Revised
April 16, 2024 |
Amended
IN
Assembly
April 02, 2024 |
Introduced by Assembly Members Jones-Sawyer, Bonta, Bryan, Gipson, Holden, Jackson, McCarty, McKinnor, Weber, and Wilson (Principal coauthors: Senators Bradford and Smallwood-Cuevas) (Coauthor: Assembly Member Kalra) |
February 16, 2024 |
(b)The State of California accepts this responsibility with a formal apology for the harms perpetrated by the state, and hereby orders this apology to be memorialized in the form of a proclamation to be publicly and conspicuously displayed permanently in the California State Capitol building.
(c)The Legislature shall prepare the formal apology proclamation, which shall bear the Great Seal of this State and be signed by the Speaker of the Assembly, the President pro Tempore of the Senate, the Governor, and the Chief Justice of the California Supreme Court.
The formal apology proclamation pursuant to Section 8301.2 shall contain the following written components:
(a)The written findings of all of the harms and atrocities committed, as set forth in Section 8301.1.
(b)The written acknowledgement and acceptance of responsibility for past harms, as set forth in subdivisions (a) and (b) of Section 8301.2.
(c)Inclusion of the following statement in its entirety:
“The State of California apologizes for perpetuating the harms African Americans faced by having imbued racial prejudice through segregation, public and private discrimination, and unequal
disbursal of state and federal funding and declares that such actions shall not be repeated. The State of California acknowledges the work of the 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. This task force, established by Assembly Bill 3121 (2020), detailed the harms faced by African Americans in California and provided numerous legislative recommendations, including this formal apology. The State of California affirms its role in protecting the descendants of enslaved people and all Black Californians as well as their civil, political, and socio-cultural rights. California acknowledges and affirms its responsibility to end ongoing harm. The State of California commits to restore and repair affected peoples with actions beyond this apology.”