California to apologize for slavery as part of reparations push in recognizing injustices

California’s governor has signed a slate of bills aimed at beginning the process of reparations for Black descendants of enslaved people, including a measure that requires the state to apologize for perpetuating slavery. 

The headliner bill signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday requires officials to sign and display a plaque in the state Capitol that includes the following: “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.”