Apology but no cash payments: California reparations for slavery start incrementally

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed a package of reparations legislation, including a formal apology to African Americans for the state’s role in perpetuating slavery and its legacy – and budgeted $12 million to pay for it.  The effort – touted by lawmakers as milestones but disappointing advocates who wanted more aggressive action – was the first response to last year’s reparations task force report. Ambitious recommendations in that report made headlines, including comprehensive reforms across government and cash payments with an eye-popping price tag.  Why We Wrote This A story focused on California’s first reparations legislation includes a formal bipartisan apology to Black residents and a $12 million package of racial justice laws. Experts consider it transformative for the national conversation. The legislature’s first response was incremental: The bipartisan apology was the marquee gesture, and the $12 million funding just a fraction of what would have been needed for cash payments to descendants of chattel slavery or other forms of monetary redress, like subsidies for education or homeownership. The new laws addresses such issues as “food deserts,” discrimination based on traits associated with race (such as hair texture and style), and better maternal health in marginalized communities. “Everyone is...