California Apologized For Slavery As Part Of A Reparations Push



Stencil of a bear walking on green grass. A red star is above the bear. Beneath the bear are the words "California Republic"

California’s governor signed a slate of bills today aimed at beginning the process of reparations for Black descendants of enslaved people, including a measure that requires the state to apologize for perpetuating slaver, Cal Matters reported.

The headliner bill signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom requires officials to sign and display a plaque in the state Capitol that includes the following: “The State of California apologizes for perpetuating the harms that African Americans faced by having imbued racial prejudice through segregation, public and private discrimination, and unequal disbursal of state and federal funding and declares that such actions shall not be repeated.”

Newsom, Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas, Senate leader Mike McGuire, and state Supreme Court Chief Justice Patricia Guerrero were all named on the official apology.

“The State of California accepts responsibility for the role we played in promoting, facilitating, and permitting the institution of slavery, as well as enduring legacy of persistent racial disparities,” the governor said in a statement. “Building on decades of work, California is now taking another important step forward in recognizing the grave injustices of the past — and making amends for the harms caused.”

California joins a half-dozen states, including Alabama and Florida, in issuing such a formal apology.

“This is a monumental achievement born from a two-year academic study of the losses suffered by Black Americans in California due to systemic bigotry and racism,” said Assemblymember Reggie Jones-Sawyer, who authored the apology bill and also served on the California Reparations Task Force.

“Healing can only begin with an apology. The State of California acknowledges its past actions and is taking this bold step to correct them, recognizing its role in hindering the pursuit of life, liberty, and happiness for Black individuals through racially motivated punitive laws.”

Slavery wasn’t officially legal in California, but was tolerated in the state’s early history. The formal apology was one of more than 100 recommendations made in a 2023 report by a California task force on reparations for the effects of slavery. 

The panel found that discriminatory laws and unlawful property seizures contributed to significant gaps in wealth, education, and health for generations of Black Californians. The task force recommended direct cash payments for descendants to repair the damage, but so far, the Legislature has not taken that up for recommendation.

The California Legislative Black Caucus advanced 14 priority bills in January, including a proposal to provide financial aid for communities harmed by discrimination, another requiring the state to examine banned books in prisons, and another that would protect the right to wear “natural and protective” hairstyles in all competitive sports.

Newsom signed six of those 14 bills, but advocates have described many of them as only symbolic, noting that California political leaders have shied away from enacting more substantial reparations legislation. 

< Return To Blog

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.