The Slavery Reparations Series
I hope you all had a wonderful and fulfilling week and that your cups are running over. Today I want to fill you all in on a developing story out of California.
You may or may not have heard that on February 1, California’s Legislative Black Caucus announced that this spring, its lawmakers will have an opportunity to consider a total of fourteen slavery reparations bills in response to a taskforce report similar to that of Evanston’s own. This landmark legislation makes California the first state to follow in Evanston’s footsteps and is a monumental victory for those who wanted to see reparations undertaken on a larger scale level. Although California’s bills do not propose direct cash payments to those impacted by systematic discrimination and slavery in America, it does offer them many other avenues to improve their standing and to make amends for the suffering they and their ancestors have endured. The first of their bills includes a resolution acknowledging that current laws are intentionally framed to exclude black individuals and keep them in an inferior position. The next up mandates a formal apology from the Governor to the black citizens of California for any part the State has played in harming them through racial injustices and inequalities – something Evanston did not require be done.
Detailed Vector Map of California State with pointers.
The remainder of the bills have a broad focus, from legislation focusing on housing discrimination and the inability to accumulate generational wealth (as in Evanston and Oak Park), to mass incarceration and the involuntary servitude of incarcerated persons, to prohibiting the bans on natural and protective hairstyles in certain sports, to measures dealing with violence in the communities, to access to free post-secondary education and technical training schools. The series of bills covers just about anything you can imagine. The bills have been carefully written since the taskforce submitted its report in mid-2023, although only a few of those bills’ texts have been fully disclosed for the public to view. One fear is that these bills could lead to a string of legal battles questioning the constitutionality of the reparations using the same argument that dismantled affirmative action: civil rights violations under the 14th Amendment. There’s an article to follow this one on the constitutionality of reparations that provides more information on the 14th Amendment in regard to reparations, so be sure to keep an eye out for that one.
Some say that California has been too careless in the writing of their legislation. They say that California leads in thought, but not action, and that California should be following Evanston’s lead a bit more closely, although evidence of this will only be revealed if legal battles challenging their proposals begin to unfold. Some say that Evanston, not California, is the true champion of reparation legislation, although that is being overshadowed by California’s recent measures. We know that most Californians agree that slavery and systematic discrimination has and still is causing black Americans much harm. An August 2023 poll confirmed that. And we also know that Californians, while in favor of reparations, opposed those reparations being made in the form of direct cash payments. Perhaps these proposals are as carefully crafted as Evanston’s after all. Since the proposals leave out direct cash payments, one can infer this is because of their constituency. Interestingly, those who are opposed to the payments are primarily White, Asian, Pacific Islander, Latino, and Alaskan Natives while 75% of black individuals who were polled supported reparations payments in the form of cash money. I can’t help but wonder, since the reparations are being made to black people, shouldn’t black people have a voice in what it would take to redeem ourselves as cities, states, and as a nation? Shouldn’t black people say how those reparations should be made? Either way, these bills are still just proposals, and the journey to becoming law I far from over. Black lawmakers are already anticipating an uphill battle. They anticipate spending many hours to educate fellow legislators and convince them to pass the bills.
Whatever the case, California’s action is one for the books and you can bet other states are paying attention now. We here at BLACK have our eyes wide open and we will keep you in the loop as this story develops. For now, let’s pray that California legislators have the wisdom set the stage for the rest of the nation, to make decisions for the betterment of the black race, and decisions that will finally help put an end to the pain and suffering racial inequality continues to create and allow the relationship between white and black Americans to start mending, a little at a time. Until next time….
References
California Legislature. (2024). ACR 135. Human Rights Violations and Crimes Against Humanity on African Slaves and Their Descendants. Bill Text – ACR-135 Human rights violations and crimes against humanity on African slaves and their descendants.
California Legislative Black Caucus. (2024). CALIFORNIA LEGISLATIVE BLACK CAUCUS INTRODUCES 2024 REPARATIONS LEGISLATIVE PACKAGE: PRESS RELEASE.California Legislative Black Caucus Introduces 2024 Reparations Legislative Package | Legislative Black Caucus
Fry, W. & et al. (2023). California Is The First State to Tackle Reparations for Black Residents: What That Really Means. CA is the first state to tackle Black reparations. Here’s why – CalMatters
Korte, L. (2024). California Introduces First-In-Nation Slavery Reparations Package. California introduces first-in-nation slavery reparations package – POLITICO
Luna, T. (2024). California’s Reparations Plan: Eligibility, Payments, and Other Details. California’s slavery reparations plan: Eligibility, payments and more – Los Angeles Times (latimes.com)
Phillips, J. (2024). California Leads in Thought – Not Actions – When It Comes to Reparations. California leads in thought — not action — on reparations (sfchronicle.com)
About the Author:
Tia is an investigative journalist here at BLACK. She holds degrees in Political Science and Applied Economics from SNHU and she is a first-year law student at Purdue Global Law School, pursuing her J.D. She also has a certification in Human Rights from Wassmuth Center for Human Rights in Boise Idaho and she recently interned for the Office of Budget and Entitlement Policy at Cato Institute in Washington, D.C. Tia is a RESULTS 2024 Organizing and Advocacy Fellow and Outreach and Partnerships Coordinator. She lives with her husband and three children in Hurricane, West Virginia.
In her free time, she enjoys contemporary art, fashion, home décor, reading, and family. Tia is passionate about protecting American consumers and corporations and is a strong proponent for open markets, human rights, and equality for all. Her current focus is slavery reparations, entitlement program solvency, and budget appropriations process reform. While Tia is not black, she supports the fight for equality and stands with BLM. She believes that unearned privilege creates a duty to act against racial inequality and injustices.
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