California Governor Gavin Newsom launches task force to study slavery, reparations, a 'model' for America

Eric Quintanar
Daily Wire
Thu, 01 Oct 2020 20:00 UTC

© Justin Sullivan, Getty images

California Governor Gavin Newsom

California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) signed legislation on Wednesday that will establish a nine-member state task force to study slavery and explore the potential avenues for reparations for African Americans. Newsom in a statement Wednesday afternoon, said:

"As a nation, we can only truly thrive when every one of us has the opportunity to thrive. Our painful history of slavery has evolved into structural racism and bias built into and permeating throughout our democratic and economic institutions.

"California's rich diversity is our greatest asset, and we won't turn away from this moment to make right the discrimination and disadvantages that Black Californians and people of color still face. While there is still so much work to do to unravel this legacy, these pieces of legislation are important steps in the right direction to building a more inclusive and equitable future for all."

Assemblymember Shirley Weber (D), the author of the legislation, argued in a statement Wednesday that California hasn't "come to terms" with its historical role as it pertains to slavery.

Weber said:

"California has historically led the country on civil rights, yet we have not come to terms with our state's ugly past that allowed slaveholding within our borders and returned escaped slaves to their masters."

The California constitution, passed in 1849, explicitly outlawed slavery and the region was admitted to the union as a free state in 1850. The Los Angeles Times reports that slavery continued in California even after it entered the union, but does not provide figures or estimates as to how extensive slavery was during this time.

Weber was the force behind a recent law that will require hundreds of thousands of students in the California State University system to complete an ethnic studies requirement before graduating, starting in the 2023-2024 school year.

Newsom also signed legislation Wednesday that his office says will aim "to eliminate discrimination in jury selection" and prohibit the "use of race, ethnicity, or national origin to seek or obtain convictions or impose sentences" in the court system.

Joined in a public video call by a number of California lawmakers and the rapper Ice Cube, the governor called the pieces of legislation particularly timely because of the presidential debate the evening before, although he didn't elaborate on the comment.

Comment: While Newsom is 'making a dent' in the rest of the country, he is also making a financial dent in California's budget that will eat up revenue as fast as the fires are consuming its terrain and citizens are driven to seek residency elsewhere.

Newsom signed AB 3121 into law on Wednesday. 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. 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.

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.

"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.

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."

See also:

The Glass Fire in California burned 1 acre every five seconds as it tripled in size; reports on multiple fires across the state