California Reparations Bill Falls Short As Key Components Are Shelved; Black Caucus Cites Need For Further Work

by Daniel Johnson September 1, 2024 The legislation lacks a central fund and direct payments provision. Although California legislators recently passed ambitious legislation aimed at addressing the state’s legacy of racist treatment of its Black citizens, the package left out two key components of previous proposals of a California reparations package.  According to the Associated Press, along with a lack of a central fund and an agency to carry out the recommended measures, both considered cornerstones of the state’s efforts to atone for reparations, another missing component of the bills is direct payments to Black Americans. Instead, proposals allowing for the return of land or compensation for families whose land was taken by the government and a formal apology for the laws and practices that were detrimental to Black people in California were approved.  According to California Legislative Black Caucus Chair Assemblymember Lori Wilson, the Black Caucus pulled the bills, citing a need for more work on the proposed legislation.  Wilson told the AP, “The Black Caucus is absolutely committed to its reparations priority package and it is absolutely committed to the recommendations that have come out of the task force and to getting those across the finish line. We...