Reparations experts and advocates largely welcomed a move by California to publicly document its role in perpetuating discrimination against African Americans but wondered if the slew of recommendations in its report released this week will result in measurable change.
“The danger here is that everyone reads it and nods their heads and waits on the task force to initiate the response,” said Justin Hansford, a longtime reparations advocate and professor of law at Howard, who called the report an exciting development. “We need to have universities, local governments, businesses and others working together to do their part to address some of the recommendations," said Hansford, who also serves as the director of the Thurgood Marshall Civil Rights Center in Washington, D.C.
