Bridging the Hope Gap: California’s Opportunity for Reparative Justice

Reparative movements have a hope problem.

We at the BLIS Collective — a solidarity and action hub that braids narratives and grows movements for reparative and redistributive policy — call the distance between support for a movement and belief in its feasibility the “hope gap.”

New research published last week by BLIS Collective shows that it’s one thing to believe reparative movements — such as reparations for Black people and Land Back for Indigenous people — should happen, and another thing altogether to believe that they can happen.

And to be clear, in order for this country to live up to its stated ideals of democracy, both must happen. America was founded on stolen land and labor — on the exploitation of Indigenous and Black bodies. Repair for these dual original sins is the only way for this country to realize its stated values and ensure freedom and liberation for all.

While 76% of surveyed Black respondents support reparations and 80% of Indigenous respondents support Land Back, only about 20% believe such policies are actually achievable.

In California, the first state to establish both a reparations task force and a truth and healing council for Native Californians, the ground is fertile for helping close this hope gap. In 2020, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed AB 3121, creating the California Reparations Task Force to study and develop proposals for potential reparations for descendants of enslaved people and those impacted by slavery.

This task force released its final recommendations in 2023, including proposals for financial compensation for housing discrimination, the creation of a dedicated state agency to implement reparations, formal apologies for historical injustices and educational reforms to accurately teach Black history in schools.

In 2019, Newsom established the Truth and Healing Council to clarify the historical record of the state’s relationship with California Native Americans and provide recommendations on reparative policies by 2025. This dual-track approach to addressing historical injustices offers California a rare chance to show the nation that repair is not just theoretical — it’s possible.

Why the hope gap matters

Support for a movement alone won’t activate people to participate, engage or advocate without also having the belief that meaningful change is possible. Active engagement from supporters is the only way to grow a movement and ensure its success.

Though the hope gap isn’t just about pessimism, it reflects generations of oppression, historic disenfranchisement, broken promises and eroded trust in government institutions. When only 21.5% of Black respondents and 19.1% of Indigenous respondents believe reparative policies are feasible, we face a fundamental challenge that goes beyond building support.

We need to rebuild public belief in what’s possible. In a society that continues to breed apathy and despair, addressing the hope gap for a reparative and liberated future is the project of our generation.

Research insights: The power of braided narratives

The hope gap findings emerged from our national study, which tested the impact of a “braided narrative” video, which illustrated how the histories and solutions for Black and Indigenous communities are inherently intertwined.

Strengthening solidarity between communities could be a powerful strategy for narrowing the hope gap.

The survey results demonstrate that we can successfully increase support and solidarity by highlighting the interconnectedness of the reparations and Land Back movements. Solidarity matters for several important reasons: It broadens the base of support for each movement, helps overcome the historical divisions intentionally sown between these communities by the U.S. government and ensures that victories for one community can spark momentum and hope for the other.

Our data show that Black and Indigenous communities are already primed for solidarity, with 68% of Black respondents supporting Land Back and 51% of Indigenous respondents supporting reparations. The braided narrative approach further strengthened cross-movement support, particularly among Democrats in both groups.

It’s encouraging that the majority of both groups support one another at baseline, and even more so that a brief exposure to a solidarity narrative can boost cross-movement support. This should serve as evidence for a scaled solidarity narrative rooted in the truth about the nation’s founding.

The spillover effect: How movements strengthen each other

The study also revealed an important narrative spillover effect: When Black viewers watched content about reparations, their support for Land Back increased, even without content related to it. Similarly, Indigenous viewers who watched content about Land Back showed increased support for reparations.

This suggests that hearing about progress for one movement can boost support for the other. While these movements have distinct and rich histories, both communities recognize that Land Back and reparations are linked and that justice for both populations is interconnected.

Another promising approach to addressing the hope gap is to publicly highlight evidence of past and current successes for reparative movements. History shows that local wins, even when they seem small, can create powerful precedents that fuel hope and transform what people believe is possible.

Consider how marriage equality spread across the United States. In 2004, Massachusetts became the first state to legalize same-sex marriage, a decision that seemed impossibly radical to many at the time. That single, state-level victory created a tangible example that advocates could point to, gradually shifting public opinion and inspiring other states to follow, including California.

What once seemed unattainable became reality nationwide just 11 years later.

Similarly, the municipal reparations program in Evanston, Illinois, provides a powerful contemporary example. When Evanston approved the first government reparations program for Black residents in 2021, it created a concrete precedent that advocates across the country could reference. This local policy breakthrough has inspired similar efforts in dozens of municipalities, from Providence to San Francisco, showing how quickly “impossible” can become “inevitable” once the first domino falls.

Finally, Minnesota offers a model for transferring a state park to tribal communities, with the state Legislature voting in 2023 to transfer Upper Sioux Agency State Park to a Dakota tribe as a form of repair for the violent acts preceding and during the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862.

It’s important to note that while this case offers a strong model, California’s Land Back strategy will require significant intention and tact, given the state’s more than 100 federally recognized tribes and dozens fighting for federal recognition, creating a unique landscape for this work.

These historical patterns highlight why publicizing successes is important: Precedent breeds hope, which fuels movements that transform society.

A blueprint for building hope

California is uniquely positioned to leverage both approaches to make a real impact on the hope gap across the nation. The dual processes of the California Reparations Task Force and Truth and Healing Council offer an opportunity for key communicators and leaders to present them as part of the same reparative project — to braid their narratives.

Our study shows this approach can effectively strengthen solidarity between Black and Indigenous communities.

Second, there is a significant opportunity to showcase the work of the reparations task force and the ongoing efforts of the Truth and Healing Council.

While the reparations task force is no longer active, former members continue to advocate for the policies outlined in the final report. Greater communication about the successes and processes of each commission can show that repair is not just a theoretical concept, but that active steps have been taken in California.

California should actively build support while directly addressing skepticism about feasibility through evidence-based storytelling. This means:

1. Amplifying every concrete win across both commissions, no matter how small
2. Connecting current achievements to longer-term goals
3. Using a braided narrative approach that highlights how these efforts are fundamentally related and can support each other.

The communication efforts should center trusted voices from California’s Black and Indigenous communities — and must be persistent. Closing a hope gap of more than 80 percentage points will require sustained effort over time.

From hope to action: Creating pathways for participation

While government commissions are essential, closing the hope gap requires a broader ecosystem of actors demonstrating progress and providing infrastructure for sustained solidarity.

As California shows that change is possible through commissions, it must simultaneously create meaningful ways for people to participate. When people begin to believe that reparative policies are achievable, they’re more likely to engage — but only if there are clear opportunities to contribute.

By creating community engagement mechanisms, supporting local initiatives and establishing educational programs that build public understanding, California can transform growing hope into concrete action. There is also an opportunity to uplift community-led initiatives that are already advancing reparations and Land Back in big and small ways across the state, such as Bruce’s Beach, Sogorea Te’ Land Trust, Santa Monica Landback and Reparations Task Force and the Section 14 settlement in Palm Springs.

California has a historic opportunity to show that reparative justice is achievable. By building visible wins, fostering cross-movement solidarity and creating pathways for participation, the state can establish a national model that shows how we move from acknowledging historical harms to actually repairing them.

This work isn’t just about policy — it’s about healing generations of justified skepticism and creating a foundation for true liberation.

Camilla Griffiths, Ph.D., is a behavioral scientist and the director of applied narrative research at the BLIS Collective.