The California Senate Judiciary Committee has given approval to a bill that aims to establish a new state agency responsible for implementing the recommendations of the state’s reparations task force. This agency will also be responsible for determining the eligibility of individuals who can be recognized as descendants of American slaves.
State Senator Steven Bradford, a Democrat representing Gardena, has proposed SB 1403 to create the California American Freedmen Affairs Agency. This bill aims to task CAFA with implementing the recommendations put forth by the state’s reparations task force. As per the suggestions made by the task force, eligible black residents of California could potentially receive up to $1.2 million in reparations.
The task force made a significant recommendation to establish CAFA as a cabinet-level agency responsible for implementing any approved recommendations from the Task Force. Additionally, CAFA would be responsible for establishing a “Genealogy Office” to help determine individuals’ eligibility for “descendant” status and develop a streamlined process for this purpose.
After receiving approval from the Judiciary Committee, the bill retained its definition of “descendant” as encompassing “descendants of a free Black person living in the United States prior to the end of the 19th century.” However, it made an amendment to the section that previously only included “African American descendants of a chattel enslaved person [living in the United States],” now extending its scope to include “descendants of an African American chattel enslaved person in the United States.”
The National African American Reparations Commission has provided an analysis suggesting that implementing lineage-based reparations programs may lead to a scenario where white Americans become the majority of individuals eligible for reparations.
According to Michael Harriot, California has a Black population of 6.5 percent and a white population of 72 percent. He points out that if even half of the Black population could prove their ancestry was linked to slavery, it would have significant implications. A study published in the American Journal of Human Genetics found that approximately 3.5 percent of people who identify as white, including around 5 percent of white Californians, have at least one percent African ancestry. Harriot raises concerns that if the task force considers “negative evidence” as a means to establish lineage, it is possible that white individuals could claim the majority of reparations.
The current definition of who qualifies for reparations lacks clarity regarding the degree of descent required from an enslaved African American.
