Spirits were high over the weekend as the California Reparations Task Force finalized their plan for approval from the state legislature.
Tensions were high in a packed house, where protestors frequently shouted the committee down. Their basic viewpoint? The 800 billion dollar plan was far too little.
San Francisco NAACP President Reverend Amos Brown, who Valuetainment spoke with for an exclusive interview, was called a “grifter” by a protestor saying he wanted his fellow black citizens to simply be sheep. She was addressing Reverend Brown specifically, who is the vice chair of the task force.
And a bishop testifying ripped into Brown even harder. “There are still lots of people in the Ku Klux Klan. Even black people. Amos Brown, you are one them.”
The audience erupted in applause.
Applause for someone attacking a man who has been a civil rights activist since 1958, who led the first lunch counter sit-in in history, who was a student of Dr. Martin Luther King, who hosted Nelson Mandela and served as an ambassador in his first visit to the USA, who was one of the chief organizers of the famed 1965 Freedom Rides that led to the desegregation of interstate travel. Yeah, that guy. Total Klansman for sure.
Bishop Henry Williams going in on Amos Brown, Part 2 pic.twitter.com/cP1zCQPKQF
— Black Voltron Reloaded (@BlkVoltronRlded) May 6, 2023
Another noted Reverend, Tony Pierce, demanded a 200 million direct cash payout to each black California resident.
If that wasn’t realistic, then Pierce’s next best choice was the San Francisco version of the plan, which would only be applicable to those living within city limits. That one would give each black San Franciscan a 5 million dollar direct cash payout, at 100k a year.
But Governor Gavin Newsom stunned Californians when announcing he would not support direct cash payments to black residents as part of their reparations plan.
“This has been an important process, and we should continue to work as a nation to reconcile our original sin of slavery and understand how that history has shaped our country. Dealing with that legacy is about much more than cash payments.”
It comes as a shock since Newsom himself created the task force. He was expected to support any suggestion the group gave him, and he had a loyal super majority in the state legislature.
Is Reverend Amos Brown responsible for the governor desire to nix direct cash payments? It’s likely.
He’s been the most vocal about how cash payments wouldn’t work to truly empower the black community. But some members of the statewide committee said that they would likely want some sort of cash payout. He was the only one vocally it.
The plan, finalized on Saturday, is somewhat vague, neither suggesting nor rejecting a direct cash payment. They did suggest each black resident get $350,000 lifetime in checks. But those checks specifically could have been used for housing vouchers, childcare reimbursements, backpay for unfair incarceration, etc. In a sense, it would be a few extra checks to help black citizens with day to day expenses. Not just a 100k a year, do with it what you may, kind of deal.
Amos Brown’s alternate plan, which drew consternation from hard left activists, called for reparations in the form of community investments. Think entrepreneurial after school classes for SF’s black kids, affordable healthcare access, affordable housing, and converting a largely vacant building in the heart of San Francisco into a community center.
He was the only committee member who directly opposed cash handouts. It looks like the CA governor listened to the legend.
Check out Valuetainment’s exclusive interview with Reverend Amos Brown.
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