Geography Professor Jovan Scott Lewis discusses Unpacking Reparations Eligibility in California with KQED

April 14, 2022

Geography Professor and Chair of Geography Jovan Scott Lewis discusses Unpacking Reparations Eligibility in California with KQED

Jovan Scott Lewis, California Reparations Task Force member and chair of UC Berkeley’s geography department, introduced a motion on March 29 to define eligibility for reparations based on lineage. The task force approved the motion.

At a contentious meeting Tuesday, California’s Reparations Task Force decided who would qualify for reparations under any proposals the committee recommends.

The broad question the task force was considering: Should reparations be only for descendants of people enslaved in the United States or should reparations be extended to any Black person in the state?

After hours of debate, the nine-member task force voted 5-4 in favor of lineage-based reparations — a decision that has the potential to set precedent and affect other local, state and federal plans for reparations.

Read more: https://www.kqed.org/news/11909471/unpacking-reparations-eligibility-in-...