I participated in the Northern California Time of Remembrance (NCTOR) program on February 8, 2025, which focused on California’s Reparations Task Force and Black reparations.  The panel speakers were two Task Force members: attorney Don Tamaki and psychologist Dr. Cheryl Grills. The Task Force issued a voluminous and well-written report with several recommendations.  Parkview Church has decided to support the recommendation to create a public education fund so that people can learn about the stories, experiences, humanity, and harm from slavery, Jim Crow exclusion, and decades of racial discrimination that have caused racial disparities today.  Parkview is now a signatory to the letter, which will be sent to Governor Newsom when the bill has passed the California legislature.  

Why support a Public Education Fund?  A similar fund was established after a Congressional commission issued a report finding that the WWII incarceration of Japanese Americans was caused by “race prejudice, war hysteria and a failure of political leadership.”  Because of the education fund, more stories and information became available to educate the public about the Japanese American wartime experience, and the stories were expansive, from personal stories in films to oral histories, books, documentaries, and fictional short films.  Even after the education funds ended, the stories have continued to be told in creative ways. For example, my husband and I recently traveled to Berkeley, California to see a new opera about a Japanese American couple going from arranged marriage to incarceration and the aftermath.  What was once a taboo subject to talk about is now embraced as a part of our history and identity; as a result, these stories have brought much healing.  At this time, there are intentional and targeted steps being taken to rewrite or erase history.  The January 6 insurrectionists have been pardoned as though there was never a riot or harm and destruction done that day.  The educational fund can preserve stories, help us to reflect on humanity and ask questions like why is diversity under attack rather than being celebrated as one of God’s gifts to us.  

Can we afford funding this educational fund?  The proposed legislation, if passed and signed by the Governor, would allocate eight million dollars for the education fund. How much is allocated to a project or department depends on many factors, and there are many ways funding is done, sometimes over a period of years.  Although a specific dollar amount is in the legislation and support letter, the actual amount of funds and the schedule for funding is up to the combined efforts of the legislature and Governor Newsom:  we propose, the legislature takes in information and debates, the Governor considers and either signs or vetoes.  However, the more important consideration is what will be the harm to the descendants of former slaves and others in the Black community, if no action is taken now?  We are living in divisive and hard times, when steps that were taken to promote diversity and to recognize the rich cultures and contributions of our multicultural state are being reversed.  So here is a small way to take a stand and to try to repair where the harms have been grave, incomprehensible, significant, and generational.  We can decide to live with hope, compassion, and faith, knowing that in small ways we are trying to follow Christ’s teachings to love one another.  

In Christ,
Donna Komure-Toyama
Ruling Elder