ONME 2022 Juneteenth special takes an in-depth look into the critical research on racism against Blacks in California, reported by the California Reparations Task Force
By ONME Newswire
Last year, the 46th president of the United States, Joe Biden, proclaimed June 19, 2021 as a national holiday, commemorating Juneteenth, which signifies the emancipation of enslaved people in the US. The holiday was first celebrated in Texas, where on that date in 1865, in the aftermath of the Civil War, slaves were declared free under the terms of the 1862 Emancipation Proclamation.
Now as this holiday is celebrated throughout the world, people in general are beginning to have a better understanding of the significance of the holiday, especially many Americans. However, the affects of slavery, itself, people contend, are still being felt today by many Black Americans throughout the United States.
California secretary of state and former assembly member and author of the law AB3121, Dr. Shirley N. Weber, Ph.D., intended for the bill to address Black residents in California directly affected as descendants of slavery, followed by the horrific Jim Crow laws that were blatantly public and acknowledge by non-Black Americans. In 2020, AB 3121 was signed into law, commissioning a diverse task force to be created to begin the in-depth research of the matter.
“This Task Force brings together experts who understand how we as Californians are still affected by slavery and its successors in our own state, including redlining, theft of labor, wealth and capital, over-incarceration, over-policing and systemic discrimination,” said Secretary Shirley Weber at the first meeting in June of 2021. “The aim of the Task Force is to heal the injustices of the past and present with tangible action, and to set a course for a better future for African Americans in the state.”
Attorney General Rob Bonta was a co-author of the bill; AB 3121 charges the California Department of Justice with providing administrative, technical, and legal assistance to the Task Force.
"Although the horrors of slavery may have begun in the past, its harms are felt every single day by Black Americans in the present," said California Attorney General Rob Bonta. "This Task Force will play a critical role in helping unearth the legacy of slavery — sometimes purposefully forgotten — and begin a sorely-needed process of healing, and of truth and reconciliation. That healing isn't about one community, it's about all of us. At the California Department of Justice, we'll be here every step of the way — providing administrative, technical, and legal assistance — to help the Task Force in this monumental and historic effort."
The Task Force was enacted after research confirmed that California institutions enabled slavery and slave owners within the state, including returning escaped slaves to those who claimed them as property. Following the abolition of slavery, government entities at the federal, state, and local levels continued to perpetuate, condone, and often profit from practices that brutalized African Americans and excluded them from meaningful participation in society, resulting in debilitating economic, educational, and health hardships.
AB 3121 charges the Reparations Task Force with studying the institution of slavery and its lingering negative effects on living African Americans, including descendants of persons enslaved in the United States and on society.
As the California Reparations Task Force has been meeting once a month since June 2021, the amount of research from experts detailing the massive discrimination practices in California and in the nation has been overwhelming;The ONME Network was initially covering their findings through its weekly news video and audio broadcast, News Too Real. However, as the information became more dense, The ONME Network decided at the end of last year to use the research discoveries as a part of the 2022 Juneteenth special as a way to inform the masses, all at one time.
2022 Juneteenth: An in-depth look at reparations in California
Watch on TV in northern California this Sunday and Monday
This year, The ONME Network initially started with just one, three-hour broadcast compared to last year's 4-week, entertaining celebration of "Black Excellence." However, due to the amount of information, they have added a second part of two hours to complete the 2022 Juneteenth broadcast-- a total of five hours broadcast separately on TV.
The three-hour broadcast begins with a healing prayer delivered by Rev. Dr. Paul Binion, II, of Westside Church of God, followed by a review of the history of Juneteenth, then a definition of slave codes, and a feature of prominent author, Shawn D. Rochester, who explains the meaning of "the Black Tax." The "Black Tax" is the financial cost of by conscious and unconscious anti-black discrimination. It creates a massive financial burden on Black American households that dramatically reduces their ability to leave a substantial legacy for future generations.
This tax exists in almost every market where people are required to make decisions that affect Black Americans, according to Rochester.
The three-hour broadcast continues by explaining AB3121 and reviewing the California Reparations Task Force's key findings overall. Show host and executive producer, Julia Dudley Najieb, expresses brief, personal commentary as she delves into the first two topics of environmental racism, (Anthony Rogers-Wright, C.N.E. Corbin, Ph.D, and Helen Kang, J.D.) and the effects of deliberate racism on mental health, (Dr. Theopia Jackson, Dr. Joy De Gruy, Dr. Kristee Haggins and Dr. Howard Stevenson.)
People can watch this broadcast on TV, Sunday, June 19, 2022 in northern California: The Outlet Channel 30: @ 12:00 PM and encore broadcasts: CreaTV Channel 15: Monday, June 20, 2022 @ 2:30 PM and @ 8:00 PM.
In the Central Valley, people can watch the three-hour 2022 Juneteenth Special on CMAC TV, Sunday, June 19, 2022 from 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM and Monday 5:00 PM - 8:00 PM.
People an also watch the three-hour broadcast online starting at 5:00 PM PST via The ONME Network, the Black Headline News channel or via ONME PAN partners throughout California.
Watch this broadcast in the Central Valley!
Part 2: Exploring physical health and the criminal justice system
Part 2 is a two-hour, Juneteenth broadcast that begins with the detriments of physical health affected by racism over a period of time, thus also attributing to low-birth rates of babies among Black mothers, (Dr. Chris Kuzawa, Dr. Joan Kauffman, and Kkem Ndefo.) The ONME Juenteenth broadcast continues with a feature of Fresno County District Attorney Lisa Smittcamp, explaining what a district attorney does followed by suggested solutions. It then goes into the inequities of the criminal justice system nationwide and in California, featuring Alameda County Public Defender Brendon Wood's witness statement along with criminal law professor, Rachel Barkow, formerly incarcerated individual, DeAndre Brooks, and criminal defense attorney, David Menschel.
Part 2 can be watched on CMAC TV in the Central Valley starting Thursday, June 23 at 9:00 AM & Friday, June 24 at 5:00 PM, which will be followed by 2021 Juneteenth rebroadcast from last year. Part 2 broadcast for the northern California is to be announced.
Parts 1 & 2 can also be watched together online starting Tuesday, June 21 @ 5:00 PM PST via The ONME Network, the Black Headline News channel or via ONME PAN partners throughout California. It will run daily at this scheduled time on all online networks until the end of June.
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