Latest news with #BlackCalifornians
Politico
21-02-2025
- Politics
- Politico
Reparations by another name
Presented by NEW NOMENCLATURE: California's Black lawmakers will continue their fight for policies confronting the state's legacy of discrimination — but this time, they're largely steering clear of the word 'reparations.' The bill package announced today by Legislative Black Caucus members includes proposals to create a new state agency, end all forms of slavery and help those affected by eminent domain. It's titled 'Road to Repair 2025.' The tactical change — nearly five years after state lawmakers agreed to study how to address harms perpetrated against Black Californians — shows the formidable challenges of adopting such policies. This is especially true now, with diversity programs under attack nationally and a volatile budget outlook. California lawmakers have yet to advance any legislation that includes cash reparations to descendants of enslaved people, the most common understanding of the reparations effort — and it doesn't appear to be on the agenda anytime soon. 'To many of us, reparations, in the truest sense, is cash transfers or direct financial assistance,' Caucus Vice Chair Isaac Bryan said. 'If we are not in the place where we can facilitate that as a state yet — because we need to pass several legal hurdles and build state infrastructure — then we're going to use language that is less charged and less easy for others to use to divide folks.' Bryan, a Los Angeles Democrat, said the term 'reparations' can be divisive because it 'means so many things to different people.' His observation hearkens back to problems the caucus faced last year, when members attempted to pass legislation enacting recommendations from the Reparations Task Force that Gov. Gavin Newsom formed in 2020. A handful of lawmakers were able to push their bills across the finish line — including an official apology for harms caused by slavery and discrimination. But the session ended with a protest in the Capitol rotunda over a caucus decision to squash a bill that would have formed a state agency to administer reparations programming. Some blamed the move on last-minute amendments from Newsom to instead study the issue further. Caucus Chair Akilah Weber Pierson is bringing back a proposal to create the state agency, which would be called the Bureau of Descendants of American Slavery. The San Diego Democrat is also authoring a bill commissioning a $6 million California State University study to determine how Black residents can prove they're descendants of slaves — a process that will likely be required for those seeking cash reparations in the future. Other lawmakers are also reintroducing notable bills that failed last year. Assemblymember Lori Wilson is reviving a constitutional amendment ending all forms of slavery, which voters rejected in November. A bill from Assemblymember Tina McKinnor would help victims of racially motivated eminent domain get their property back or receive financial compensation. Newsom vetoed a similar bill from state Sen. Steven Bradford last year, citing the lack of an agency to administer the policy. Weber Pierson downplayed the significance of any perceived rhetorical shift. 'Reparations essentially means to repair a harm that was done,' Weber Pierson said. 'So we are on the road of that repair.' IT'S THURSDAY AFTERNOON. This is California Playbook PM, a POLITICO newsletter that serves as an afternoon temperature check on California politics and a look at what our policy reporters are watching. Got tips or suggestions? Shoot an email to lholden@ WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY SPECIAL SCRUTINY: Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy today announced President Donald Trump's administration has launched an investigation into California's high-speed rail project, our Alex Nieves reported today for POLITICO Pro subscribers. Duffy held a news conference at Los Angeles' Union Station, where he said the inquiry will determine whether California will receive the $4 billion the Federal Railroad Administration granted the project during former President Joe Biden's term. Trump took similar action during his first term, when his administration canceled $1 billion in federal funding — a decision eventually overturned in court. The president told reporters earlier this month high-speed rail has produced 'the worst overruns that there have ever been in the history of our country.' Duffy agreed, saying high-speed rail 'has been more than likely mismanaged.' Project CEO Ian Choudri said his team welcomes 'this investigation and the opportunity to work with our federal partners.' ON THE BEATS TRASH TALK: Public health and law enforcement officials have been struggling for years to get Californians to quit smoking and retailers to stop pushing flavored tobacco. This year Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin is continuing an effort to tackle the vape problem from an environmental angle. She authored AB 762 to introduce escalating fines for anyone selling the nearly impossible-to-recycle disposable vapes. 'This is an item that just doesn't make sense,' Irwin told Playbook. 'You can use reusable vapes and it just doesn't put as many toxic materials in the landfills.' She's heard about fires at recycling facilities when the lithium batteries in the electronic cigarettes are thrown away. 'It's dangerous to the employees there that these fires have caused a lot of damage,' Irwin said. 'Ultimately the rate payers, people that are paying to have their trash removed, are going to suffer the consequences.' Dozens of countries have already banned disposable vapes, with the U.K. set to enforce a ban later this year and Mexico trying to add it to their constitution. — Rachel Bluth LA MORTGAGE RELIEF: California will use leftover funds from a 2012 settlement brokered by former Vice President Kamala Harris to offer three months of mortgage payments for people who lost their homes in the Los Angeles wildfires and other recent natural disasters in California. A state agency approved Newsom's $138 million proposal today, making survivors of natural disasters dating back to 2023 eligible for grants that would be sent directly by the state to mortgage lenders. This also includes those impacted by the Park Fire — which burned over 400,000 acres in Butte and Tehama counties last summer — and the Franklin Fire, which scorched 4,000 acres in Malibu in December. The new program in the California Housing and Finance Agency is expected to be running by early June and would prioritize low- and moderate-income residents who lost their homes and don't have a second residence. — Eric He WHAT WE'RE READING TODAY — Natural building advocates say that 'SuperAdobe' homes could be a solution to a more fireproof city. (Los Angeles Times) — A federal building in San Francisco named after former Speaker Nancy Pelosi could be on the chopping block as the Trump administration tries to shrink the amount of real estate the federal government owns. (San Francisco Chronicle) AROUND THE STATE — KCAL News anchor Chauncy Glover died from 'acute intoxication due to the combined effects of chloroethane and methamphetamine,' according to the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner. (OC Register) — State officials are trying to figure out what to do with the $453 million left over from the failed plan to enlarge the Los Vaqueros Reservoir. (Mercury News) — Mac Muir, the executive director of the Community Police Review Agency, will resign within the month. (The Oaklandside) — compiled by Nicole Norman
