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Black and Latino families whose homes were demolished and burned in Palm Springs during brutal urban renewal projects in the 1950s and 1960s have tentatively agreed to a $5.9 million settlement, the city said Wednesday. Announced.
Decades after city officials and the fire department destroyed an estimated 197 homes on tribal land in downtown Palm Springs, the proposed settlement is a historic blow to Section 14 families and their descendants in what is known as the Section 14 District. The city said it was aimed at addressing social injustice.
The City Council is scheduled to vote tonight on a proposed settlement that includes compensation based on the market value of the personal property lost to identified former Section 14 residents and their families.
In addition to reconciliation, the council will also consider funding a wide range of programs aimed at addressing long-standing economic disparities in desert cities, including housing initiatives for marginalized communities. $20 million, including $1 million for local business initiatives. While the program is aimed at the entire Palm Springs community, the city said it will target assistance to Section 14 families.
Mayor Jeffrey Bernstein said the City Council was “deeply gratified” that the former Section 14 residents agreed to accept the settlement offer.
“The City Council has always respected the historical significance of Article 14,” he said in a statement. Bernstein said the resolution of the case “will provide lasting benefits to our entire community while providing programs that prioritize assistance to former Section 14 residents.”
The city apologized in 2021 for its actions surrounding the eviction of neighbors, and discussions about compensation have been ongoing for years.
Attorney Areva Martin, who represents the Section 14 residents and their descendants, did not respond to a request for comment Thursday morning. “The fact that we were able to cross the finish line was remarkable considering the headwind we faced,” Martin told The Associated Press.
Section 14 is a 1 square mile area located in the heart of the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indian Reservation. According to the city, federal law prevented the Agua Caliente tribe from developing its land until the late 1950s, leaving tribal landowners with Black and African Americans who were excluded from much of the rest of the city by racist real estate codes. The land was leased to Latino workers. lending practices.
The area had limited water and electricity service, and no gas lines, sewers, garbage collection or paved roads, according to a historical study prepared for the city council last month by the Building Resources Group. The study found that as early as the 1930s, county, state and federal officials expressed concerns about Section 14’s substandard living conditions.
But in the midst of the city’s affordable housing crisis, Section 14 was centrally located and affordable with working-class salaries, allowing chefs to help develop Palm Springs’ vibrant hospitality industry. It became home to , drivers and maids. It eventually grew into a thriving community with homes, mobile homes, restaurants and a church, according to the nonprofit Section 14 Survivors.
In 1951, the California Housing Authority and the Riverside County Health Department directed Palm Springs to remove temporary housing that did not meet Section 14 standards, and residents began receiving eviction notices, according to the city. . The city sought to relocate and house Section 14 residents following impending evictions, but not all efforts were successful, as noted in one city document.
When Congress relaxed tribal land restrictions in 1959 and allowed 99-year leases, cities and tribal landowners had the opportunity to address health concerns in their areas and turn their land into cash. I got it.
Historical research shows that multiple government agencies removed and evicted Section 14 residents through at least five large-scale abatement campaigns between 1936 and 1965, but the city’s direct involvement began in 1948. It started in the year.
A 1968 state investigation found that the city failed to give Section 14 residents the required notice to vacate their homes before they were destroyed. State officials at the time called Palm Springs’ actions a “city-engineered holocaust,” but denied holding the city criminally responsible.
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a formal apology in September for California’s role in slavery and the legacy of racism against Black people, but overall the state’s efforts to achieve reparations have been gradual. .
This article is part of the Times’ Equity Reporting Initiative, funded by the James Irvine Foundation, which examines the challenges facing low-income workers and the efforts being made to address California’s economic disparities. I am.
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