State Of California Calls For National Action On Slavery Reparations

Jet, July 30, 2001

California's legislative assembly recently joined the list of those calling for action on the issue of reparations for slavery. The Assembly passed a resolution urging Congress to study reparations.

California joins such municipalities as Chicago, Detroit, Dallas and Cleveland in calling for federal action on the issue, but it is the only state in the country to have done so.

Some proponents in California are hoping that federal hearings will be held and that the move will result in financial payouts for America's legacy of slavery.

The California resolution also calls on Congress to apologize to Black Americans for the "fundamental injustice, cruelty, brutality and inhumanity of slavery." It also called for a national monument and memorial as lasting reminders of the centuries-long institution of slavery.