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 visions. But the chairperson of the California Legislative Black Caucus on Wednesday said there’s no rift between caucus members, just a strategic discussion over which bills to prioritize this year.
“I wouldn’t describe it as an internal dispute at all,” said Assemblymember Lori Wilson, a Democrat from Suisun City in the outer Bay Area and chairperson of the coalition.
Even so, some advocates say the caucus is backing bills that don’t go far enough to address systemic inequities.
In January the California Legislative Black Caucus introduced a slate of 14 reparations bills. But Sen. Steven Bradford, a member of the state reparations task force, has introduced his own set of more ambitious bills, most of which are not listed by the caucus as part of their priority reparations package.
Bradford said last week the caucus’ package of bills is a great start, “but there’s much more heavy lifting that will be needed to be done in the years to come.”
For instance, some of Bradford’s bills are tailored specifically for the descendants of enslaved persons, which opponents say may raise constitutional issues. Some of the caucus-backed bills are not as narrowly focused.
Assemblymember Reggie Jones-Sawyer, who was also on the task force, is sponsoring another bill not included in the caucus’ slate that…
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