California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) enacted a collection of “reparations” measures on Thursday, which includes an official apology for the injustices of slavery, despite California having joined the Union as a free state in 1850. The text of the apology states, in part:
“Whereas, Well after California entered the Union and declared itself a free state outlawing slavery, more than 2,000 enslaved African people were brought to California from 1850 to 1860. Whereas, the California Supreme Court enforced fugitive slave laws until 1865, stating that the antislavery law in the California Constitution was merely a ‘declaration of a principle.’
…
“Resolved, The State of California apologizes for perpetuating the harms 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.”
In addition to the apology, Newsom signed various other bills supported by the state legislature and reparations advocates. However, as noted by Breitbart News, these legislative measures did not establish any direct financial compensation or a reparations fund, which sparked demonstrations.
The push for reparations gained momentum during the tumultuous summer of 2020, a time when protests and riots erupted nationwide following the police killing of George Floyd in Democrat-led Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Newsom approved legislation that formed a committee tasked with exploring reparations. After the committee proposed recommendations that called for substantial cash payments and racially segregated educational institutions, lawmakers moderated these suggestions. In this year’s budget, which faced a nearly $50 billion deficit, Newsom allocated only $12 million for the reparations initiative.
The California Legislative Black Caucus (CLBC) praised the state’s apology, along with other “significant Reparations-related legislation.” T
{Matzav.com}