In 2023, California became the first state to tackle slavery reparations, and its initial process became a blueprint for other states nationwide. Then, the movement faced a crushing defeat in the final hours of the legislative session last year when two key bills stalled, and outraged protesters filled the Capitol. 

Before that, the topic of reparations gained renewed momentum following the Minneapolis police murder of George Floyd in May 2020. That’s when Newsom signed a law establishing the first-in-the-nation state task force to study racism and develop recommendations to address it. The task force issued a more than 1,600-page report detailing ongoing harm and making more than 100 recommendations for remedies. 

Since then, California apologized for a systemic history of laws and practices that have harmed Black residents, but two bills aimed at funding policies to undo that harm never even made it to Newsom’s desk. The measures were crippled by both a state budget deficit and concern about supporting measures viewed as extreme during an election year. 

Newsom signed AB 3089 last year, which required the state to apologize for being complicit in slavery in the 19th century and for supporting other policies that harmed Black Californians since then. Lawmakers earmarked $500,000 for a plaque memorializing the apology at the state capitol, but that’s the only taxpayer-funded money that’s been allocated to the reparations effort so far in California. A $12 million fund set aside for future reparations legislation signed into law has not yet been touched, according to the Department of Finance. 

The 2025 new slate of bills includes measures that would address mortgage lending discrimination, task California State University with developing a scientific methodology for determining a person’s lineage, and try to mitigate racial biases in commercial healthcare algorithms. 

Supporters have said reparations are not only a matter of justice but a necessary step toward healing deep-seated wounds from slavery and racism. Critics have countered that reparations are an impractical and divisive concept — questioning the cost amid state deficits, the fairness of determining eligibility, and the potential that reparations would open the floodgates for other aggrieved groups to seek repayment for government-sanctioned harms. 

“The government cannot advantage or disadvantage individuals based on race and ancestry without violating the right to equal protection,” said Andrew Quinio, an attorney at Pacific Legal Foundation, an organization that is critical of the reparations movement. “Presuming that one has a present injury that requires compensation because of the experiences of one’s ancestors offends our right to be treated as individuals.” 

But those who support cash reparations vow to keep pushing. Chris Lodgson, with the Coalition for a Just and Equitable California, attends state budget hearings every two weeks to advocate for “direct, unrestricted cash payments” for American Freedman to be included in the budget language, particularly for seniors, who may not live long enough to see reparations payments approved by the Legislature. 

He spoke at a March 12 assembly budget subcommittee meeting about the need to help youth and keep kids out of the child welfare system. “One of the best ways to do that is to help ensure a lot of the seniors and grandparents who are taking care of a lot of these kids actually have more income through a direct cash payments program,” Lodgson said.