Reparations in CaliforniaReparations in California

Explore why California launched the first-in-the-nation task force to study reparations for Black people — and what reparations could mean for the state.

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An older Black woman sits in an empty field.
Palm Springs OKs $5.9 Million in Reparations for Black and Latino Families Whose Homes the City Burned
The City Council unanimously approved the deal to directly pay an estimated 1,200 surviving former residents and descendants of a Black and Latino neighborhood that the city burned down 60 years ago to make way for commercial development.
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1
Californians Voted Against Outlawing Slavery. Why Did Proposition 6 Fail?
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2
Forced Sterilization Survivors Undertake Own Healing After Feeling 'Silenced Again' by State
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3
‘I Would Have Been a Great Mom’: California Finally Pays Reparations to Woman It Sterilized
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A closeup of a Black woman with plants in the foreground.
4
Alameda County Reparations Commission Extended 2 Years With Slashed Budget
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5
California to Issue Apology for Slavery as Newsom Signs Reparations Bills
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Reparations in California

All Reparations Stories

Californians Voted Against Outlawing Slavery. Why Did Proposition 6 Fail?

Voters in California appear to reject Proposition 6, a measure to end involuntary servitude as a punishment for crimes.
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Forced Sterilization Survivors Undertake Own Healing After Feeling 'Silenced Again' by State

A law required California to involve survivors in memorializing the state's history of forced sterilization. Survivors say that didn’t happen — so they undertook their own project of healing.
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A closeup of a Black woman with plants in the foreground.

‘I Would Have Been a Great Mom’: California Finally Pays Reparations to Woman It Sterilized

California, over decades, sterilized thousands of people in state prisons, state-run homes and hospitals. Lawmakers created a reparations program for them, but it has denied most applications.
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Alameda County Reparations Commission Extended 2 Years With Slashed Budget

Alameda County extended the group’s mandate for two years, but the budget is less than 2% of what commissioners requested. With more time, the group is now reconsidering its goals.
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California to Issue Apology for Slavery as Newsom Signs Reparations Bills

Advocates say California's first-year reparations plan for Black residents fell short of expectations, but voters will decide its future in November.
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Three African American men have a standing conversation.

California Reparations Bill for Racist Land Seizures Vetoed by Newsom

The movement to return land taken by racist government action has found some success in California, but Gov. Gavin Newsom's vetoed the creation of a state process for reviewing claims.
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SF Artist Curates Exhibition That Amplifies Reparations, Reclaims the City’s Black History

San Francisco artist and curator Auttrianna Ward brings home a project that seeks to bring Black creatives into conversation with policymakers about reparations.
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