California lawmakers last week passed some of the nation's most sweeping legislation aimed at atoning for a legacy of racist policies that drove disparities for Black people, in areas including housing, education, and health. None of the bills would provide widespread direct payments to African Americans, the AP reports. The Legislature instead approved proposals allowing for the return of land or compensation to families whose property was unjustly seized by the government and issuing a formal apology for laws and practices that have harmed Black people. But lawmakers left out two bills that would have created a fund and an agency to carry out the measures.
Assemblymember Lori Wilson said Saturday that the Black Caucus pulled the bills, adding the proposals need more work. Sen. Steven Bradford, who authored the measures, said the bills weren't moved forward out of fear Gov. Gavin Newsom would veto them. The Democratic governor has until Sept. 30 to decide whether to sign the bills. Democratic Assemblymember Reggie Jones-Sawyer called his bill to issue an apology for discrimination "a labor of love." His uncle was part of a group of African American students who in the 1950s were escorted by federal troops past an angry white mob into Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, three years after the US Supreme Court ruled school segregation unconstitutional. The students became known as the Little Rock Nine. "I think my grandmother, my grandfather, would be extremely proud for what we are going to do today," Jones-Sawyer said ahead of the vote, per the AP.
Seized property: The Senate overwhelmingly approved the bill on the return of land or compensation to families whose property was taken unfairly through racially discriminatory means using eminent domain. The Newsom administration's Department of Finance opposes the bill. The agency says the cost to implement it is unknown but could reach into the "low millions of dollars annually." It's not immediately clear how the initiative would be enacted, since lawmakers dropped the measure to create an agency to implement it.
Formal apology: California would accept responsibility and formally apologize for its role in perpetuating segregation, economic disparities and discrimination against Black Americans under another bill the Legislature approved. A copy of the apology would be placed in the state archives, where it could be viewed by the public. It would say that the state "affirms its role in protecting the descendants of enslaved people and all Black Californians as well as their civil, political, and sociocultural rights."
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