California Slavery Reparations Bills unraveled

Democratic State Sen. Steven Bradford and other advocates backing the state’s multiyear effort to repair harms from institutional racism say Newsom’s aides pushed to dramatically narrow a proposal for a new state reparations agency. The changes mean the state would instead simply authorize the further study of the issue.

According to Politico, Bradford takes issue with the Caucus’s choice to shelve the bills saying that he doesn’t agree with their choice to “only hold them now because of the possible concerns that have been expressed by the administration.”

Senator Steven Bradford continued, “You hear challenges on every piece of legislation. That doesn’t mean that you don’t move forward with it.” Bradford also implored his colleagues to push the legislation through, “We’re at the finish line, and we, as the Black Caucus, owe it to the descendants of chattel slavery, to Black Californians and Black Americans, to move this legislation forward.”

However, The Newsom Administration’s Department of Finance opposed the proposal of the return of land or compensation to families, objecting to the bill’s yet unknown cost. According to the AP, the department claims that the total cost could potentially “range from hundreds of thousands of dollars to low millions of dollars annually, depending on the workload required to accept, review, and investigate applications.”

Just sounds like more stalling tactics. The democratic establishment and Black Caucus plan to do absolutely nothing to rectify the theft of black wealth. According to America it’s democratic programs and establishment duopoly; it will never be the right time, to right the systemic machinations against blacks and people of color. 

American Blacks should be more strategic and leave the democratic party, they continue to take the black vote for granted, unless there is a viable third option that blacks courageously and vehemently support. American blacks will never have any real substantive leverage in the American duopoly of systemic racism orchestrated by both parties.

This Newsom Administration and Black Caucus catastrophe with the Reparations Bills amounts to more window dressing according to a sentiment shared by Chris Lodgson, an organizer with the Coalition for a Just and Equitable California. Lodgson told Cal Matters, “This ain’t white folks blocking reparations bills. This ain’t Latinos blocking reparations bills. This ain’t the AAPI family blocking reparations bills. This is Black people blocking their own damn reparations bills because they’re scared of the governor.” Lodgson continued, criticizing Newsom, “If the governor wants to veto the bills, don’t call your Black legislators and tell them to stop the bills from coming to your desk first. You be a man. Veto the bills with your chest and stand on that as a man.”

I think Gov Newsom thinks a passage of the Reparation Bill in its entirety would upend his chance to one day become president or like Lincoln if he were, he doesn’t want to end up with his face engrained on the surface of a penny. ~Balance Due