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LOS ANGELES (CNS) - A commission created to advise Los Angeles city leaders about a possible future reparations program will convene a virtual public meeting Thursday, inviting Black residents to share stories of systemic racism and learn about the goals of the local reparations effort.
"Reparations are a necessary step to heal our city and address the centuries of harm done to African Americans in Los Angeles," Reparations Advisory Commission Chair Michael Lawson, also the CEO/President of the Los Angeles Urban League, said in a statement. "The Reparations Advisory Commission is working to take that next step with input from scholars and the community. Now is the time for the community to come together and contribute to a reparations plan for Los Angeles."
Thursday's virtual event will be titled "Homecoming," and will feature a presentation on the commission's mission and goals, and the next steps in developing a reparations pilot program. Meeting participants will be invited to share stories on a variety of topics, including housing, policing, incarceration, education, income gaps, voting and politics.
Residents who wish to take part in the session can register at bit.ly/ReparationsLA. The event will be streamed online at facebook.com/LACivilRights.
"Black Americans have always faced bigotry, racism, and discrimination and we can trace the toll that slavery has taken in their unequal health, wealth, and educational outcomes," Mayor Eric Garcetti said in a statement. "In launching a reparations commission, the city of Los Angeles is acknowledging, and seeking to address, the injustices of the past -- while working to build a future where all Angelenos are given the opportunity to thrive and reach for their full potential."
Garcetti announced the creation of the commission last year.