The California Legislative Black Caucus on Thursday proposed a package of reparations for the descendants of African Americans who were enslaved in the United States, proposals that include preferences for public university admissions and financial assistance for first-time home buyers.
The package contains 15 bills in what caucus members said will be a multiyear effort to repair the generational harms and discrimination suffered by the descendants of slaves in California.
In 2020, Gov. Gavin Newsom and California lawmakers formed a “first in the nation” state task force to study and propose remedies for the legacy of slavery. During the end of the legislative session last year, reform advocates were frustrated that the legislature, which was limited by a tight state budget and a high-stakes election year, passed only 10 of the 14 bills prioritized by the Legislative Black Caucus …