California Activists Warn Kamala Harris’s Failure to Campaign on Reparations Will Hurt Her

A California pro-reparations group is threatening Gov. Gavin Newsom and other state legislators to pass slavery reparations bills, or the racial backlash will have a “direct impact” on Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign.

Lawmakers decided to hold off on passing two state Senate Bills on Saturday after “heated” deliberations and protests over legislation proposed in response to racial discrimination and the enslavement of black Americans, Fox News reported. 

While measures for returning land to or compensating families who had their property “unjustly seized by the government” and issuing formal apologies were approved, the outlet reported that SBs 1403 and 1331 — which would have established a reparations fund and given Newsom-appointed leaders the power to oversee compensation methods — were left out. 

California Legislative Black Caucus Chair Lori Wilson announced that her group pulled the bills because they needed more work. 

“We knew from the very beginning that it was an uphill battle…. And we also knew from the very beginning that it would be a multiyear effort,” Wilson told the press following the legislative session. 

Members of the reparations advocate group Coalition for a Just and Equitable California were enraged.

“The speaker needs to bring the bills up now, now, now. These are their bills. They have their names on the bills. They’re killing their own bills because they’re scared of the governor,” one man with the coalition told reporters:

“Now listen, they’re gonna see this, and they’re gonna get mad at us. They killing their own bills, and then they’re gonna get mad at us,” he continued. “They’re killing their own bills because they’re scared of the governor. We don’t care. Bring the goddamn bills up now, now, now.” 

A woman with the coalition concurred, saying, “We need to send a message to the governor.”

“The governor needs to understand the world is watching California and this is gonna have a direct impact on your friend Kamala Harris who is running for president,” the woman warned. “This is going to have a direct impact, so pull up the bills now, vote on them and sign them. We’ve been waiting for over 400 years.”

“We have the votes,” the man added.

According to the author of SBs 1403 and 1331, state Sen. Steven Bradford (D), the fear that Newsom would kill the bills kept his fellow lawmakers from advancing them. 

“We’re at the finish line, and we, as the Black Caucus, owe it to the descendants of chattel slavery, to Black Californians and Black Americans, to move this legislation forward,” Bradford reportedly told his colleagues in the chamber.

“We owe it to our ancestors,” he added. “And I think we disappointed them in a way.”

While Newsom did strike a deal with legislators to spend $12 million to implement proposals to provide reparations for slavery in June, the budget did not specify how exactly the money would be sent, Breitbart News reported. 

According to Fox News, his administration has also “signaled its opposition” to some of the reparations methods proposed. The governor must decide to sign the bills that passed by the end of the month. 

The California Legislative Black Caucus responded to the backlash in a statement posted to X, saying the pulled bills were not part of their 2024 “Reparations Priority Package” and that they remain “committed” to the long-term goals of “advancing reparations”:

The statement was labeled as “lies” by the Coalition for a Just and Equitable California, claiming the caucus “cheated to stop #Reparations bills from getting to the Governor’s desk”:

“This type of betrayal cannot go unanswered. There must be a political price to pay. Gone are the days when politicians of any race or party can disrespect Black Americans and expect no political consequences,” the coalition stated.