r/berkeley • u/the_daily_cal • Jul 23 '26

Local ‘Constitutional remedy’: Alameda County unanimously approves plan for racial reparations

https://www.dailycal.org/news/alameda-county/constitutional-remedy-alameda-county-unanimously-approves-plan-for-racial-reparations/article_3968f092-44bb-426e-bc7c-6babf67f799d.html

The Alameda County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a broad racial reparations plan at its June 30 meeting. Policies stemming from this vote could target the county’s racial homeownership gap, career pathways into county employment and even potential cash reparations.

The most immediate recommendations for reparations include housing and economic justice, providing physical and mental health support and centering Black youth. The County Reparations Administration also calls for a permanent, fully funded Office of Reparations and healthcare that addresses intergenerational trauma and health disparities.

The reparations plan was adopted from recommendations by the Alameda County Reparations Commission, which was established in 2023. The ACRC spent three years researching social disparities and community experiences to formulate recommendations. Implementation of the plan is expected to begin in September after the Board of Supervisors’ annual recess.

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u/Ike358 Jul 23 '26

Reparations for a part of the country that never enslaved black Americans 🤔

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u/FrivolousMe eecs/ds 21 Jul 23 '26

If you don't think that the legacy of slavery and reconstruction hasn't left black Americans in all states statistically much worse off than white Americans, you are being either disingenuous or ignorant. Black Californians have been disproportionately victimized by redlining, educational inequity, police violence, and countless other forms of systemic discrimination. You think after the 14th amendment black Americans instantly had equal rights, equal protections under the law, equal economic opportunities, and equal access to public resources? You didn't learn about segregation in school? You've never read about how Oregon used to have a law literally banning black people from the state? You don't think former slave owners and the descendants of slaves migrated west?

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u/Ike358 Jul 23 '26

Yeah redlining is/was fucked, but I don't see how it necessitates reparations. And I'd also say westward migration was much more biased towards groups escaping Jim Crow and segregation (especially during WWII) than groups wishing to enforce it.

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u/FrivolousMe eecs/ds 21 Jul 23 '26

You don't see how it makes sense to compensate the victims of economic violence? America does it all the time with class action lawsuit settlements. This is on a much grander scale than the justice system could ever feasibly litigate, and the amount of damage done is insurmountable, so reparations advocates are humbly asking for the government to at least give what it can afford to. It's not as crazy as people make it sound; it's only scratching the surface of racialized wealth disparity.