CBS News
15-02-2025
- General
- CBS News
California Museum's self-guided Black History Tour focuses on contributions of Black Californians
SACRAMENTO – Black history is on full display at the California Museum in downtown Sacramento for Black History Month—a time to honor the achievements and contributions made by African Americans. "Museums are cultural spaces where we as communities get to come together and often tell those stories that are left out of our history books," said Jessica Cushenberry, the public program specialist at the California Museum. Cushenberry is behind this year's self-guided Black History Tour focusing on the contributions of Black Californians. "What we've done is we've gone through incorporating the African American experience in impact into several of our signature exhibits," Cushenberry said. "So, you can see the impact that Black and Brown people, particularly Black American people, have made here in California." The self-guided tour highlights changemakers in the community, the arts, education, and even notable individuals still making history. "This here is the Kamala Harris portion of our women-inspired exhibit. It's titled the first, not the last and it talks about a little bit of her childhood all the way through her vice presidency," Cushenberry said. Also, part of the self-guided tour is the Our War Too: Women in Service exhibit. It's on loan from the World War II Museum in Louisiana. "These are personal pieces. You'll see more than 200 artifacts, uniforms, photographs and diaries from women who served," said Kim Guise, the National WWII Museum senior curator. It also includes the story of a courageous World War II all-Black female battalion unit. "We have currently on display in our temporary gallery space information about the Six Triple Eight, which has been growing in popularity and fame lately," Cushenberry said. Who deployed to Europe to process and deliver a backlog of mail important for military morale at the time. This specific exhibit even comes with an artificial intelligence-generated display of female servicemembers like Romay Davis, part of the Six Triple Eight unit. "You can ask her pre-listed questions," Cushenberry said. "You can even actually talk to her and she'll respond to you. It's kind of like having a conversation with a loved one, and she's very warm and friendly and you get to hear about her experiences." This self-guided Black History Tour showcases many other trailblazers leaving a lasting impact on the Golden State. "These videos are really interesting in my opinion because you get to hear a live perspective from people who live here, and it gets to be their voice telling you instead of someone else saying 'this is what the Black experience is' or 'this is what the female experience is here in California,'" Cushenberry said. purchase a ticket in advance and download the digital map.
Yahoo
06-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Lisa Holder Says Reparations Are More Than Money
Lisa Holder Credit - Jennifer Rocholl In 2021, a Black homeowner in Marin County shared a chilling story with the California reparations task force. He and his wife had renovated their home, adding value through upgrades and improvements. But when an appraiser assessed the property, the value came in shockingly low—hundreds of thousands of dollars below expectations. The couple, suspecting racial bias, decided to test the system. They enlisted a white friend to pose as the homeowner, removed family photos and artwork, and had the house reappraised. This time, the valuation soared by nearly another half a million dollars. The story underscored the relevance of the first-of-its-kind body established in 2020 to investigate the lasting effects of systemic racism in the state and to develop proposals to address the harm done to Black Californians. It was also a defining moment for one of the task force's members, Lisa Holder, the president of the Equal Justice Society (EJS), who sees such anecdotes not as outliers but as part of an entrenched pattern. 'The narrative is that we're a post-racial, colorblind society,' she says. 'But this is contrary to all of the data that shows that Black and brown people, especially African American and Indigenous people, continue to be at the bottom in so many social indicators because of centuries and generations of inequality.' In 2023, the task force released a groundbreaking report filled with over 100 policy recommendations, ranging from financial compensation to sweeping reforms in education, housing, and criminal justice. One of the most significant outcomes has been the passage of several reparations bills, including one signed in September that requires California to formally apologize for perpetuating slavery. The task force determined that California courts had enforced fugitive slave laws and that more than 2,000 enslaved people were brought to California to work in gold mines even after it was admitted as a free state in 1850. 'Apologies are so important in reparations,' Holder says, 'because instead of placing the blame on the people who have been harmed and oppressed, you're finally placing the blame on the institutions that have caused that harm and oppression and inequality.' Holder, 53, has spent more than two decades working to dismantle systems of racial oppression. A leader in civil rights law, she has focused on issues of education equity, employment discrimination, and constitutional policing. Before taking the helm at EJS in 2022, she played a key role in a 2019 lawsuit that resulted in the elimination of the SAT/ACT as admissions requirements for the University of California system. The case struck down a significant barrier to higher education for many Black and Latino students, a victory that Holder considers foundational to her broader mission of systemic change. It's challenging work, and reparations in particular remain controversial. But while Holder acknowledges the resistance, she remains resolute in her belief that the case for reparations is morally irrefutable. 'Reparations are not just about a check in the mail,' she says. 'It's about changing systems that were designed to harm so they can never harm again.' Write to Nik Popli at
