On Sept. 26, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a series of landmark bills aimed at addressing the historical mistreatment of African Americans in California and advancing reparations. By issuing a formal apology for the state government’s role in perpetuating slavery and the oppression of enslaved individuals, Newsom seeks to send a powerful message of accountability and justice.
The movement for concrete reparations for Black Californians gained momentum in 2023 after the California Reparations Task Force published a report detailing the state’s involvement in perpetuating slavery and the ongoing harm caused by systemic racism and implicit bias against Black residents, KQED reports.
Following the bill signing, Lori Wilson, D-Suisun City, said, “Together with Gov. Newsom, we are sending a powerful message that California is leading the way in repairing harm done to Black communities. Today marks a victory, but only the first in the continued fight for justice.”
Newsom signing the bills is a big step at the end of a long road of legislative work. Wilson and the other members of the California Legislative Black Caucus prioritized creating something achievable over attempting to be overly ambitious. The caucus manned its effort by coming up with measures of reparations that were both meaningful and reasonable and tried to avoid more means like direct cash payments.
Following previous failures to pass similar bills, Wilson said she’s hopeful that in the spring, she’ll win approval for all 14 of the CLBC’s original reparations bills. So far, nine bills have passed the Assembly and Senate.
Newsom signed six of them into law recently, notably instating AB 3089, which acts as an official apology on behalf of state officials who advanced slavery in California’s history and for continually “perpetuating the harms African Americans have faced.”
Newsom said in a statement, “The State of California accepts responsibility for the role we played in promoting, facilitating, and permitting the institution of slavery, as well as its enduring legacy of persistent racial disparities.”
“Building on decades of work, California is now taking another important step forward in recognizing the grave injustices of the past — and making amends for the harms caused,” he continued.
California has a deep-rooted history in the slave trade, even though it was a free state upon its settlement. The majority of the state’s early government leaders supported slavery and passed laws that made it easier for enslavers to recapture free Black people in California.
Assemblymember Reggie Jones-Sawyer, D-Los Angeles, who also served on the reparations task force, said, “Healing can only begin with an apology. The State of California acknowledges its past actions and is taking this bold step to correct them, recognizing its role in hindering the pursuit of life, liberty, and happiness for Black individuals through racially motivated punitive laws.”
On Sept. 26, Newsom also signed AB 1815, which effectively expands the definition of race in its reference to state laws to include specific traits associated with race to widen general protections against more subtle forms of discrimination.
The day before, however, Newsom vetoed two other reparations proposals. The first would have required Medi-Cal to cover food interventions. Newsom alleged it would be too expensive. He also rejected a bill to implement a state-wide process of reviewing racism claims. The rest of the recent reparation proposals will be on the ballot for California voters in November.