At the beginning of February, more than 350 national, state and local organizations and activists urged leaders in Washington to bring House Resolution 40 to a full vote on the House floor.
The "Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans" Act cleared a House committee in a historic vote last spring, more than three decades after it was first introduced by the late Congressman John Conyers of Michigan in 1989.
In this week's “In Focus SoCal,” host Tanya McRae takes a closer look at how support for reparations has been growing steadily, with California becoming the first state to create a reparations task force. The nine-member task force, including Sen. Steven Bradford, has been meeting to investigate the history of injustice and brutality against Black Americans and to propose a formal apology, compensation and other remedied by summer 2023.
"I really think reparations should mirror what we've tried to do with the GI bill and provide continued and free education at our UC and CSUs, and ongoing health care and childcare for descendants of slaves," Bradford said.
Bradford was involved in the return of Bruce's Beach in Manhattan Beach to the descendants of Willa and Charles Bruce, along with Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn.
McRae also catches up with Kavon Ward, founder of Justice for Bruce's Beach, who first brought attention to Bruce's Beach during the summer of 2020 at the height of the Black Lives Matter movement following the murder of George Floyd.
Ward is now assisting other Black families who are trying to reclaim their land.
"One of the families owned land in Coloma, California, which is now a state park. But the family came with their slave masters during the Gold Rush," Ward said.
McRae also heads inside the Kinsey Collection's newest exhibition, "The Cultivators," which runs through March 27 at the Frederick R. Weisman Museum of Art at Pepperdine University. The Kinsey Collection will also host an exhibition at SoFi Stadium starting Feb. 23 through April 30. For more information on both exhibitions, visit here.
Send us your thoughts at InFocusSoCal@charter.com and watch Sundays at 9 a.m.