Share this @internewscast.com

SAN FRANCISCO — California’s Legislative Black Caucus released a slate of reparations bills to implement ideas from the state’s landmark task force on the issue. The proposals include potential compensation for property seized from Black owners, but do not call for widespread direct cash payments to descendants of enslaved Black people.

If approved, the proposals would expand access to career technical education, fund community-driven solutions to violence and eliminate occupational licensing fees for people with criminal records. Another proposal would pay for programs that increase life expectancy, better educational outcomes or lift certain groups out of poverty.

Some of the measures would require amending the state constitution and are likely to face opposition. In 2022, the Democrat-controlled state Senate voted down a proposal to ban involuntary servitude and Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom has resisted restricting solitary confinement for prison inmates.

State Sen. Steven Bradford, D-Gardena, said at a news conference Thursday that the Black caucus’ priority list does not preclude individual lawmakers from introducing additional reparations legislation. He cautioned that the journey will be long and difficult, but worth it.

“This is a defining moment not only in California history, but in American history as well,” said Bradford, who served on the nine-person state task force on reparations.

But the 14 proposals are already drawing criticism from advocates who don’t think they go far enough.

Chris Lodgson, an organizer with the Coalition for a Just and Equitable California, which pushed to create the reparations task force, said the proposals are “not reparations.”

“Not one person who is a descendant who is unhoused will be off the street from that list of proposals. Not one single mom who is struggling who is a descendant will be helped,” he said. “Not one dime of the debt that’s owed is being repaid.”

California entered the union as a free state in 1850, but in practice, it sanctioned slavery and approved policies and practices that thwarted Black people from owning homes and starting businesses. Black communities were aggressively policed and their neighborhoods polluted, according to a groundbreaking report released as part of the committee’s work.

Share this @internewscast.com
You May Also Like

The real life ‘Below Deck’ – shocking demands of rich ‘yachties’ and sentence that got a crew member fired

In order to sail the seven seas with the ultra-wealthy, crew members…

Pete Hegseth suffers yet another major blow as Pentagon is sent into ‘chaos’ over Signal chat fallout

The Pentagon is reeling as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth faces growing instability…

DEI rollbacks hit campus support systems for students of color

WASHINGTON (AP) — Campus mentors. Move-in events. Scholarships. Diversity offices that made…

A Giant Step in the Right Direction: One of Trump's Latest Executive Orders Will Help Lower Drug Costs

On Tuesday, President Trump signed what is, to me anyway, one…

Payroll data shows bonuses for Chicago City Council aides on the rise

CHICAGO (WLS) — A review by Illinois Answers Project of publicly-available payroll…

public advocate’s plan to address mental health crisis with more bureaucratic ‘panels’ is ‘neglectful’

Mayor Eric Adams ripped far-left Public Advocate Jumaane Williams for proposing the…

Tuscaloosa homicide victim identified, suspect charged

COTTENDALE, Ala. (WIAT) — A 39-year-old man was shot and killed in…

Abrego Garcia's Wife Is Finally Asked About Domestic Abuse – Her Answer Tells You All You Need to Know

Democrats have been trying to paint Kilmar Abrego Garcia as a…

rewrite this title Intoxicated man arrested, accused of injuring officer after walking into traffic, SAPD says

SAN ANTONIO – A man has been arrested, accused of injuring a…

Putin announces an Easter truce amid conflict in Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a temporary Easter ceasefire in Ukraine, citing…

PEW POLL: Majority of Americans Have Negative View On Israel; Republican Support Drops 10%

Last Updated on April 16, 2025 A recent Pew Survey shows that…

Congress members pay an unofficial visit to Syria as U.S. mulls sanctions relief

DAMASCUS, Syria — Two Republican members of the U.S. Congress were in…