California lawmakers advance bill to have task force recommend reparations related to slavery

Members of the California Senate have voted 33-3 to advance legislation that calls for a task force to analyze the history of slavery in the U.S. and provide recommendations for possible reparations for African Americans and particularly for people whose ancestors were slaves.

The legislation, which passed with bipartisan support on Saturday, will likely pass in the Assembly since that legislative body has previously passed an earlier edition of the bill. 

“Let’s be clear: Chattel slavery, both in California and across our nation, birthed a legacy of racial harm and inequity that continues to impact the conditions of Black life in California,” Democratic Sen. Holly Mitchell told the Associated Press.

While California was a free state prior to the nation's Civil War, Mitchell highlighted state leaders' legal and judicial actions that bolstered Southern slavery while oppressing black individuals, according to the news outlet.

“If the 40 acres and a mule that was promised to free slaves were delivered to the descendants of those slaves today, we would all be billionaires,” Democratic Sen. Steven Bradford said, according to AP. “I hear far too many people say, ‘Well, I didn’t own slaves, that was so long ago.’ Well, you inherit wealth — you can inherit the debt that you owe to African-Americans,” Bradford said.