Wendy Fry, Alexei Kosev, Sameer Kamal | CalMatters
Last-minute protests denied two Senate-approved bills a chance to be voted on in the Assembly, and the chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus has vowed to reintroduce the bills next year, saying reparations are a “multiple-year effort.”
California had been working for years to become the first state in the nation to get a reparations bill to the governor’s desk and have it signed into law, but in the final hours of this year’s legislative session, two key bills to compensate African-Americans descended from slaves for harms came to a tragic end.
While other bills among 14 proposed reparations bills introduced by the state Legislative Black Caucus have passed this session, Sen. Steven Bradford, D-Inglewood, was unable to convince his caucus or legislative leaders to send two ambitious bills he introduced alone to the floor.
Bradford’s Senate Bills 1403 and 1331 would have created a new agency and fund to help implement policies recommended last year by the nation’s first state task force, including eventual direct cash payments to African-American descendants of people enslaved in the U.S. The envisioned California American Freedmen’s Affairs Bureau would have helped black Californians research their ancestry, verify eligibility for reparations and expedite claims.
The Senate had already approved both bills.
But last week, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration tried unsuccessfully to change one of them by authorizing California State University to further study the issue and recommend procedures for determining eligibility for compensation, rather than creating a new state agency to pursue compensation. Bradford and supporters of his approach were unconvinced by the change, arguing that the state has already spent four years studying compensation.
Newsom’s office declined to comment, saying the governor doesn’t normally discuss pending bills. California’s governor greeted the task force’s report with what many felt was a lukewarm response. He said the compensation was “more than just a cash payment.”
Task force members and lawmakers have long known that passing reparations would be politically difficult, especially measures aimed at providing cash payments to atone for the legacy of slavery. Many didn’t expect some proposals to go this far, given that the state went from a record surplus to a huge deficit this year. And polls don’t show a majority of Californians support cash reparations: A September poll of 6,000 voters by the University of California, Berkeley’s Institute of Governmental Studies found that just 23% support the relief, while 59% oppose it.
Bradford and protesters supporting his bill have argued that the bill is stalled because of fears the governor might veto it, but Rep. Lori Wilson, chair of the Legislative Black Caucus, strongly denied that, saying there are reservations within her own caucus.
“The group was not able to collectively participate in the legislative process and only recently became aware of the bill’s concerns and problems,” the group’s statement read. “As it stands, one of the main concerns with the bill is that it abdicates legislative oversight authority, which is extremely problematic given the impact this legislation will have for generations.”
Bradford, vice chair of the caucus and a member of the state reparations task force, countered that the changes the governor wanted would “eviscerate” SB 1403. “No new study was needed,” he argued. “The time to act is now.”
“We’re at the finish line,” Bradford said. “I think we in the Congressional Black Caucus have an obligation to the descendants of slavery, to black Californians and black Americans, to move this bill forward and get it to the governor’s desk.”
Wilson, a Suisun City Democrat, told reporters on the Capitol that the bill would likely be reintroduced next year.
“The Congressional Black Caucus is committed to a priority package of reparations and is committed to completing the recommendations that came out of the task force,” she said. “We knew from the beginning it would be an uphill battle. We knew from the beginning it would be difficult, and we knew from the beginning it would be a multiyear effort.”
A spokesman for Gov. Wilson did not immediately respond to a request to explain how the bill would cede oversight authority to the Legislature.
About 25-30 activists affiliated with the Coalition for a Fair and Equitable California protested at the Capitol this afternoon.
“This isn’t white people blocking a reparations bill,” said Chris Lodgeson, an organizer with the group. “This isn’t Latinos blocking a reparations bill. This isn’t Asian American families blocking a reparations bill. This is black people who are afraid of the governor blocking their own reparations bill.”
Several members of the Congressional Black Caucus tried to address the protesters, who at times shouted at lawmakers as they passed by.
“Get tough on him, get him to veto it,” Sacramento Fire Chief Jonathan Burgess, a noted advocate for reparations, said of Newsom. “Show me who you are, that’s what I’m asking.”
Burgess noted that other reparations measures passed by the Congressional Black Caucus benefit all California residents and do not specifically target those harmed by slavery. One of Bradford’s bills that has reached the governor’s desk would establish a means to recover property seized through the exercise of eminent domain based on race.
Activists also discussed the need to maintain momentum for reparations measures as public enthusiasm for racial justice wanes.
In 2020, the murder of George Floyd by the Minneapolis Police Department sparked a nationwide reckoning on racial discrimination. In response to the incident, then-California State Secretary Shirley Weber, who was a member of the California Assembly, promoted a bill to establish the California Reparations Task Force, which Governor Newsom enacted into law. The task force toured the state for two years, held hundreds of hours of public hearings, and listened to the opinions of residents and researchers. It published a report of over 1,000 pages summarizing its findings and more than 100 recommendations.
Advocates pointed to legislation passed by Congress that would help undocumented immigrants.
“I think it’s ironic that we find funding for other people, other ethnic groups. We can find everything else, but when it comes to black Americans, we’re always put on the back burner and we’re told no,” said Sir Major Page, an organizer with the grassroots advocacy group Foundation Black Americans.
Supporters of reparations began organizing a caravan to Sacramento on Friday, and they also urged people outside the area to call Democratic Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas and Los Angeles Assemblymembers Wilson and Regi Jones-Sawyer to urge them to introduce the bill into the Legislature.
“That’s literally all they have to do…” said Camilla Moore, chair of the Reparations Task Force. “…Just bring the bill to Congress. We have the votes to pass it.”
Newsom’s office said the governor is working with the California Legislative Black Caucus on a reparations package. The office referred CalMatters to previous comments the governor has made about reparations efforts.
“I didn’t just read it. I devoured it. I analyzed it,” Newsom said in January. “I stress-tested what we’ve done, what we’re doing now, what we would like to do but can’t do because of constitutional constraints. And I’ve worked closely with the Congressional Black Caucus.”
Governor Newsom in June set aside $12 million from the state budget to fund a reparations bill supported by the Legislative Black Caucus.
The California reparations bill already on the Governor’s desk includes:
Assembly Bill 3089: Provides that California recognizes and apologizes for the harm the state committed against African Americans under slavery and the enduring legacy of systemic discrimination. It also requires that a plaque commemorating that apology be installed in the state capitol. Assembly Bill 3131: Requires that local educational agencies that receive certain education flat-rate funding (usually located in majority black and brown communities) be given positive consideration for career and technical education initiatives. Senate Bill 1050: Provides that land acquired by government agencies through eminent domain for racially discriminatory reasons must be returned to the owners or provide fair monetary compensation. Senate Bill 1089: Requires grocery stores and pharmacies to provide employees and workforce development departments with advance written notice of closure.
First published: September 1, 2024, 5:11 PM