Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a formal apology for California’s role in slavery and legacy of racism against Black people as part of a series of reparations bills he approved Thursday.
“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. “Building on decades of work, California is now taking another important step forward in recognizing the grave injustices of the past — and making amends for the harms caused.”
Though California banned slavery in its 1849 Constitution, the state had no laws that made it a crime to keep someone enslaved or require that they be freed, which allowed slavery to continue. A disproportionate representation of white Southerners with pro-slavery views also held office in the Legislature, state court system and in its congressional delegation.
Assembly Bill 3089 , which requires the state to issue a formal apology, also mandates that the California install a plaque memorializing the apology in the state Capitol. Assemblymember Reggie Jones-Sawyer (D-Los Angeles), who introduced the bill, called it a “monumental achievement.”