California Senate committee approves bill to create an agency to pay ‘reparations’ to descendants of Black slaves

A California Senate committee gave the green light to a controversial bill that seeks to establish a state agency dedicated to implementing “reparations” programs for descendants of Black people who resided in the country before the 20th century. Legislative Proposal 1403, introduced by Gardena Democratic Senator Steven Bradford, aims to create the California American Freedman Affairs Agency, charged with evaluating the eligibility of descendants of Blacks who were victims of the slave trade. The right to reparations claim is based on the assumption that historical injustices, violence, and segregation have left a lasting impact on California’s Black communities. Kamilah Moore, chair of a task force tasked with developing proposals for “reparation” for the Black community, noted that the agency would serve to dismantle barriers and address deep-rooted disparities that she says continue to plague the Black community. However, not all Black people would be chosen to claim this supposed reparation. According to an analysis by Courthouse News Service, “the race of the claimant would not be at issue; the sole question would be whether they are descended from the people whom the state subjected to the abuses for which it now seeks to make restitution.” Additionally, the analysis explains that...