SUMMARY
AB 3089 will provide acknowledgment of, and an
apology for, the perpetration of gross human rights
violations related to human enslavement, and the
State’s perpetuation of the lasting badges and incidents of slavery within its territories.
BACKGROUND
In 2020, the Legislature approved, and Governor
Gavin Newsom signed, AB 3121 (S. Weber, 2020),
establishing the California Task Force to Study and
Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans,
with a Special Consideration for African Americans
Who are Descendants of Persons Enslaved in the
United States (Task Force).
That law required the Task Force to, among other
things, recommend “how the State of California will
offer a formal apology on behalf of the People of
California for the perpetration of gross human rights
violations and crimes against humanity on African
slaves and their descendants.”
Statute required the Task Force to “identify, compile,
and synthesize the relevant corpus of evidentiary
documentation of the institution of slavery that existed in the United States,” including and specifically,
California’s role in the slave trade; and required the
submission of a written report of evidentiary findings
and recommendations to the Legislature.
Statute further charged the Task Force with providing
recommend remedies to California laws and policies
that continue to disproportionately and negatively
affect African Americans and perpetuate the lingering
material and psychosocial effects of slavery.
During two years of public hearings, the Task Force
heard countless hours of testimony from expert
witnesses and citizens, and received hundreds of pages
of preserved historical records from government
agencies, private entities, and citizens, establishing
that millions of Africans and their descendants were
brutally enslaved and traded as property, propelling
California’s ascension to prosperity during the Gold
Rush Era. The Task Force report further outlines the
myriad of ways that these harms continue to plague
Black Californians today.
California’s Legislature authorized slave-owners to
hold persons in bondage so long as the owner claimed
to have entered the state with their enslaved property
before 1850. Similarly, courts permitted slave-owners
to move freely with enslaved persons so long as the
slaveholder claimed to only reside here temporarily,
and the California Supreme Court ordered fugitive
slaves back to their owners, despite California being
claiming itself a free state.
From inception to present day, much of the nation’s
prosperity is built from the systematic subjugation of
African Americans, yet only nine states (Alabama,
Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Maryland, New
Jersey, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia) have
enacted some form of recognition for their respective
involvement in these harms.
As California continues to lead the nation’s innovation spaces, it must be steadfast in the reconciliation of the difficult truths about its past and the sacrifices made.
THIS BILL
AB 3089 will offer the formal acknowledgement of,
and apology for, California’s role in forced human
enslavement, affirm the state’s guarantee of
remediation and non-repetition, and provide for the
permanent public access of such apology in the
California State Capitol building and the California
State Archives.
SUPPORT (continued on next page)
American Civil Liberties Union, California Action
Alliance for Reparations, Reconciliation, & Truth
Reginald Byron Jones-Sawyer, Sr.
57th Assembly District
AB 3089 – Apology Act for Gross Human Rights Violations, with Special Consideration for Slavery Descendants
CAPITOL OFFICE 1021 O Street, SUITE 6320 SACRAMENTO, CA 95814 TEL: 916.319.2057 FAX: 916-319-2157 DISTRICT OFFICE 700 EXPOSITION PARK DRIVE LOS ANGELES, CA 90037 TEL: 213.744.2111 FAX: 213.744.2122 SUPPORT (continued)
California Academy of Child and Adolescent
Psychiatry
Black Equity Collective
California African American Chamber of
Commerce
California Association of Realtors
California Black Power Network
California Federation of Teachers, American
Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial
Organizations (AFL-CIO)
California Reparations Task Force Members
Don Tamaki, Dr. Cheryl Grills, and Lisa Holder
California Teachers Association
Catalyst California
Democrats of Rossmor
Equal Justice Society
Greater Sacramento Urban League
Live Free California
Multi-Faith Action Coalition
National Association for the Advancement of
Colored People, California-Hawaii State
Conference (NAACP)
CONTACT
Nick Fletcher ♦ (916) 319-2057
[email protected]