The governor of California, Gavin Newsom, signed a new law on Thursday that formally apologizes for the state’s role in promoting slavery and its lasting impact on Black Americans. This legislation is part of a package of reparations bills introduced this year, aimed at addressing racial disparities for African Americans. Newsom also approved laws to protect against hair discrimination in sports and increase oversight over book banning in state prisons.
California’s history includes legal ambiguity that protected slave owners and a fugitive slave law that forced escaped slaves to return to the south. While cash payments to descendants of enslaved people are still unpopular, a UCLA study shows that a majority of Californians support some form of compensation for anti-Black racism.
Efforts to study reparations at the federal level have stalled, but California has made progress with the creation of a reparations task force and a wave of local reparations efforts. However, direct payments to African Americans were not included in this year’s legislation, disappointing some advocates.
Newsom also signed a law to increase oversight over the banning of books in state prisons, aiming to bring transparency to the process and provide a mechanism for removing books from the banned list. This is seen as a first step to address a shadowy process in the department of corrections and rehabilitation.
Overall, California is making strides in addressing its history of racial injustice and moving towards reparations, with a budget allocated for reparations legislation and a focus on improving outcomes for students of color in education programs.
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