Gavin Newsom Signs Bill to Build Reparations Bureaucracy (California Was Never a Slave State)
Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) has approved legislation establishing a new state agency tasked with administering programs for descendants of slaves, marking the latest step in his years-long effort to advance reparations policies despite ongoing political and fiscal challenges.
The move follows years of stalled negotiations, activist pressure, and budget shortfalls, as Newsom continues working to push the issue forward in the nation’s most populous state.
The new law, Senate Bill 518, creates the Bureau for Descendants of American Slavery within the California Civil Rights Department. The bureau will be led by a governor-appointed deputy director and organized into three main divisions: Genealogy, Education and Outreach, and Legal Affairs. The agency will be responsible for verifying individual lineage, managing public education efforts about historical discrimination, and ensuring legal compliance as reparations-related initiatives expand.
Under the new framework, the bureau’s Genealogy Division will certify individuals as descendants of enslaved persons based on specific lineage criteria, including ancestry tracing to individuals emancipated or classified as contraband before 1900. Certified descendants would then qualify for future state programs tied to reparations eligibility. The Education and Outreach Division will develop campaigns on issues such as redlining, gentrification, and housing discrimination, while the Legal Affairs Division will provide counsel to ensure compliance with state law.
California’s reparations debate has evolved over five years, from initial studies and public hearings to the creation of task forces and commissions focused on racial equity. The Racial Equity Commission, established by Newsom in 2022, also drew on recommendations from the reparations task force and continues developing a statewide “Racial Equity Framework.”
Though California entered the Union as a free state in 1850, supporters of the reparations effort argue the state perpetuated racial inequities through discriminatory housing, education, and employment practices. Others have questioned the feasibility of such programs, noting task force estimates exceeding $800 billion, more than twice California’s annual budget, and polling that shows most voters oppose direct cash payments.
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2025/10/11/gavin-newsom-signs-bill-to-build-reparations-bureaucracy/
