of Governmental Studies. “The findings reveal the racial and
political contradictions of California voters,” G. Cristina Mora, a Berkeley sociologist and the institute’s co-direc- tor, wrote in a press release. “While many can empathize with
the plight of Black Americans, not all of these feelings will translate into support for policies that address long- standing racial harms. The fact that even liberals are divided indicates that campaigns for racial redress will face a steep uphill climb.” Still, other critics contend
that the concept of finan- cial race-based reparations didn’t need public opinion to kill it, but instead died on its own nonsensical merits. Bob Woodson, founder of
the African American think tank Woodson Center, told Newsmax that the idea was conceived in “foolishness.” “None of it makes sense,” said Woodson. “What about descendants of Native American tribes? Do they have to pay? Or what about the ancestors of whites who never owned slaves or were involved in the abolition movement? “America has 1.6 million Black mil-
America has 1.6 million Black millionaires; do they receive a check too? Another hurdle facing financial rep-
arations advocates is that California was never a slave state. It entered the union in 1850 as a “free” state. Further, Woodson says the state
of California doesn’t have the means to carry out the payments it keeps dangling. The $800 billion requested would
dwarf California’s entire annual $300 billion budget. Additionally, the figure
WOODSON
does not include compen- sation for other harms the task force claims had been perpetuated by the state, including proposals that older Black residents each receive $1 million for health disparities, compensa- tion of people for property
unjustly taken by the government, or the devaluing of Black businesses. Woodson believes it is cruel to con-
lionaires; do they receive a check too? “At some point you have to realize
how ridiculous it all is, and when you do, it’s hard not to laugh,” he added.
tinue “dangling checks” in front of a community of people when authori- ties know they don’t have the means to deliver. “This entire argument that the
state can pay all these people money is nothing more than disingenuous fool’s gold,” said Woodson. “Califor-
ELEVEN STATES AND 22 LOCALITIES ARE CURRENTLY CONSIDERING MAKING REPARATIONS, BUT NO PAYMENTS HAVE BEEN MADE
1. Alameda County, California 2. Amherst, Massachusetts 3. Asheville, North Carolina 4. Atlanta 5. Baltimore County, Maryland
6. Boston 7. Detroit 8. Evanston, Illinois 9. Fulton County, Georgia 10. Greenbelt, Maryland
11. High Point, North Carolina 12. Iowa City, Iowa 13. Kansas City, Missouri 14. Northampton, Massachusetts 15. Philadelphia 16. San Francisco 17. South Bend, Indiana 18. St. Louis 19. St. Paul, Minnesota 20. St. Petersburg, Florida 21. Washington, D.C. 22. Wilmington, Delaware
SOURCE: Association of American Medical Colleges.
nia doesn’t have anything close to the resources needed to pull off this kind of stunt, and the governor knows it.” However, worse than the impact
on the state’s fiscal health would be its effect on the community it alleges to try to help, according to Woodson. “It would be absolutely devastat-
ing to the state and to the African American community,” said Wood- son. “Any time you separate work from income, it always has a deleteri- ous effect on the recipient.” Still, the first-in-the-nation panel
garnered nationwide attention, spur- ring other efforts across the country to impose race-based reparations. In the Chicago suburb of Evanston,
Black residents were offered housing vouchers in 2021. In New York, a bill to create a simi-
lar commission to study reparations passed the Assembly before stalling in the Senate. In San Francisco, an advisory com-
mittee recommended $5 million pay- outs, as well as guaranteed income of at least $97,000 and personal debt forgiveness for qualifying individuals. Supervisors expressed support for the measure, but stopped short of endors- ing the proposal. The issue of reparations will per-
sist as a political issue so long as it benefits authorities, according to Woodson, who says politicians have weaponized it as a way to distract from the real problems facing the Black community and their own fail- ures to address them. “No amount of money could ever
make right the evil of slavery, and it is insulting to suggest that you could monetize away the pain African Americans have felt,” he said. “The Black community doesn’t
need a check — it needs a real solu- tion, and that comes from within. And more and more people are beginning to realize that.”
DECEMBER 2024 | NEWSMAX 13
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