The Observer reflects on the meaning of reparations and the work being done by leaders advocating for descendants of enslaved Blacks to be given compensation for the generational impact of racism.
Here is our collection of stories addressing this important issue:
Reparations rift? California’s Black lawmakers divided on how far to go
BY WENDY FRY | CALMatters (CALMATTERS) – As California becomes the first state to publicly grapple with the complexities of reparations, a conflict has emerged between reparations advocates and some lawmakers backing bills to implement a state task force’s recommendations. Leading Black lawmakers are advancing different sets of bills, raising questions about whether they have competing…
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Creating New Opportunities for Racial Healing
By Ashanti Bryan | Word In Black (WIB) – On Dec. 31, my family and I rang in the new year watching movies, eating pizza, playing board games and talking. Yet something about the arrival of 2024, and all that faces Black America in the year ahead, was sobering. From growing white extremism and backsliding…
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California Assembly Passes Reparations Resolution; Paves Way for Compensation Discussions
By Antonio Ray Harvey | California Black Media (CBM) – The process the California Legislative Black Caucus (CLBC) promised to initiate to pass a package of reparations bills began Feb. 26, on the Assembly floor at the State Capitol with the passage of Assembly Concurrent Resolution (ACR) 135. Authored by Assemblymember Akilah Weber (D-La Mesa),…
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Advocates Weigh in on Calif. Black Caucus Reparations Package
By Antonio Ray Harvey | California Black Media (CBM) – On Feb. 21, the California Legislative Black Caucus (CLBC) held a press conference at the State Capitol organized to introduce a package of reparations legislation the lawmakers call “a starting point” to atone for the state’s legacy of discrimination. All 12 members of the CLBC…
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Advocates weigh in on Calif. Black Caucus reparations package
By Antonio Ray Harvey | California Black Media (CBM) – On Feb. 21, the California Legislative Black Caucus (CLBC) held a press conference at the State Capitol organized to introduce a package of reparations legislation the lawmakers call “a starting point” to atone for the state’s legacy of discrimination. All 12 members of the CLBC…
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Elected Leaders Push To End Indentured Servitude In State’s Prisons
Assembly Constitutional Amendment 8 aims to remove the exception clause from the California Constitution that allows indentured servitude, which is part of a package of bills that are part of reparations for descendants of slaves in the United States.
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‘The foundation of the wealth’: Why Black Wall Street boomed
By Ellen Knickmeyer | The Associated Press TULSA, Okla. (AP) — In a century-old family story about a teenage aunt who liked to drive her luxury car down the trolley tracks of Tulsa, Kristi Williams still savors a tiny, lingering taste of how different life could have been for all Black Americans after slavery. On…
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Political Playback: California Capitol News You Might Have Missed
By Tanu Henry and Joe W. Bowers Jr. | California Black Media California Officials Recognize Black History Month (CBM) – On Feb. 1, the inaugural day of Black History Month, officials in California posted messages and kicked off the annual observance with political calls to action, tributes and the unveiling of a package of legislation…
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California Black Caucus Introduces Reparations Package
By Antonio Ray Harvey | California Black Media (CBM) – Members of the California Legislative Black Caucus (CLBC) announced plans to introduce a package of bills this year designed to address the recommendations the California reparations task force made last year in its final report. Certain advocacy groups and individuals say the legislative package the…
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New Form Asks Hirees If They’re Descendents Of U.S. Slavery
By Genoa Barrow | OBSERVER Senior Staff Writer While the fate of reparations for African Americans in California awaits decisions from the governor and other lawmakers, the state already is setting the stage for progress with new disaggregated data collection. As of Jan. 1, a questionnaire that asks all new state employees to list their…
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