Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) has rejected the notion of giving million-dollar reparation checks to black “descendants” of slavery.
QUICK FACTS:
- California Gov. Newsom has declined the idea of giving million-dollar cash payments to black descendants of slavery living in the state.
- “The Reparations Task Force’s independent findings and recommendations are a milestone in our bipartisan effort to advance justice and promote healing. This has been an important process, and we should continue to work as a nation to reconcile our original sin of slavery and understand how that history has shaped our country,” Newsom said.
- While the Democratic governor praised the task force, he refused to endorse the million-dollar payments they were seeking, although he pledged to continue to “advance systemic changes that ensure an inclusive and equitable future for all Californians.”
- Newsom said confronting slavery was about more than repayments, and that California had already implemented many “action items” to confront racism.
- “Dealing with that legacy is about much more than cash payments. Many of the recommendations put forward by the Task Force are critical action items we’ve already been hard at work addressing: breaking down barriers to vote, bolstering resources to address hate, enacting sweeping law enforcement and justice reforms to build trust and safety, strengthening economic mobility — all while investing billions to root out disparities and improve equity in housing, education, healthcare, and well beyond. This work must continue,” he said.
- The task force’s final recommendations will be submitted to the California Legislature in the coming months, and, once decided, sent to Newsom’s desk to be signed into law.
CALIFORNIA ASSEMBLY REPUBLICAN LEADER JAMES GALLAGHER ON REPARATIONS IN CALIFORNIA:
“Democrats have promised the world with this reparations task force, and now the massive taxpayer bill is coming due. Newsom has painted himself into a corner, and he’ll have to choose between signing off on a ridiculous policy that will bankrupt the state or admitting once and for all that this task force was nothing more than a political stunt,” Gallagher said.
BACKGROUND:
- Earlier this week, California’s Reparations Task Force approved recommendations that would result in billions of dollars in compensation, according to a report from The Washington Times.
- The comprehensive report, expected to be over 1,000 pages long, covers historical accounts and estimates of loss resulting from race-based discrimination in sectors such as health care, housing, education, and law enforcement.
- The exact amount of compensation for eligible Black residents has not been determined, although The San Francisco Chronicle reported that calculations of losses for eligible Black residents aged 71 and older who have lived their entire lives in California could amount to $1.2 million.
- Eligibility for cash reparations will be based on lineage, with only descendants of slaves or freed Black people living in the United States before the end of the 19th century qualifying.
- Other recommendations include a formal state apology for slavery, free college tuition, universal single-payer health coverage, and repealing Proposition 209, which banned race-based discrimination in employment, housing, and education.
