California's Newsom signs a reparations study law but vetoes other racial justice proposals

"California Gov. Gavin Newsom delivered a mixed bag Monday for proponents of bills aimed at addressing the state's legacy of racist and discriminatory policies against Black Americans. He signed a law authorizing $6 million for California State University to study how to confirm an individual's status as a descendant of an enslaved person. But he vetoed other bills the California Legislative Black Caucus championed as tools to atone for the state's history."

"One of them would have authorized public and private colleges to give admissions preference to descendants of enslaved people. Another would have required the state to investigate claims from families who say their property was taken by the government unjustly on the basis of race through eminent domain. A third would have set aside 10% of the money from a loan program for first-time homebuyers for descendants of enslaved people."

"Democratic Assemblymember Isaac Bryan, who authored the university admissions preference bill, said Newsom's veto was more than disappointing. While the Trump Administration threatens our institutions of higher learning and attacks the foundations of diversity and inclusivity, now is not the time to shy away from the fight to protect students who have descended from legacies of harm and exclusion, he said in a statement."

"But Newsom called the bill unnecessary, saying colleges already have the authority to make such admissions decisions. A first-in-the-nation state task force studying reparations for African Americans released a report in 2023 recommending how California should offer redress for descendants of Black people who were in the U.S. in the 19th century. The Black caucus introduced a slate of bills over the past two years inspired by the report in an effort to fight decades of discrimination in housing, education, the criminal justice system"

Governor Gavin Newsom signed a law authorizing $6 million for California State University to study methods for confirming an individual's status as a descendant of an enslaved person. He vetoed bills that would have allowed public and private colleges to give admissions preference to descendants of enslaved people, required the state to investigate alleged racially motivated property takings through eminent domain, and reserved 10% of a first-time homebuyer loan program for descendants of enslaved people. Assemblymember Isaac Bryan criticized the veto on admissions preference. A state task force released 2023 reparations recommendations, which inspired the Black Caucus slate of bills. None of the proposals would have provided direct cash payments to descendants.

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