SB 1050 – Restitution for Racially Motivated Takings
SB 1050 would establish a process for the State of
California to review and investigate public
complaints from individuals who had their property
taken without fair compensation as a result of racially motivated eminent domain, and establish a process
for providing compensation.
This bill is a recommendation from the CA
Reparations Task Force’s Final Report.
The State of California and local governments
targeted property owned by African Americans in
urban renewal and development projects for unjust
uses of eminent domain, often without providing just
compensation. Historically, the construction of
public infrastructure disproportionately displaced
and fractured African American communities.
Examples of unjust takings in California include the
construction of various freeways in Southern
California, the Burgess Family land in Colona that
now comprises the Marshall Gold Discovery State
Historic Park, and Bruce’s Beach in Manhattan
Beach, among others.
In 2023, the CA Task Force to Study and Develop
Reparation Proposals for African Americans
examined the ongoing and compounding harms
experienced by African Americans as a result of
slavery and the State of California’s role in
perpetuating these harms.
The Reparation Task Force’s Final Report
recommends the Legislature restore property taken
during race -based uses of eminent domain to its
original owners or provide another effective remedy
where appropriate, such as restitution or
compensation.
SB 1050 would require the California American
Freedmen Affairs Agency to research and document
properties taken as a result of racially -motivated
eminent domain and establish a process for providing
just compensation to the rightful owner in the form
of monetary compensation, the return of land, or the
conveyance of similar land , as feasible , and
contingent upon an appropriation by the Legislature.
ACLU California Action
Black Equity Collective
Calif. Black Power Network
Catalyst California
Equal Justice Society
LIVEFREE California
Reparations Task Force Members: Cheryl Grills,
Lisa Holder, Don Tamaki
Bay Area Regional Health Inequities Initiatives
California Association of Realtors
Calif. African American Chamber of Commerce
California Organizations for Reparations Coalition
Greater Sacramento Urban League
Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors
Multi-faith ACTION Coalition (Contra Costa Co.)
NAACP CA-HI State Conference
National Black Wall Street Project, Sacramento
Chapter
Santa Monica Democratic Club
SUMMARY
BACKGROUND
SOLUTION
SUPPORT
CONTACT
Jerome Parra, Communications Director
Office of Senator Steven Bradford
1021 O St., Room 7210
(916) 651-4035
[email protected]