Slavery Reparations: California Lawmakers Introduce Nation's First Bills After Years of Deliberations

California lawmakers introduced a sweeping series of bills aimed at seeking slavery reparations, the first in the nation, after years of deliberations.

The legislative proposals seek to provide reparations for state residents who are descendants of enslaved Africans. On Wednesday, the California Legislative Black Caucus announced the 2024 Reparations Priority Bill Package.

California Moves to Support Slavery Reparations

(Photo : Philip Pacheco / AFP) (PHILIP PACHECO/AFP via Getty Images)
California lawmakers introduced a sweeping series of bills that seek slavery reparations following years of deliberation on the matter.(not actual photo)

The package lists 14 measures, which include providing a formal apology for "human rights violations and crimes against humanity on African slaves and their descendants." Furthermore, the package proposes the creation of a state-funded grant program to decrease community violence in Black neighborhoods.

It also requires advanced notification regarding grocery store closures in underserved and at-risk communities. In a news release on Wednesday, state lawmakers said that some of the legislation has already been introduced in the General Assembly or will be introduced during the current legislative session.

Officials also said that some of the measures included in the package that have already been introduced include expanding the state's CROWN Act to ban hair discrimination in sports, creating a grant program that increases high school and college enrollment in STEM-related programs, and prohibiting book bans in prisons without review and oversight from the state's correctional facilities, as per CNN.

However, the proposed legislative package does not include cash payments to descendants of slaves in the country. In a statement, assemblywoman Lori D. Wilson, the chair of the California Legislative Black Caucus, said that they need a comprehensive approach to dismantling the legacy of slavery and systemic racism.

She noted that the latest legislative package would tackle a wide range of issues, including criminal justice reforms, property rights, education, civil rights, and food justice. Wilson said that the Caucus is also looking to make advancements in the second half of the legislative session while building towards correcting the wrongs of the state's past in future sessions.

First Set of Reparations Bills

The assemblywoman also noted that the first step will be to introduce a resolution that recognizes how California laws have harmed Black residents. In June last year, a task force examining reparations for Black residents in the state released its final report with more than 115 recommendations.

There was a cash compensation proposal that made headlines last year after the task force recommended payments given to Black residents based on the type of historical discrimination their family faced, according to Fox News.

The panel calculated that Black residents affected by redlining by banks could receive $3,366 for every year that they lived in California from the early 1930s to the late 1970s, which would bring the total amount to up to $148,099.

Wilson argued that while many people only associate direct cash payments with reparations, she argued that the meaning of the word which is to repair, involves much more. However, the package does have a provision that would provide some monetary relief to eligible residents.

The proposed bill, which was authored by California Sen. Steven Bradford, deals with "property takings." It is said to "restore property taken during raced-based uses of eminent domain to its original owners or provide another effective remedy where appropriate, such as restitution or compensation," said Politico.