can do, and some things we’re already doing.” Miley admitted that “there might be the more challenging things. A cash payment might be one of those more challenging things.”
While the overall county plan does not currently include cash payments, one community is set to receive such payouts. Alameda County has worked with the nearby City of Hayward to compensate survivors and descendants of Russell City, a multiracial unincorporated community that was destroyed in the 1950s and 1960s using eminent domain to clear the way for industrial development. The Russell City Redress Fund, intended to make direct payments to survivors and descendants of the community, currently has $1.3 million to carry out the effort.
Larger movement toward reparations sees progress and setbacks
These local and county-level efforts come at a time when the movement toward reparations has seen mixed results. On an international level, a number of African and Caribbean countries are seeking reparations from the countries that were major drivers of the transatlantic slave trade. On the state level, California implemented a reparations task force in 2020, which issued its final report and recommendations. Since then, some policies and at least $12 million in funds have been authorized for the state-level reparations process even as other proposals were shelved or vetoed by Gov. Gavin Newsom. Alongside the state effort in California, county or local governments in areas such as San Francisco have pushed forward their own reparations proposals. However, local efforts could face future federal legal challenges; the Trump administration has recently joined a case that is seeking to end the nation’s first active reparations program for Black Americans, which was implemented in Evanston, Illinois, in 2021, based on the accusation that it discriminates against the city’s non-Black residents.
For now, Miley and the leadership in Alameda County appear to be focused on their own efforts toward reparations, regardless of what is happening in other areas of the state or on the federal and international levels. As Supervisor Miley described the county’s reparations plan to Fox News Digital, “I wouldn’t say it’s a panacea, but I do believe it’s definitely a part of the equation that could help African Americans.” Assuming that things go according to plan, Black residents of Alameda County could soon see how much these programs will help overcome the legacy of racism and discrimination.