Will California be the leader in extending reparations to descendants of enslaved Africans in America?
On Wednesday, California adopted a law that begins the process of initiating reparation payments to Black Californians who are descendants of Africans who were enslaved in America.
The law, written by Assemblywoman Shirley Weber (D), who represents San Diego, does not indicate a specific payment amount. However, it does establish a nine-person task force that will analyze the impact of slavery on Black Californians and then make a recommendation to the Legislature as to the appropriate payment amount, how the payments will be made, form or payments, and what residents should qualify for the payments.
The law was signed by Governor Gavin Newsom on Wednesday afternoon. In a videoconference with legislators and other interested parties, Newsome stated, “After watching last night’s debate, this signing can’t come too soon.” Rapper Ice Cube, a public supporter of the bill, was also present for the videoconference.
“As a nation, we can only truly thrive when every one of us has the opportunity to thrive. Our painful history of slavery has evolved into structural racism and bias built into and permeating throughout our democratic and economic institutions,” Newsom said
California has a unique history in America as it was founded in 1850 as a free state where slavery has always been illegal. However, despite the illegality of slavery in California, several laws allowed white Californians to keep enslaved Black people, including one that permitted slavery for temporary California residents. Slavery was officially made illegal within the United States in 1865.
Protests in recent years against the unfair and often deadly treatment of Black Americans as a result of interactions with police, coupled with a significant economic disparity between Black and white Americans have heightened an awareness of the many challenges Black Americans face daily.
Additionally, the disparities in standards of care for members of the Black community, as exposed by the current pandemic, have highlighted the need for a national plan of action to resolve the many ways Black Americans face injustice daily, as a result of systemic racism.
“This is not just because of the circumstances we face. What happened is that, of course, those circumstances reinforced the fact that what we were saying all along was true,” Weber stated. “Some think we’re just responding to the moment, but we’re responding to the history of California and the life of Black people in California and in this nation.”
Last June, Congress held a hearing to explore reparations on a national scale, however, to date, no significant progress has been made toward developing a national reparations program.
