*Black activists in California expressed frustration after state Democratic lawmakers postponed two significant reparation bills, warning that the decision could impact Vice President Harris’ presidential prospects.
As Fox News reports Senate Bills 1403 and 1331 would have set up a reparations fund and the decision not to advance them came after intense protests and debate.
“The speaker needs to bring the bills up now, now, now. These are their bills. They have their names on the bills. They’re killing their own bills because they’re scared of the governor,” a member of the Coalition for a Just and Equitable California said in the rotunda on Aug. 31.
“Now listen, they’re gonna see this, and they’re gonna get mad at us. They killing their own bills, and then they’re gonna get mad at us. They’re killing their own bills because they’re scared of the governor. We don’t care. Bring the G– d— bills up now, now, now,” the speaker continued.
The legislature approved measures such as returning seized land and issuing formal apologies for past injustices but did not advance broader reparations that would include direct financial payments to African Americans.
“We need to send a message to the governor,” said a Black female member of the Coalition for a Just and Equitable California. “The governor needs to understand the world is watching California and this is gonna have a direct impact on your friend Kamala Harris who is running for president. This is going to have a direct impact, so pull up the bills now, vote on them and sign them. We’ve been waiting for over 400 years.”
State Sen. Steven Bradford, who authored the measures, explained that the bills were stalled due to concerns that Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom might veto them.
“We’re at the finish line, and we, as the Black Caucus, owe it to the descendants of chattel slavery, to Black Californians and Black Americans, to move this legislation forward,” Bradford said, urging his colleagues to reconsider Saturday afternoon, according to the Associated Press.
“We owe it to our ancestors,” Bradford added. “And I think we disappointed them in a way.”
In 2020, Newsom signed a groundbreaking law establishing the nation’s first task force dedicated to studying reparations proposals.
READ MORE FROM EURWEB.COM: NOT Good! California Black Caucus Faces Criticism as Two Essential Reparations Bills Are Shelved