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California’s formal apology for its role in slavery, signed into law, has sparked a wave of reflection, cautious hope, and renewed demands for concrete reparations among African Americans across the state.
While many welcomed the apology as a historic recognition of past wrongs, others called it a symbolic gesture that falls short without material repair.
The apology, signed by Governor Gavin Newsom through Assembly Bill 3089, followed unanimous bipartisan support in the legislature.
It formally acknowledged California’s historical complicity in slavery, despite its entry into the Union in 1850 as a “free state.”
In practice, California upheld fugitive slave laws, allowed enslaved individuals to be brought into the state, and enforced policies that contributed to systemic racism, including redlining, segregation, ant miscegenation laws, and eugenics-based sterilization.
The state’s action was guided by recommendations from a reparations task force, which documented how more than 2,000 enslaved people were present in California after 1850 and detailed other state‑sponsored harms.
The apology bill also committed to installing a commemorative plaque in the State Capitol as a permanent reminder of these injustices.
But while the apology has been described as a landmark moment, the mood among many African Americans is more complicated.
“Everyone is looking to California to lead,” said Robin Rue Simmons, a national reparations advocate.
She called the apology “transformative” and a meaningful model for other states. Yet, she and others made it clear that symbolism alone is not enough.
Activists, lawmakers, and community members alike stressed that the apology must be followed by material reparations. State Senator Steven Bradford, a member of the California Legislative Black Caucus, acknowledged the significance of the apology but said more was needed.
“I think we could have really done more, especially at this time, and, you know, the urgency of now was here,” he said.
Bradford’s comments reflect a broader sentiment among reparations advocates, many of whom viewed the apology as a positive first step, but only a step.
Chris Lodgson, lead organizer with the Coalition for a Just and Equitable California, was among those who made clear that the apology, while welcome, must be matched by direct compensation.
He said, “Compensation is at the core of it, nothing works without the return of our economic wealth.”
That feeling is echoed by many African American residents and community leaders who have watched efforts to pass more sweeping reparations legislation stall. Though the state’s task force offered detailed recommendations, including financial redress, housing grants, and educational investments, several related bills have either failed or been vetoed.
One such veto left Kavon Ward, founder of an organization that supports Black families seeking land restitution, deeply discouraged.
“Deflated, devastated, and disgusted,” Ward said and added that the apology “holds no value without reparative action.”
Nonprofit director Pia Harris also emphasized that symbolic gestures cannot reverse ongoing inequalities.
“Black Californians still face barriers in wealth, education, and policing. The legacy of slavery isn’t history. It’s current,” Harris said.
Despite frustrations, the apology has not gone unappreciated. On the day of the bill’s passage, members of the California Legislative Black Caucus received applause and embraces in the Capitol.
Assemblymember Reggie Jones‑Sawyer highlighted that the apology was only the beginning and urged continued work to fulfill the larger vision of justice.
Public sentiment among African Americans in California generally favors the reparations process. Surveys show 65% support for the task force and its recommendations, a sign of continued engagement and belief in the process, even as questions remain about its direction.
California’s acknowledgment sets it apart nationally. While other states like Virginia, Alabama, Florida, Maryland, North Carolina, New Jersey, and Iowa have issued formal apologies alongside California, few have advanced beyond symbolic acts.
Since California’s apology, states such as Illinois and New York have created their own reparations task forces, with New York’s commission established by Governor Kathy Hochul late in 2023.
Local efforts continue too, with Evanston (IL) distributing housing reparations, St. Louis launching a reparations commission, Greenbelt (MD) forming a task force, and a coalition of mayors (including Los Angeles and Sacramento) organizing around reparations.
Yet, none of these have issued a statewide apology matched by California’s, and only a few have begun making payments or recommend budget commitments, signaling that the gap between acknowledgement and action remains wide.
Beyond U.S. borders, calls for reparations have grown louder on the global stage. At a February 2025 African Union summit in Ethiopia, leaders discussed launching a unified global push for slavery and colonial reparations, including financial compensation, formal apologies, land restitution, and returns of cultural artifacts.
Angela Naa Afoley Odai, head of the AU’s diaspora division, said rising populism should not deter pursuit of reparations, and stressed coordinated pressure through international diplomacy and legal action.
In Accra, Ghana, former President Nana Addo Akufo‑Addo, while in office, reiterated at a reparations conference that “it is time for Africa … to also receive reparations,” highlighting that Europeans profited richly from slavery while the enslaved received none.
The conference launched a plan to explore funding mechanisms without specific structures announced. In parallel, African Union-Caribbean Community (CARICOM) collaboration is forging a global Reparations Fund initiative.
The global push underscores that reparations, both symbolic and financial, are increasingly framed not just as moral imperatives but as strategic issues in economic justice and international diplomacy.
As it stands, California remains a leading beacon in the reparations dialogue, having the most comprehensive apology to date and has set a historic precedent.
But the real test lies ahead translating that apology into laws, policies, and budgets that deliver measurable progress. African American leaders in California have made it clear words must lead to action.
Also, global solidarity adds momentum. With African leaders forging unified demands, and U.S. cities and states beginning to explore reparations structurally, casting a question on whether meaningful reparations will follow.
By; Joshua Narh