Alameda County Reparations Commission will begin its work in October

Evan Low again attempts to inflame Aisha Wahab's opponents

A 1937 map showing redlining of parcels, which separated African American residents in Alameda County from white neighborhoods.

COUNTY NEWS

ALAMEDA COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS

—REPARATIONS—Alameda County’s 15-member Reparations Commission will hold its first meeting on Oct. 11, it was announced on Wednesday during a Board of Supervisors ad hoc reparations committee meeting.

—The hearing served as an opportunity for Supervisors Nate Miley and Elisa Marquez to set the tone for the commission going forward. Each supervisor offered their hopes for the reparations commission to identify and achieve its goals over the next 12-18 months.

—Miley reiterated that he hopes the reparations commission can bring back a proposal for the Board of Supervisors to discuss by the end of 2024, but possibly in early 2025.

—The state’s reparations effort is nearing its conclusion, and similar efforts in San Francisco, Oakland, and Hayward are already underway, leaving the county to play catch up.

—That’s okay, Miley said, Alameda County’s Reparations Commission won’t need to re-invent the wheel.

—Several members of the reparations commission spoke during Wednesday’s hearing and each described life long desires to achieve reparations in Alameda County.

—Whether this sentiment blossoms within the reparations commission is something to watch because Miley has made it clear over the past few months that cash reparations, for example, may not be the answer in Alameda County.

Miley doesn’t think cash reparations is a good idea

—“We’ll have a lot more push back if we try to put a check in the hands of every African American,” Miley said in May. “If we try to push that agenda we’ll end up failing, particularly, when we have other things we can do to address historical wrongs.”

—Miley also suggested the reparations commission attempt to win the hearts and minds of those in different parts of the county by holding its meetings in different cities, and not just Oakland and Hayward.

—“We started with an apology,” Miley said of the county’s declaration more than a decade ago for its role in perpetuating policies that harmed African Americans. “After the apology there needs to be a whole of set of awareness and truth-telling from both sides of the spectrum.”

MORE INSIDE:

• ELECTION 2024: Early look at some November 2024 candidates and their campaign finances

• This dual endorsement tweet will cause you whiplash

• CAPITOL NEWS: Wahab receives more disrespect from South Bay colleagues

• East Bay Legislative Scoreboard debuts

• D.C. NEWS: Khanna goes to India

• President Biden the closer in Vietnam?