The California Senate has advanced a series of reparations proposals for Black Californians, including the creation of an agency to assist Black families in researching their lineage and confirming their eligibility for potential future restitution from the state.
The proposed legislation also includes plans to establish a fund for reparations programs and compensate Black families for properties unjustly seized from them using eminent domain.
The big picture: These proposals have now advanced to the state Assembly for further consideration.
- The reparations proposals passed largely along party lines and were inspired by recommendations from a task force dedicated to studying how the state could address its history of racism and discrimination against African Americans.
- Notably, this year’s proposals did not include widespread payments to descendants of enslaved Black people, which has disappointed some reparations advocates.
Go deeper: While a bill to study reparations for African Americans at the U.S. Congress has stalled, California’s consideration of reparations proposals for Black Americans is making significant progress, with no other state getting as far as California.
By the numbers: The estimated annual cost of running the proposed agency is up to $1 million, and the cost of investigating claims by families whose land was seized due to racially discriminatory motives could amount to hundreds of thousands of dollars.
