California and its leaders continue to misunderstand what is needed to reconcile with its history of enabling slavery and racial discrimination.
Newsom, who already showed his performative nature by vetoing substantive reparations bills, signed into law a formal apology for slavery.
The bill now signed by Newsom requires officials to sign and display a plaque in the state Capitol with a statement that includes the following:
“The State of California apologizes for perpetuating the harm African Americans faced by having imbued racial prejudice through segregation, public and private discrimination and unequal disbursal of state and feudal funding and declares that such actions shall not be repteated.”
Well, the funny thing about apologies is that most times they appear disingenuous at first glance and that’s the case for this one. To apologize for the “repeated” discrimination with a plaque and not actual action is downright lazy. There was so much left on on the table that could’ve done good.
Opinion
Instead, California becomes one of 14 states, including Alabama and Florida, that have offered purely symbolic apologies for the abomination of slavery and the unspeakable destruction it has caused over centuries.
California was once positioned as the leader in responding to Black oppression, but instead, they are no better at addressing it than Alabama and Florida.
Newsom squandered chance to make change
With this latest half-measure, Newsom continues to create this myth that California is somehow succeeding in their efforts to help its Black community.
“The State of California accepts responsibility for the role we played in promoting, facilitating, and permitting the institution of slavery, as well as its enduring legacy of persistent racial disparities,” Newsom said in a statement released Sept 26. “Building on decades of work, Caliis now taking another important step forward in recognizing the grave injustices of the past – and making amends for the harms caused.”
But here’s what Newsom did in reality. On Sept. 25, he vetoed two bills that the Legislative Black Caucus presented. One would have made it possible for Black families to file a claim with the state if they felt the government seized their property through eminent domain due to discriminatory motives and not providing fair compensation. The other bill would have required Medi-Cal, the state’s public health insurance plan, to cover culturally relevant and medically supportive foods or nutrition interventions, deemed necessary by a healthcare provider.
Who needs to claim stolen property that was wrongfully taken from them or given nutrition to improve their health when you have an apology in the state capitol, right?
Now listen, other bills focus on Black issues, such as one that strengthens protection for Black people to wear whatever hairstyle they choose to have. But we have seem to forget that there are laws already in place to prevent hair discrimination. The state was the first in the country to pass the CROWN Act in 2019, which already prohibits hair discrimination. It doesn’t make too much sense to be focusing on an issue that has already been addressed.
There should’ve been an emphasis on repair. The bills that were given the green light don’t reconcile with the property that Black Californians had taken away from them, the disproportional amount of unhoused Black people and the need to raise their quality of life.
If Newsom had signed the two bills into law, that would at least mean that progress would be made. An agency would’ve been made to ensure that reparations were taken place. A path for reconciliation would’ve been visible and that would’ve been the best case scenario for this legislative year. But it didn’t turn out that way.
And let’s just get this straight. We are beyond the apology stage. It would have appeared that the state understood that by a 1,600-page reparations study and $12 million budgeted for reparations. But alas, what we got instead is an apology and little action.
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Black Californians deserve more than apathy
The fact that this is seen as a win is just ignorant. A plaque containing an apology does nothing more than say, “Hey, remember that horrible thing that happened to your ancestors that led to generations of oppression? We’re sorry about that.”
My heart hurts to know that my ancestors, who were forced into slavery and built the foundation of this country continue to be given lip service for the injustices they suffered.
I thought California was better than this. Thousands of Black Californians thought we were better than this.
Newsom and the Black Caucus set huge expectations when they decided to attempt to undo generations of systemic oppression of Black Californians. But they were expectations that they had all the power in turning into a reality.
That is a failure that not only they have to face, but what thousands of Black Californians have to live with.
And no apology could fix that.