California's reparations task force demands that black people get priority for renting, buying homes

California's reparations task force, created by Governor Gavin Newsom in 2020 with members appointed in 2021, to study the economic effects of slavery and discrimination is demanding to have veto power over the state's real estate decisions in order to give black people first priority in the renting and buying markets, Daily Mail reports.

The reparations task force is asking California lawmakers to give them control of local land use decisions so they can approve plans based on whether or not they decrease or maintain segregation, stating that, "Residential zoning ordinances have been used for decades in California to prevent African Americans from moving into neighborhoods, thereby maintaining residential segregation."

"To address local zoning laws that reinforce and recreate this systemic housing segregation, the Task Force recommends that the Legislature require identified cities and counties to submit all residential land use ordinances for review and approval by a state agency, with the agency rejecting (or requiring modification of) the ordinance if the agency finds that the proposed ordinance will maintain or exacerbate levels of residential racial segregation," they said.