The history of the reparations movement in America is a rarely discussed chapter in California history. This history – that being the hostility toward Black settlements – has shaped the state’s racial dynamics, making it a crucial backdrop for the ongoing reparations debate. KQED, a PBS member television station serving the San Francisco Bay Area, aired a five-part documentary series titled The Road to Reparations in California to shed light on this often overlooked issue. This documentary, partly produced by UC Berkeley Geography lecturer Lakshmi Sarah, examines how thriving Black communities were systematically dismantled and turned into ghost towns.
The documentary features Jovan Scott Lewis, Geography department chair and professor. In California Task Force Reparations Study, Lewis plays a key role in analyzing the findings of the state's reparations task force, offering a deep dive into the study's significance and its potential to reshape policies. In How Black Californians Lost Their Land, he discusses the historical context of land dispossession and how discriminatory laws and practices left Black Californians without wealth-building opportunities. Lastly, in Displacement of Black Businesses in California, he examines how racially motivated practices, such as urban redevelopment and gentrification, led to the destruction of thriving Black business districts.
These reparation videos are now part of KQED’s education curriculum. Learn more here!