Issue link: https://imageup.uberflip.com/i/1530828
e Movement for Reparations: e debate on reparations for African Americans is nothing new. Since the end of slavery, various organizations have advocated to compensate former slaves and their descendants for centuries of unpaid labor and systemic oppression. e rst mass-reparations movement led by African Americans was the National Ex-Slave Mutual Relief Bounty and Pension Association, active from 1890 to 1916. Seventy-one years later, in 1987, the National Coalition of Blacks in America (N'COBRA) became a leading voice for reparations. More recently, in 2019, the U.S. House of Representatives held a historic hearing on Juneteenth, featuring testimonies from inuential public gures like Ta-Nehisi Coates and Danny Glover. In November 2024, Palm Springs approved a $5.9 million reparations package for Black and Latino families who had been forced from their Section 14 neighborhood in the 1960s. Section 14 was a square-mile neighborhood east of downtown that many Black and Mexican American families called home. Current City Council Member, Geo Kors, remembers, "houses being torched and people pulled out of their homes in the dead of night with no warning." Mayor Pro Tem Lisa Middleton stated on Channel 3 News that, "the City of Palm Springs sta drove bulldozers that took down people's homes. We cannot erase our role in what happened." e settlement states a portion of the $5.9 million will be distributed directly to former residents and their descendants. $10 million will be allocated to a rst-time home-buyer assistance program, prioritizing former Section 14 residents and their descendants. $10 million will be used to establish a community land trust to preserve aordable housing in the area. And a monument will be created to commemorate the history of Section 14 and honor the displaced families. While progress remains slow, these developments demonstrate a growing awareness of the need for reparations and a shi towards addressing historic injustices. AACC Upcoming Event(s): A Cowboy-emed Black History Month Celebration on Saturday, Feb. 8 at 2 pm. Tickets are $25 per person. e next club meeting is Monday, Jan. 6, at 6 pm in e Lodge Game Room. For more information, contact Jocelyn Doucette at cjs1speed@gmail.com. ~ Regina omas FOUR SEASONS BREEZE | JANUARY 2025 47 African American Cultural Club Pearl Devers, a former resident and leader of the Palm Springs Section 14 Survivors group, on the land where her community once stood in Palm Springs on May 30, 2024. Section 14 Survivor's Downtown Palm Springs Rally held on Nov. 6, 2024