California Governor Signs Bill Paving The Way To Develop Reparations For Slavery

Fact checked
California

California’s Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom has approved the creation of a task force to examine paying reparations to the descendants of slaves.

This is the first such proposal ever passed by a state government but it has left taxpayers wondering how a ‘broke’ California will manage to foot the bill

RT reports: On Wednesday, Newsom signed AB 3121 into law creating a nine-member task force to study possible reparations for black Americans.

While the governor lamented that the legislation hadn’t been passed “decades ago,” he hailed the bill for establishing a “paradigm that we hope will be resonant all across the United States.”

“This is not just about California, this is about making an impact, and a dent, across the rest of the country,” Newsom said moments after signing the bill.

While the bill itself commits the state to no particular payments, it will launch a task force to consider how reparations could be implemented in California. The task force is required to hold its first meeting by next June, and will submit its recommendations to the government one year later, which will not be binding.

The law also does not specify what form the reparations must take, proposing various alternatives to direct cash payments, such as forgiving student debt, financing job training or other public works projects.

Though California is the first state government to pass such legislation, similar proposals have been floated by lawmakers in Texas, New York and Vermont, but none have yet passed. On a more local level, city administrations in both Asheville, North Carolina and Providence, Rhode Island approved measures related to reparations in July. Asheville City Council passed its plan unanimously, mandating payments in the form of public investments, while Providence Mayor Jorge Elorza signed an order vowing to create a framework for reparations in the future.

California’s history with slavery is somewhat ambiguous. While the state constitution explicitly prohibits both “slavery” and “involuntary servitude,” records suggest chattel slavery was largely practiced in the open – namely after the gold rush of the mid-1800s, which brought thousands of white settlers out west, many bringing slaves with them.

“California has come to terms with many of its issues, but it has yet to come to terms with its role in slavery,” said Assemblywoman Shirley Weber (D-San Diego), who authored the reparations bill. “We’re talking about really addressing the issues of justice and fairness in this country that we have to address.”

Newsom’s decision to sign the proposal into law was hailed by a number of locals, including rapper and LA native Ice Cube, who thanked the governor for giving it the green light.

https://twitter.com/CoderaThe1/status/1311433794562342919

Some residents were up in arms over the bill, however, questioning whether it would “change the past,” while others insisted they would not pay reparations for historical abuses they find abhorrent and had no role in.

“Respectfully, how will this change the past or help the future? Will the indigenous people of this state receive reparations? They seem first in line in my books!” one netizen wrote.

https://twitter.com/Sir_Nameless_/status/1311432643485986816

Other critics noted that despite the fact California is already “broke” – while also dealing with widespread homelessness, power outages and rampant wildfires, among other issues – the governor still “can’t spend taxpayers’ cash fast enough.”

https://twitter.com/LightoftheStar/status/1311475968956076032

9 Comments

  1. Look tbe British sold tbe Africans as slaves not the Californians .They ,the Americans were the fools who bought them ,since it was legal mainly because if English Laws still be mainstream in the colonies regardless of independence .America didnt make a fortune a huge fortune from slave trading .In fact after the civil war ,which was the bloodiest war in american history and tore the country apart , and destroyed the lives and ruined financially, especially the southern states ,America and the africans were in ruin for years And that was fought to free the slaves and cost America a fortune .And the Africans were suddenly homeless penniless unemployed with no fall back ,no social security ,nothing .And still America is suffering the legacy of Englands slave trade right now. Paybacks a bitch .Go figure .England never needed slaves they had tonnes of excess peasants they needed to deport anyway .

    • It was Jewish merchants that sold African slaves to American buyers, not British.

      During the era of American slavery, less than 1 percent of white Americans owned slaves.

      It was their fervent belief in old testament bible fundamentalism that helped them to rationalize their behaviors.

      The Jewish portion of the bible condones chattel slavery.

  2. If only California taxpayers finance this Democrat-Neocon vote buying boondoggle, I have no problem with it.

    However, if California fruits and nuts send a bill to the US taxpayer, or demand federal tax breaks for California businesses that support this vote buying boondoggle, there will be a problem.

    • Southern Democrats owed slaves.

      The Democrats plunged this country into it’s bloodiest war to try and keep them.

      The Democrats formed the KKK to try and control and kill them.

      Democrats formed the White League and Red Shirts to keep black from holding office.

      The Democrats established Jim Crow Laws.

      The Democrats established segregation calling it “separate but equal”

      Southern Democrats, called the “Dixiecrats”, opposed the 1960s Civil Rights laws.

      LET DEMOCRATS PAY THE REPARATIONS!!

  3. The history I learned was the only slaves in California were the indigenous natives that the Spanish enslaved in the 1600s and 1700s…

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.