April 20, 2023
By Betti Halsell
Assistant Managing Editor
The city’s Civil + Human Rights and Equity Department (LA Civil Rights) will host the Reparations Advisory Commission on Saturday, April 22—an in-person community event at the California African American Museum (CAAM).
According to the commissioners, the city’s plan is to conduct an in-depth investigation on what harms Black Angelenos. Residents will have the opportunity to reply with their input, as well as speak with the commissioners.
The Reparations Advisory Commission is a "Blue-Ribbon Task Force" led by Michael A. Lawson, president/CEO of the Los Angeles Urban League.
Other members of the commission include Khansa Jones-Muhammad, Mark Wilson, Mandla Kayise, Katrina VanderWoude, Cheryl Harris and Virgil Roberts.
“Reparations are a necessary step to heal our city and address the centuries of harm done to African Americans in Los Angeles,” said Lawson.
“The Reparations Advisory Commission is working to take that next step with input from scholars and the community. Now is the time for the community to come together and contribute to a reparations plan for Los Angeles.”
Highlighting the significance of the meeting, Lawson stated, “African Americans in Los Angeles are overrepresented in homelessness and underrepresented in generational wealth. It is the result of a system that has denied African Americans the ability to fully exercise their God-given liberties.
“The closure needed is a mutual recognition of the wrongs that have been meted upon the members of the victimized community. While full closure may not be possible in the short-term, we urge everyone to make their voices and the voices of their ancestors heard on April 22,” he said.
“The Reparations Advisory Commission has been working hard to meaningfully address the harms experienced by African Americans in Los Angeles,” said LA Civil Rights Department Executive Director Capri Maddox.
“Los Angeles was built on redlining, racial covenants and discrimination that created the inequitable city we experience today. Our city can’t move forward without repairing this harm, and I’m so grateful to the commission and our city leaders for leading the way on reparations,” she noted.
The Reparations Advisory Commission exists independently from the State of California Reparations Task Force, however the two organizations collaborated on an event last year in Leimert Park.
The LA Civil Rights officially established its discrimination enforcement section on Nov.1, 2022, allowing the city to enforce civil rights law. They look to enhance racial equity through policy and initiatives, the Los Angeles City Council established the Office of Racial Equity within the Civil + Human Rights and Equity Department.
The department’s mission states the following, “We envision a city that authentically engages communities most harmed by systemic racism, as leaders and collaborators, in the process of identifying data, distributing public resources, and reforming policies that impact outcomes of Civil + Human Rights and Equity.”
For more information, go to the following link: https://caamuseum.org/programs/talks-and-workshops/los-angeles-reparations-advisory-commission-community-meeting
Follow the L.A. Civil Rights Department on Instagram, @ lacivilrights.
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