Target: Anthony Rendon, Speaker of California State Assembly
Goal: Implement proposals made by task force concerned with reparations for slavery descendants.
The day the last American slaves learned of their freedom in Texas on Juneteenth was only the beginning of the story. While this momentous occasion came to represent emancipation and liberation, it also served as a reminder of the hard work still to come. Forms of forced servitude still persisted even after this date in many places. And in the decades that followed, acts of domestic terror, segregation, and discrimination in multiple social settings helped fuel a racial economic disparity that lingers today. On average, a Black worker still makes almost a quarter less than a white worker. If the Black worker also happens to be a woman, this gap is even wider.
California made headlines as the first state in the nation to take on the hot-button issue of reparations. Reparative approaches are often used as divisive political weapons, but at their heart reparations attempt to in some way balance the scales and lessen the injustices created by institutions like slavery. While direct financial payments to descendants are one potential measure, reparations can extend far beyond this direct approach and can include robust investment in communities of color and programs that aid them. They help better the education, employment, and personal development opportunities for current and future generations so that these generations can break free from the chains that bonded their ancestors.
California’s reparations task force is set to publicly release its recommendations soon. Sign the petition below to call for a real commitment to seeing these important reforms through.
PETITION LETTER:
Dear Speaker Rendon,
Businesses are being chastised for virtue signaling in regards to Juneteenth. Empty gestures that are more about appearance than meaningful action do undermine a cause. Please do not let this state’s reparations task force fall victim.
California has an opportunity to set a blueprint and a path forward on this hotly debated issue. It will be a decisive moment for slavery reparations and for other historically maligned groups going forward. The task force’s upcoming report should be read, fully evaluated, and—most importantly—acted upon.
Introduce and enact legislation inspired by this report that can help pave an equitable path forward for all Californians and all Americans.
Sincerely,
[Your Name Here]
Photo Credit: Farm Security Administration
Reparations? For slavery in Kalifornia? Are y’all out of your freaking minds? There is slavery still being practiced in other countries but not in the U.S. so why don’t you go there and tell those governments that you want something done about it?