Sacramento Takes First Steps Towards Reparations For Descendants Of Enslaved

By Robert J. Hansen | OBSERVER Staff WriterSacramento has taken the first steps toward pursuing reparations for descendants of slaves at the local level by passing a citywide resolution at the Dec. 3 City Council meeting.Aimée Zenzele Barnes, manager of the city’s Office of Equity and Diversity, emphasized that this resolution simply paves the way toward establishing a reparations program, but that it is years away. “There is a lot of work to do. It’s not like we’re cutting checks next year,” Barnes said.The Coalition For A Just and Equitable California — a Sacramento-based organization — has played a key role in creating statewide reparations legislation.“We are owed reparations. It is a debt that’s owed,” lead organizer Chris Lodgson told the council in support of the resolution. “It’s not a handout, it’s not a gift. We are owed it.”Lodgson explained that the resolution means the responsibility of reparations lies with the entire City Council, not just the mayor’s office, and that the city is one step closer to a decision on whether to create a Sacramento reparations commission or task force.What happens next is to continue the community outreach efforts that started this year so that as many Sacramento residents...