California lawmakers introduce reparations package with formal apology for slavery

California lawmakers introduced a reparations package to their state house on Wednesday, including 14 bills they claim will help support Black communities across the state following historical mistreatment.Members of California’s Legislative Black Caucus said the 14 reparations bills seek a formal apology for slavery and other human rights violations from the governor and legislature, and the return of property taken in race-based cases of eminent domain, among other restitution.The bills are intended to be just the first legislative actions in an effort that will likely span years.“While many only associate direct cash payments with reparations, the true meaning of the word, to repair, involves much more,” Assemblywoman Lori D. Wilson, chair of the California Legislative Black Caucus, said per Reuters.CALIFORNIA VOTERS ISSUE STRONG REBUKE TO DEM PLAN TO OFFER CASH REPARATIONS: POLL Members of California’s Legislative Black Caucus introduced the 14 reparations bills on Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2024. (Carolyn Cole/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images) The 14 bills follow an extensive 1,100-page report written in June by the California Reparations Task Force, a group of lawmakers created by a state bill in 2020.The task force includes Wilson as chair, Assembly members Steven Bradford as vice chair, Isaac Bryan, Dr. Akilah...