A new California bill is proposing to provide reparations for families who were displaced by the construction of the original Dodger Stadium. As this happened in the 1950s, it’s possible that the descendants of these families will actually be the ones to receive these funds. The bill is called AB 1950 or The Chavez Ravine Accountability Act. If AB 1950 passes, it will require the city of Los Angeles to provide compensation for these families or their remaining descendants.
Reparations for Dodger Stadium Displacement
Sadly, it’s estimated that about 1,800 families were displaced after the city claimed the land was needed for a project. Additionally, many of the displaced families were Mexican-American and were never able to return to their homes. For many years, there’s been many public calls for reparations for all of those displaced by Dodger Stadium. The community has expressed relief that steps have been taken to rectify this long standing issue.
Compensation Conditions
Thankfully, the reparations could come in different forms, such as fair-market-value compensation or conveying city-owned land for “housing, use, and enjoyment equal to the square footage area of land acquired by the city.” Plus, the compensation would be exempt from property tax and taxation. So this would mean that those families receiving the reparations would be able to keep even more of their funds.
Community Memorial
Moreover, the bill calls for the City of Los Angeles to create a searchable database with information related to the Chavez Ravine displacement. AB 1950 also requires the city to build a permanent memorial that would honor all the displaced families from the community of Chavez Ravine. Official recognition of those who were displaced would be a step in the right direction for the local community.
You can read more about The Chavez Ravine Accountability Act or AB 1950 here.