Gov. Newsom signs formal apology for California’s role in slavery

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a formal apology for California’s role in slavery and legacy racism against Black people as part of a legislative package on 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. 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,” Newsom said in a statement.

California banned slavery in 1850 but the state had no laws that made it a crime to keep someone enslaved or require that they be freed, thus allowing slavery to continue.

For example, the federal Fugitive Slave Act required government officials and ordinary white citizens in all states and territories to actively assist slaveholders in recapturing enslaved people who escaped from slave-holding jurisdictions.

Assembly Bill 3089, introduced by Assemblymember Reggie Jones-Sawyer (D-Los Angeles), also calls for a plaque memorializing the apology to be installed at the state Capitol.

Newsom also signed bills that would, among other things, strengthen protections against discrimination, address food and medical desserts, and increase access to literature in prisons.

Despite the bill signing, Newsom also received heat for vetoing two other reparations bills. One would have begun the process of reviewing claims from people who believe they lost property through the racially motivated use of eminent domain.

Another bill, pending federal approval, would have expanded Medi-Cal coverage to include benefits for medically supported food and nutrition.

California joins Florida, Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, Alabama, New Jersey and Iowa in issuing formal apologies for their role in slavery, acknowledging historical injustices and the ongoing impacts of racial discrimination.

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