Last week, protests broke out outside the California state capitol building after two delayed reparations payments for black residents of the state appeared to have been thrown in the trash.
The development came on the final day of the legislative session in Sacramento on Saturday, after hours of intense lobbying.
About two dozen protesters were seen inside and outside the building that day, chanting for the bills to be passed and calling for reparations “now.”
Signs and shirts with the same message were also displayed as lawmakers walked to and from the chamber.
Meanwhile, there were howls of laughter from onlookers everywhere, but the California Legislative Black Caucus would later reveal in a statement that neither bill would pass before the midnight deadline.
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A protest broke out at the California State Capitol on Saturday after two delayed reparations payments for Black residents were apparently rejected
Senator Steven Bradford, a member of the caucus, spoke to several local media outlets from the Senate floor on Saturday and revealed what exactly was delaying the process.
Senator Steven Bradford, a member of the caucus, spoke to several local media outlets from the Senate floor on Saturday and revealed what exactly was delaying the process.
“We’re at the finish line,” Bradford told reporters after personally authoring Senate Bills 1403 and 1331.
“And I think we as the Black Caucus owe it to the descendants of slavery, to the Black people of California, and to Black Americans to pass this legislation and get it to the governor’s desk,” he continued.
When asked about the delay, Bradford said it was “the fear of the veto.”
In a written statement, the Black Group added: “The group was unable to participate collectively in the legislative process and only recently became aware of the concerns and issues surrounding the bill.”
Both bills previously passed the General Assembly, but Bradford said he and others also took issue with changes to the proposed guidelines put forward by the state’s Governor Gavin Newsom.
Newsom’s aides insisted that the matter be allowed to be investigated further, rather than immediately issued restitution, he said. That’s something he and others won’t accept.
“We owe it to our ancestors,” said the Gardena Democrat. “And I think in some ways we’ve let them down.”
He blamed the edits on Gavin Newsom, who reportedly pushed for an investigation into the problems rather than immediately issuing restitution.
The bills were initially intended to a trial for those whose land was stolen as a result of racism and slavery, demanding formal apologies from the state.
Both bills, which are up for a vote in the state Assembly this week, received a new draft from Newsom on Monday, with progressives changing their entire purpose.
Previously, Newsom had set aside $12 million for reparations initiatives, supporting the possibility of reparations.
The new drafts, seen by Politico, proposed sending $6 million to California State University to study how to most effectively implement the strategy to get the operation up and running, based on recommendations from a state task force.
This is because many wondered where the money for such a project would come from and how the beneficiaries would be identified.
While some members of the Assembly would not confirm that the requested changes would kill the two bills, Bradford confirmed the authenticity of the drafts, saying they did indeed come from Newsom’s office.
He then told reporters that the governor’s office had also cited cost as a deciding factor, in a year when California was forced to make $16 billion in budget cuts, including an overall 7.95 percent cut in funding to all state agencies.
The bills initially sought to create a process for those whose land had been stolen as a result of racism and slavery, while demanding a formal apology from the state
Previously, Newsom had set aside $12 million for reparations initiatives, backing the prospect of reparations.
The new drafts, seen by Politico, instead propose sending $6 million to California State University to study how the strategy can be most effectively implemented to get the operation up and running, based on recommendations from a state task force.
This comes as many wondered where the money for such a project would come from and how those eligible for payout would be identified.
Although some members of the assembly would not confirm that it was the requested changes that killed the two bills, Bradford, one of the bill’s authors, confirmed the authenticity of the drafts
The failure to meet the 12 noon deadline sparked protests outside the government building on Saturday as it appeared the bills were on the verge of passing.
As of this writing, Newsom’s office has not commented on the rejection of the two bills. However, officials told the Sacramento Bee that they are continuing to work with the group on both bills.
The last-minute development enraged proponents who descended on the Capitol on Saturday hoping to witness history. The bill’s primary purpose—creating a new Freedmen’s Affairs Agency—now seemed to be gone.
“They’re killing the bills because they’re afraid of the governor,” Chris Lodgson, an organizer with the Coalition for a Just and Equal California, told the Bee as onlookers shouted and chanted at lawmakers before the proceedings were halted.
“We have the money,” he said, rebutting budget concerns Newsom reportedly had raised. “Do we have the will? Do we have the courage?”
The bills remain in limbo, years after the reparations movement first gained traction in the US following the 2020 death of George Floyd at the hands of police.
Advocates say it’s time for America to pay its black citizens for the injustices of the historic transatlantic slave trade, Jim Crow segregation and inequalities that persist to this day. But the expected sums are staggering.
Currently, lawmakers in Washington are calling for at least $14 trillion in a federal bid to close the “racial wealth gap” between black and white Americans. But critics say payouts to select citizens will inevitably be divisive.
The concept also raises questions about why Native Americans and other nations don’t get their own money, despite the fact that $1.3 billion was awarded to 176 tribes and bands in 1946.
From the 15th to the 19th centuries, at least 12.5 million Africans were kidnapped, forcibly transported by European ships and merchants, and sold as slaves.
Those who survived the arduous journey ended up on plantations in the Americas, including Brazil, the Caribbean and the United States. Others earned money from their work.
The descendants of these victims with roots in California would be the ones eligible for compensation, if the original version of the bill is ever revived.
However, a survey last year of 6,000 registered voters in California found that only 23 percent supported financial reparations, while 59 percent opposed it.
Activists are also divided over the best strategy to implement these measures after years of deliberation, as they seek to deliver tangible benefits to the descendants of slaves.
Now that the deadline has passed, supporters will have to wait until 2025 for further developments.
