A California city is set to vote on whether to approve a nearly $6million reparations deal with black and Latino families whose neighborhood was razed in the 1960s.
Section 14 of Palm Springs, a one-mile tract owned by the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians, was destroyed by city officials to make way for commercial development in the mid-1960s.
More than 230 structures in the neighborhood, where African American and Latino families built and rented homes, were demolished and burned by the city’s fire department between 1965 and 1967, the New York Times reports.
It was one of the few places minorities could live due to discriminatory housing restrictions in place at the time, after a change in federal law allowed the tribe to lease the land for up to 99 years.
Former residents have now accepted a $5.9million settlement, which the city council is expected to vote on at a public meeting on Thursday.
It is also set to vote on a package that would include up to another $21million for housing, economic development and small business programs.
The city had already set aside $20million of its funds to be spent over the next decade on ‘affordable homeownership’ for first-time buyers and established a community land trust for low-income residents.
Those who lived in Section 14 and their descendants would receive priority access.
An additional $1million would also be used under the proposal to support small businesses through grants and low-interest loans.
A Section 14 monument, along with naming rights for a future public park and a racial healing center, is also included in the hefty settlement, KESQ reports.
Members of the Palm Springs Section 14 Survivors group praised the deal, which they formally accepted on Wednesday.
‘We have been fighting for a long time to tell our story,’ Margarita Genera, 86, who lived with her parents and two siblings in the neighborhood told the Times.
The former residents have long contended they were evicted with little or no notice before their homes were destroyed, but a California state investigation in 1968 concluded the city showed ‘civil disregard’ for the rights of its minority resident, but there was no evidence any crimes were committed.
City officials did not acknowledge its wrongdoing until 2021, when it formally apologized for the evictions.
The following year, the survivors’ group filed a tort claim, alleging the forced evictions were unlawful and amounted to ‘racially-motivated attacks.’
It compared the tragedy to the violence that decimated a vibrant community known as Black Wall Street in 1921, leaving as many as 300 people dead – though no deaths were reported in connection with the displacement of families from Section 14.
‘This was a community that was told that you are not deserving – They were told they were a menace, an eyesore, a public nuisance,’ Areva Martin, a Los Angeles-based civil rights attorney representing the group.
‘This was about acknowledging the harm that was done.’
The city council finally approved a package to address the historical injustices, including a cash settlement of about $4.3million in April.
It was increased to $5.9million last week, after city officials received updated information that an estimated 197 homes were involved in the original abatement – up from the 145 homes previously identified, according to the Palm Springs Post.
That money will now be split among the verified former residents and their descendants.
Martin said there were about 300 people in the group, but she expected a smaller number to qualify.
Pearl Devers, who organized the survivors’ group, said the settlement is long overdue.
‘While no amount of money can fully restore what we lost, this agreement helps pave the way for us all to finally move forward.’
Mayor Jeffrey Bernstein also said in a statement: ‘The City Council is deeply gratified that the former residents of Section 14 have agreed to accept what we believe is a fair and just settlement offer.
‘The City Council has always respected the historical significance of Section 14, and with this resolution of the claim… we are taking bold and important action that will create lasting benefits for our entire community, while providing programs that prioritize support for the former residents of Section 14.’