CalMatters
CALmatters is a nonpartisan, nonprofit journalism venture committed to explaining how California’s state Capitol works and why it matters. Environmental regulation, education, health care, criminal justice, economic inequality – the debates on these issues and others have a profound impact on the lives of 38 million Californians and beyond. Yet, mirroring trends across the country, there has been a significant decline in the number of journalists covering the Capitol in Sacramento. This has meant fewer eyes on decision makers, and a public that feels disconnected from its state government. Our team of experienced journalists, with the time and resources to dig deep, is committed to meaningfully informing Californians about the players, politics, and interests that shape the issues that affect their lives. Over the coming months, CALmatters will be working to unwrap key issues, while experimenting with the forms our stories take. To ensure we reach many Californians, we work with media organizations throughout the state that have long, deep relationships with their local audiences.
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Martin do Nascimento, CalMatters
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After 15 public hearings and testimony from more than 100 expert witnesses and the public, the California Reparations Task Force approved calculations on Saturday that estimate as much as hundreds of millions of dollars owed to eligible Black residents.
Describing the emotional meeting as “one of the more rowdy hearings by the task force,” Wendy Fry from CalMatters’ California Divide team reports that its recommendations don’t include a final price tag for reparations. Rather, they model ways the state could calculate how much money eligible African Americans in California have lost since the state was established to when the panel was created — from 1850 through 2020.
Calculations vary depending on the type of racial harm experienced (for example, losses stemming from mass incarceration or housing discrimination) and how long a person has lived in California. Based on the panel’s modeling, CalMatters has created a calculator to help figure out how much a person could be owed.
“For instance, a 19-year-old who moved to the state in 2018 would be owed at least $149,000 based on the calculations,” writes Wendy. “But a 71-year-old who has lived in California all their life could be owed about $1.2 million.”