Black activists in the California Assembly threatened a “direct impact” on Vice President Harris' presidential campaign after Democratic lawmakers in the state tabled two bills that would have green-lighted reparations for slavery.
Last week, the California legislature passed proposals that allow for the return of land or compensation to families whose property was unjustly seized by the government, and that issue a formal apology for laws and practices that have harmed Black people. But neither of those bills would provide widespread direct payments to African Americans. After hours of heated debate and protests on Saturday, state lawmakers left out two bills — Senate Bills 1403 and 1331 — that would have created a fund and agency to oversee reparations efforts.
“The House speaker needs to file the bills now, now, now. They’re their bills. They have their names on the bills. They’re killing their own bills because they’re afraid of the governor,” said a Black man, a member of the Coalition for a Fair and Equitable California, in the rotunda on the last day of the legislative year Saturday. “Listen, they’re going to see this and they’re going to be mad at us. They’re killing their own bills, and then they’re going to be mad at us. They’re killing their own bills because they’re afraid of the governor. We don’t care. File the damn bills now, now, now.”
“We need to send a message to the governor,” said a Black woman who is part of the same group, according to a video shared on X. “The governor needs to understand that the world is watching California and this will have a direct impact on his friend Kamala Harris who is running for president. This will have a direct impact, so please review the bills now, vote on them and sign them. We've been waiting for over 400 years.”
“We have the votes,” the man added.
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Assemblyman Isaac Bryan, right, speaks with members of the Coalition for a Fair and Equitable California about two reparations bills in the rotunda on the last day of the legislative year, Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024, in Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Tran Nguyen)
State Sen. Steven Bradford, who authored the measures, said the bills did not advance out of fear they would be vetoed by California's Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom.
“We're at the finish line, and we as the Black Caucus owe it to the descendants of slavery, to Black Californians and to Black Americans, to get this legislation passed,” Bradford said, urging his colleagues to reconsider Saturday afternoon, according to the Associated Press.
“We owe it to our ancestors,” Bradford added, according to the Sacramento Bee. “And I think in some ways we let them down.”
California Legislative Black Caucus Chairwoman Assemblywoman Lori Wilson said Saturday that the Black Caucus has withdrawn the bills, adding that the proposals need more work.
“We knew from the beginning that it was an uphill battle… And we also knew from the beginning that it would be a multi-year effort,” Wilson told reporters.
Members of the Coalition for a Fair and Equitable California protest at the rotunda on the last day of the legislative year, Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024, in Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Tran Nguyen)
Newsom has not weighed in on most of the bills, but in June he signed a $297.9 billion budget that included up to $12 million for reparations legislation. The budget did not specify which proposals the money would be used for, however, and his administration has voiced opposition to some of them. Newsom has until Sept. 30 to decide whether to sign the passed bills.
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Democratic Assemblyman Reggie Jones-Sawyer, who is black, called his bill to issue a formal apology for discrimination “a labor of love.” His uncle was among a group of black students who in the 1950s were escorted by federal troops past an angry white mob to Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, three years after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that school segregation was unconstitutional. The students became known as the “Little Rock Nine.”
Members of the Coalition for a Fair and Equitable California demand that lawmakers vote on two reparations bills in the rotunda on the last day of the legislative year, Saturday, August 31, 2024, in Sacramento, California. (AP Photo/Tran Nguyen)
“I think my grandmother, my grandfather, would be extremely proud of what we're going to do today,” Jones-Sawyer said before the vote on the approved legislation. “Because that's what they fought for in 1957, so that I could, and we could, move our people forward.”
Newsom signed a law in 2020 creating a task force — the first in the country — to study the reparations proposals. New York and Illinois have since followed suit with similar laws. The California group released a final report last year with more than 100 recommendations for lawmakers.
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Newsom signed a law earlier this summer requiring school districts that receive state funding for a professional development program to collect data on participating students’ performance by race and gender. The legislation, part of a reparations package backed by the California Legislative Black Caucus, aims to help address gaps in student outcomes.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
