Black Californians could be getting some deserved reparations, but not if the state’s leader doesn’t approve first.
Mercury News reports Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom has not publicly expressed his support for the proposal. The reparations payments were recommended by a task force looking to right the wrongs caused by slavery and discrimination. If state lawmakers approve the decision, it would potentially cost billions of dollars to address disparities in healthcare, housing, and policing. In a statement, Newsom feels dealing with something of this magnitude is about much more than money.
He also said some of the recommendations pushed by the task force, like voting barriers and law enforcement relationships, are already in the works of being addressed. “Many of the recommendations put forward by the Task Force are critical action items we’ve already been hard at work addressing — all while investing billions to root out disparities and improve equity in housing, education, healthcare, and well beyond,” Newsom said.
Three years ago, Newsom signed Assembly Bill 3121, creating a council, according to Fox 40, assigned to study and recommend actions state legislatures can take in response to discrimination Black residents have experienced. Newsom’s Chief Communication Advisor Anthony York said the governor “is not backing away from cash payments, but wants to wait for the report in its entirety to arrive on his desk before he makes any decision.”
It’s been reported that eligible California residents could potentially get as much as $1.2 million. They would have to live in California their whole lives. The task force is looking at recommending the State of California issue a formal apology for slavery and several state laws and actions that members say actively discriminated against Black residents, like the prohibition of interracial marriage, Confederacy-based monuments, and open segregation and discrimination in the arts industry.
York said the payments issue “will be resolved” once the governor meets with legislative leadership over the summer but claims Newsom isn’t ruling anything out.
