By Robert J. Hansen | OBSERVER Staff Writer
The California Legislative Black Caucus revealed its reparations priority bills package last month.
Atop list this year’s 16 pieces of legislation is Senate Bill 518, which would establish a Bureau of Descendants of American Slavery. Authored by Sen. Akilah Weber Pierson, this agency would handle claims to receive compensation and be responsible for confirming that someone is a descendant of an enslaved person.
A similar bill caused a stir among advocates of reparations at the end of last session after the Black Caucus failed to bring the floor to a vote at the last minute. At the time, the caucus said it ran out of time; advocates cited political infighting.
This time, Chris Lodgson, lead organizer of the Coalition for a Just and Equitable California, said his team is still reviewing the language of SB 518 but called it “a good start with some good provisions in it.”
He added that some areas of the bill must be improved but that he is pleased to see the Black Caucus unified behind the bill.
Logsdon’s initial concern was another bill authored by Weber Pierson, SB 437. The proposed legislation would require the CSU to independently research, create and report the scientific methodology to be used in determining an individual’s genealogical fingerprint for the purpose of verification as a descendant of an enslaved person in the United States.
This methodology is needed likely because enslaved Africans were treated as property rather than as people, and were rarely recorded in official documents with names or personal details, while some records were deliberately destroyed making it difficult to trace their lineage.
Language in SB 518 requires any potential bureau to create a genealogy division to establish a process to certify descendants of American slaves and create a method for eligible individuals to submit claims and receive compensation. That alarms Lodgson. “It’s not clear how the two bills go together,” he said. “Right now it looks like the bureau can’t operate until this study is completed.”
Weber Pierson said SB 437 is not a study and that it requires that the CSU provide the Legislature with the best practices to determine a person’s lineage.
“The process of tracing a person’s lineage is not as simple as talking to a parent, and the Reparations Task Force report did not clearly establish a framework for determining one’s genealogy,” Weber Pierson told The OBSERVER. “Many Black Californians had their familial history stripped from them due to slavery. Therefore, it is essential that we trace ancestry back to those who were enslaved.”
Genealogy research helps accurately identify individuals who are direct descendants of those who endured the atrocities of slavery, ensuring that the bill package’s benefits go to the rightful recipients.
Weber also clarified that the research the CSU is tasked with in determining a person’s lineage is separate from the bureau.
California has inched closer in recent years towards reparations for Black Californians who are descendants of slavery. Last year, several bills passed, including a formal apology for slavery that acknowledges the harm it has caused and a commitment to repair that harm.
“This bill package is about repairing centuries of economic damage and abuse that was inflicted on Black Californians,” said Weber Pierson, chair of the Black Caucus. “This legislative package is a chance to transform the promise of equality into a lived reality, so that everyone can achieve the American dream.”
While California advances the arc of racial justice, President Donald Trump’s agenda seems dead set on moving backward on racial justice, including signing an executive order to roll back antidiscrimination laws and provisions that had mandated equal employment opportunity and affirmative action since 1965.
Assemblymember Isaac Bryan, vice chair of the Black Caucus, said the president has spent his first weeks in office fighting to erase federal efforts to improve life for Black people.
“Here in California, we are prepared and willing to stand up and fight back,” Bryan said. “Our caucus is focused on repairing the harms of the past and doing all we can to prevent harm in the present. We believe in a California and a country that is diverse, equitable, inclusive, and full of opportunity for all people.”
A list of the Black Caucus’ 2025 priority bill package with a brief description can be found on the caucus’ website.