The area of Palm Springs, California, recently agreed to pay$ 5.9 million in restitution to black and Latino people years after a town was destroyed in the 1960s to construct industrial buildings there.
According to The Associated Press, the Palm Springs City Council overwhelmingly approved , the restitution earlier this month.
The Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians owned Part 14 of Palm Springs, which was reported by The New York Times, which was destroyed between 1965 and 1967. According to the outlet, Section 14 held 230 homes, mostly rented out by black and Latino people, prior to the development of industrial buildings in the area.
Six years after the town’s death, Palm Springs is paying$ 5.9 million to previous residents of the area. The Palm Springs City Council even approved$ 10 million for a first-time homebuyer help program,$ 10 million for a community property trust, and$ 10 million for the construction of a Section 14 monument. According to The New York Times, previous occupants of the area and their heirs are anticipated to be the first people to take advantage of the financial aid package.
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A “racial recovery middle driven by the original Section 14 residents” will be included in the city’s agreement to build a Section 14 monument, according to KESQ.
According to Palm Springs Mayor Jeffrey Bernstein,” The City Council is profoundly appreciative that the former Part 14 residents have accepted what we believe is a good and really settlement offer,” according to a statement obtained by KESQ. The City Council has always respected Section 14’s historical significance, and with this state resolution, we are taking striking and significant steps to give our entire community long-term benefits while funding initiatives that give special attention to Section 14’s former residents.
Following the state’s choice to offer restitution, 86-year-old Margarita Genera, a part of the Palm Springs Section 14 Victims group, which pushed for the city to give financial compensation over the past demolition of Section 14 housing, told The New York Times,” We have been fighting for a long time to show our story”.
