California Officials Cool on Cash Reparations for Slavery Legacy

A proposal to pay Black people in California up to $1.2 million in restitution for slavery ran into political headwinds as Governor Gavin Newsom and State Senator Steven Bradford raised doubts about the prospect of cash payments. The comments from Newsom and Bradford illustrated the considerable political obstacles to compensating Black people for the harms of slavery, even in a progressive state that drew praise for creating a groundbreaking task force. The challenges will be magnified by California’s enormous budget deficit, the contentiousness of proposing cash payment, and resistance from fellow Democrats.