SB 1403 – CA American Freedman Affairs Agency
SB 1403 would establish the California American
Freedman Affairs Agency for the purpose of
implementation, oversight, and monitoring of the
policies and laws enacted relating to reparations.
Existing law established the Task Force to Study and
Develop Reparation Proposals for African
Americans (Task Force), with a special consideration
for African Americans who are Descendants of
Persons Enslaved in the United States.
Existing law required the Task Force, among other
things, to identify, compile, and synthesize the
relevant corpus of evidentiary documentation of the
institution of slavery that existed within the United
States and the colonies, as specified, and to
recommend the form of compensation that should be
awarded, the instrumentalities through which it
should be awarded, and who should be eligible for
this compensation, as well as various other policy
recommendations.
Even though California entered the Union in 1850 as
a “free state,” the state government at the time
nonetheless permitted and committed grave
injustices against African Americans. These
injustices included enslavement, legal public and
private segregation, discrimination in state funding
and programming, and stigmatization.
On June 29, 2023, the Task Force issued its final
report to the California Legislature. The final report
documents the ongoing and compounding harms
experienced by African Americans as a result of
slavery and its lingering effects on American society
today, and proposes various reparations proposals.
The Task Force recommended the Legislature create
an agency that is dedicated to the implementation and
success of the recommendations of the final report.
In addition, the Task Force recommended that the
Legislature provide the agency with an oversight role
to ensure that existing state agencies properly
implement the legislative enactments resulting from
the Task Force’s recommendations.
Finally, the Task Force recommended this agency
include various offices to assist with implementation
and oversight, including a genealogy office, among
others.
SB 1403 would establish the California American
Freedman Affairs Agency. The bill would require the
agency to implement any recommendations of the
Task Force or other proposals , as approved by the
Legislature and the Governor.
SB 1403 would also require the agency to oversee
and monitor existing state agencies and departments
tasked with engaging in direct implementation of the
policies that fall within the scope of the existing state agencies and departments’ authority.
ACLU California Action
Africatown Coalition
American Redress Coalition of California
BAMBD CDC
Bay Area Regional Health Inequities Initiative
Black Reparations Project
California Black Health Network
California Black Lineage Society
Coalition for a Just and Equitable California
Collaborising
Emend the Mass Media Group
Lineage Equity and Advancement Project
National Volunteer Council on Freedman Affairs
SUMMARY
BACKGROUND
PROBLEM
SOLUTION
SUPPORT
Reparation Generation
Western Center on Law and Poverty
Carolyn McIntyre, Chief of Staff
Office of Senator Steven Bradford
1021 O St. Building, Suite 7210
(916) 651-4035
[email protected]
Chris Morales, Legislative Director
Office of Senator Steven Bradford
1021 O St. Building, Suite 7210
(916) 651-4035
[email protected]
CONTACT