Apology but no cash payments: California reparations for slavery start incrementally

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California Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed a package of reparations legislation, including a formal apology to African Americans for the state’s role in perpetuating slavery and its legacy – and budgeted $12 million to pay for it. 

The effort – touted by lawmakers as milestones but disappointing advocates who wanted more aggressive action – was the first response to last year’s reparations task force report. Ambitious recommendations in that report made headlines, including comprehensive reforms across government and cash payments with an eye-popping price tag. 

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California’s first reparations legislation includes a formal bipartisan apology to Black residents and a $12 million package of racial justice laws. Experts consider it transformative for the national conversation.

The legislature’s first response was incremental: The bipartisan apology was the marquee gesture, and the $12 million funding just a fraction of what would have been needed for cash payments to descendants of chattel slavery or other forms of monetary redress, like subsidies for education or homeownership. The new laws addresses such issues as “food deserts,” discrimination based on traits associated with race (such as hair texture and style), and better maternal health in marginalized communities.

“Everyone is looking to California to lead, looking to California to understand what obstacles might be ahead of us, looking for how community and institutions work together and wrap around in this process of reparations,” says Robin Rue Simmons, founder of FirstRepair, an organization leading reparations discussions across the country.

When a California reparations task force released a thousand-page report last year addressing the effects of systemic racism on Black residents, it made headlines with ambitious and comprehensive recommendations, including reforms at every level of government and cash payments with an eye-popping price tag.

Now, acting on the recommended framework, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a package of reparations legislation, including a formal apology to African Americans for the state’s role in perpetuating slavery and its legacy – and budgeted up to $12 million to pay for it. 

State lawmakers touted the handful of bills as significant milestones, but disappointed advocates who have been calling for more aggressive action. The efforts amount to a small fraction of what would have been needed for cash payments to descendants of slavery or other forms of monetary redress, like subsidies for education or homeownership.

Why We Wrote This

A story focused on

California’s first reparations legislation includes a formal bipartisan apology to Black residents and a $12 million package of racial justice laws. Experts consider it transformative for the national conversation.

Still, California’s effort to mend harms endured by generations of Black Americans as a result of slavery and institutionalized racism is considered a model for the rest of the nation.

“Everyone is looking to California to lead, looking to California to understand what obstacles might be ahead of us, looking for how community and institutions work together and wrap around in this process of reparations,” says Robin Rue Simmons, founder of FirstRepair, an organization leading reparations discussions across the country.

But those hoping to capture momentum around last year’s recommendations say lawmakers missed an important opportunity.

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