Civil Rights Attorney Lisa Holder Says Reparations Are More Than Money

In 2021, a Black homeowner in Marin County shared a chilling story with the California reparations task force. He and his wife had renovated their home, adding value through upgrades and improvements. But when an appraiser assessed the property, the value came in shockingly low—hundreds of thousands of dollars below expectations. The couple, suspecting racial bias, decided to test the system. They enlisted a white friend to pose as the homeowner, removed family photos and artwork, and had the house reappraised. This time, the valuation soared by nearly another half a million dollars. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”]

The story underscored the relevance of the first-of-its-kind body established in 2020 to investigate the lasting effects of systemic racism in the state and to develop proposals to address the harm done to Black Californians. It was also a defining moment for one of the task force’s members, Lisa Holder, the president of the Equal Justice Society (EJS), who sees such anecdotes not as outliers but as part of an entrenched pattern. “The narrative is that we’re a post-racial, colorblind society,” she says. “But this is contrary to all of the data that shows that Black and brown people, especially African American and Indigenous people, continue to be at the bottom in so many social indicators because of centuries and generations of inequality.” 

In 2023, the task force released a groundbreaking report filled with over 100 policy recommendations, ranging from financial compensation to sweeping reforms in education, housing, and criminal justice. One of the most significant outcomes has been the passage of several reparations bills, including one signed in September that requires California to formally apologize for perpetuating slavery. The task force determined that California courts had enforced fugitive slave laws and that more than 2,000 enslaved people were brought to California to work in gold mines even after it was admitted as a free state in 1850. “Apologies are so important in reparations,” Holder says, “because instead of placing the blame on the people who have been harmed and oppressed, you’re finally placing the blame on the institutions that have caused that harm and oppression and inequality.”

Holder, 53, has spent more than two decades working to dismantle systems of racial oppression. A leader in civil rights law, she has focused on issues of education equity, employment discrimination, and constitutional policing. Before taking the helm at EJS in 2022, she played a key role in a 2019 lawsuit that resulted in the elimination of the SAT/ACT as admissions requirements for the University of California system. The case struck down a significant barrier to higher education for many Black and Latino students, a victory that Holder considers foundational to her broader mission of systemic change.

It’s challenging work, and reparations in particular remain controversial. But while

Holder acknowledges the resistance, she remains resolute in her belief that the case for reparations is morally irrefutable. “Reparations are not just about a check in the mail,” she says. “It’s about changing systems that were designed to harm so they can never harm again.”