Desert Stonewall Democrats February Membership Meeting

The Desert Stonewall Democrats February Membership Meeting will take place on Thursday, February 23, 2023 at The Palm Springs Cultural Center / Theatre 2 at 6 pm.

The meeting this month is Section 14: A Bitter Legacy.

In Palm Springs, hundreds of Black and Mexican families are seeking millions of dollars in restitution for being forcibly evicted from the Section 14 neighborhood in the 1950s and 1960s.

In 2020, California established a first-in-the-nation state-backed task force to examine the ongoing harms caused by slavery, political disenfranchisement, segregation and other racist and discriminatory practices to the Black Community. In its first report (June 2022), the task force found that the state of California and the various arms of its government have played an active role in perpetuating systemic racism against Black Californians.

esearchers have found that housing and employment discrimination, displacement of communities of color and educational segregation have impacted the economic and social prosperity of Black people in the state. It can be seen in the displacement of Black residents, disparities in Black home appraisals, over policing and over incarceration in Black communities, and more that has stifled the potential for wealth growth among Black residents.

Racism has shaped the lives of Black Californians, with some discriminatory practices continuing into the '70s, '80s and still hindering or disadvantaging state residents today.

Other cities, notably San Francisco, are considering similar restitution programs.The task force’s researchers found that state agencies were responsible for demolishing Black neighborhoods in the name of urban renewal and park construction. They say these policies led to the closure of hundreds of businesses, displaced thousands of households and damaged the lives of nearly 20,000 people in San Francisco alone.

The subject of reparations is controversial, to say the least. For this meeting, we have invited a panel including survivors and descendants of the Section 14 evictions to discuss the history and current reality behind the reparations claim. Please join us for this informative meeting.