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California’s governor signed a slate of bills today aimed at beginning the process of reparations for Black descendants of enslaved people, including a measure that requires the state to apologize for perpetuating slavery.
The headliner bill signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom requires officials to sign and display a plaque in the state Capitol that includes the following: “The State of California apologizes for perpetuating the harms African Americans faced by having imbued racial prejudice through segregation, public and private discrimination, and unequal disbursal of state and federal funding and declares that such actions shall not be repeated.”
Newsom, Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas, Senate leader Mike McGuire and state Supreme Court Chief Justice Patricia Guerrero are all named on the official apology.
“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,” the governor said in a statement. “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.”
California joins a half-dozen states, including Alabama and Florida, in issuing such a formal apology.
“This is a monumental achievement born from a two-year academic study of the losses suffered by Black Americans in California due to systemic bigotry and racism,” said Assemblymember Reggie Jones-Sawyer, who authored the apology bill and also served on the California Reparations Task Force. “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.”
Slavery wasn’t officially legal in California but was tolerated in the state’s early history. The formal apology was one of more than 100 recommendations made in a 2023 report by a California task force on reparations for the effects of slavery. The panel found that discriminatory laws and unlawful property seizures contributed to significant gaps in wealth, education, and health for generations of Black Californians. The task force recommended direct cash payments for descendants to repair the damage, but so far, the Legislature has not taken up that recommendation.
The California Legislative Black Caucus advanced 14 priority bills in January, including a proposal to provide financial aid for communities harmed by discrimination, another requiring the state to examine banned books in prisons, and another that would protect the right to wear “natural and protective” hairstyles in all competitive sports.
Newsom signed six of those 14 bills, but advocates have described many of them as only symbolic, noting that California political leaders have shied away from enacting more substantial reparations legislation.
A spokesperson for Newsom on Friday stressed that “the governor can only sign measures into law that arrive at his desk.” Some of the bills from the original 14-bill reparations package weren’t passed by the Legislature, and another is a constitutional amendment going before voters in November. Black Caucus members also touted other equity bills that Newsom signed Thursday but were not in their original reparations package.
On Wednesday, Newsom vetoed two of the Black Caucus’ slate of bills. One would have created a process for Black families to file a claim with the state if they believed the government seized their property through eminent domain due to discriminatory motives and without providing fair compensation. The other would have required Medi-Cal, the state’s public health insurance plan, to cover culturally relevant and medically supportive foods or nutrition interventions when deemed necessary by a healthcare provider.
Newsom said he vetoed the eminent domain bill, SB 1050 by Sen. Steven Bradford, because the state agency to carry out its provisions doesn’t exist. “I thank the author for his commitment to redressing past racial injustices,” Newsom wrote in his veto message.
Still, the governor’s vetoes dealt another blow to the years-long effort to help the state of California atone for its racist past, an effort being watched nationwide.
It followed what reparations advocates described as a crushing defeat last month. In the final hours of the legislative session, Black lawmakers blocked two reparations bills – one that would have created an agency to review reparations claims, including those of unjust property takings, and another that would have created a fund for future reparations payments. Newsom’s office declined to comment on those bills, saying the governor does not typically comment on pending legislation.
The caucus cited concerns that the Legislature would not have enough oversight over the agency’s operations. Assemblymember Lori Wilson, the caucus chairperson, declined to comment on the reparations fund bill because it wasn’t part of the caucus’s priority package.
The bills were blocked after Newsom’s administration pushed for the bill to create the agency that would have evaluated claims of unjust property takings to be changed. The proposed changes, which Bradford rejected, would have allocated $6 million to the California State University system to study how to implement the reparations task force’s recommendations, according to a document with proposed amendments.
The Alliance for Reparations, Reconciliation, and Truth, a coalition of Black power-building and justice groups in California, issued a statement expressing disappointment in Newsom’s veto of SB 1050.
“While SB 1050 and other important measures failed this session, we acknowledge the complexities of the current fiscal and political environment and remain committed to advocating for meaningful and impactful progress. We urge our community and allies to remain steadfast,” the group wrote.
The Coalition for a Just and Equitable California also expressed frustration with Newsom’s veto.
“The decision is yet another example of political leaders paying lip service to reparative justice while cowering in the face of true reparative action,” the group’s statement read. The group noted the legislation passed with more than 70 votes in the 80-member Assembly and 37 votes in the 40-member Senate and called on the Legislature to override Newsom’s veto.
“SB 1050 was not just a bill; it was a lifeline to families who have suffered generational harm due to wrongful property seizures. The veto sends a message that the state is unwilling to confront the full breath of its historical injustices,” the coalition wrote in a written statement.
In a statement, Wilson called the bills signed by Newsom “a meaningful foundation to address the historic injustices faced by Black Californians,” but added: “This is a multi-year effort, and I look forward to continuing our partnership with the Governor on this important work in the years to come as we push toward lasting justice and equity.”
Read the full apology letter here: California Apology for the Perpetuation of Gross Human Rights
For the record: This story was updated to clarify who signed the official slavery apology and Gov. Newsom’s actions on bills.
