Blog

Authored by Travis Gillmore via The Epoch Times,

The California Assembly’s Appropriations Committee approved a bill May 1 which would require the state to issue an apology for its role in perpetuating harm related to slavery.

Assembly Bill 3089, introduced by Assemblyman Reginald Jones-Sawyer, would declare California recognizes and accepts responsibility for “atrocities” it and its representatives committed as well as any entities under its control who promoted, facilitated, enforced, and permitted the institution of chattel slavery.

The bill would also require the Legislature to draft and have signed by officials a document of recognition and apology to be stored in the state archives for the public to review at will, in addition to creating a memorial plaque to be hung in the Capitol.

The author celebrated the bill’s progress after the hearing.

He said the measure is crucial to overcome the state’s past faults.

He suggested the impact of discriminatory behavior is negatively affecting millions of Californians.

Countering critics who point to California having never been a slave state, the author said the state was free in name only.

Included in the official apology would be a recognition that racial prejudice, segregation, discrimination, and inequitable access to state and federal funding caused African Americans to be harmed and a promise such would never happen again.

Yusef Miller speaks in support of Assembly Bill 3089 at the Assembly's Appropriations Committee on May 1, 2024. (Travis Gillmore/The Epoch Times)

The apology is the first of a series of recommendations from the state’s Task Force to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans, established in 2020 by the passage of Assembly Bill 3121.

After meeting for more than two years, the task force published more than 100 recommendations last year in a document containing more than 1,000 pages of historical research and included suggestions for cash payments for five types of discrimination—ultimately totaling more than $1 million per eligible person if approved by the Legislature.

While recommending formal apologies, the task force noted that such alone is inadequate, though a necessary first step.

Californians are wary of supporting cash payments, according to a Berkeley Intergovernmental Studies poll from late last year that showed most respondents disapproved. Additionally, others have expressed concern that the state’s estimated $73 billion budget deficit leaves little room for providing cash reparations.

One supporter in attendance at the appropriations hearing agreed a formal apology is needed and said that more must be done.

He said the bill is vital to correcting historical wrongs while educating the public about what he described as the long-lasting impacts of slavery.

One organization in support of the bill said California can lead the nation if it chooses to abide by the task force’s recommendations.

Another group in support said the safety and dignity of current and future generations can be protected by the bill.

“The passage of AB 3089 will not only provide a formal acknowledgment and apology for California’s historical involvement in forced human enslavement but will also affirm the state’s commitment to remediation and non-repetition of such atrocities,” the California Black Chamber of Commerce said in Legislative analyses. “The provision for permanent public access to the apology in the California State Capitol complex and the California State Archives ensures that this acknowledgment is preserved for future generations.”

No groups or individuals were listed in committee analyses in opposition, and no opposing testimony was provided at hearings.

After clearing the 15-member appropriations meeting, the measure will next be considered by the Assembly in the coming weeks.