Secretary of State Weber Says Potential Reparations Would Be For Descendants of Slaves Only
‘A big question was who should get it, and Weber didn’t answer it’
By Evan Symon, January 28, 2022 12:19 pm
Secretary of State Shirley Weber, the author of AB 3121 and the California legislative Slavery Reparations Task Force, said on Thursday that reparations for slavery should only go to the descendants of slaves and not black immigrants or their descendants.
In 2020, AB 3121 was passed and signed into law. The bill established the “Task Force to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans”, with the task force charged with documenting and looking into issues surrounding slavery in California, including denying free and runaway blacks into the state pre-1865. Most critically, the task force is to issue recommendations if any kind of reparations are to be given. Specifically, the task force, comprised of 9 members selected by the Governor, Assembly, and Senate, is also to set parameters on who would be eligible for possible reparations and how reparations, most likely cash, would be distributed.
The task force first met in June of 2021 and is due to issue their recommendations in 2023. Following that, the legislature may create a bill and vote on what the task force recommends.
Secretary Weber noted on Thursday that her approach of just limiting reparations to direct descendants of slaves is based on the psychological effects of slavery and how it stopped many from achieving success, and not just the physicality of the experience. Specifically she pointed out how her Grandfather’s chances of success had been limited by the KKK in the 1950’s and forcing him to move to California from Arkansas, while former President Barack Obama, the son of a white American mother and a black Kenyan father who was in the US on a visa, did not grow up with parents or grandparents who had faced slavery or the century of Jim crow laws and effects afterwards.
“The fear my grandfather felt, I remember as a child, was palpable, and it crippled him and his family’s ability to dream beyond the cotton fields,” said Weber on Thursday. “Barack Obama likely never would have dreamed of becoming president had he descended from enslaved people. Obama did not have limitations and fears drilled in his psyche, and thus aspire to become the president of the United States.”
However, despite the scope of possible reparations now being limited to just descendants of slaves, which the task force has found to have led to financial, health, education, and housing disparities compared to other races, many questions continue to loom over the task force. Weber’s answer on who would qualify for reparations led to only more questions from critics on Friday, who said that even narrowing it that far still led to it being still virtually impossible to rightfully tell who from who.
A continued “legal minefield”
“I keep using the term “legal minefield”, and the task force, especially Secretary Weber’s definition of who should get reparations, certainly have been proving it.
“Again, putting aside the fact that California was a free state and, despite some KKK and other racial activity like that, was a beacon for many escaping the worst of it in the South, there’s not really a lot to justify reparations here. Weber herself said that her family went to California to escape that, so she’s not helping her case here.
“A big question was who should get it, and Weber didn’t answer it. Ok, so descendants of slaves in California. Does that mean biracial people too? Does that mean people who moved out of state, or in-state recently? Does a black family who moved out of state last year after spending 40 years in state get anything? And, perhaps the biggest thing, proving it. You can’t rely on DNA tests or anything like that here, because of immigration from Africa and other countries with black populations. This is largely reliable on the people who would get them, and a lot of people can’t really prove it. Some can, through ledgers and things, but you can’t rely on the Census or other things like that because, for slaves, they were kind of inaccurate. For many, this is an impossible task.
“Japanese internment reparations worker because records had been kept and we knew who was there for sure. Slavery, not so much. Compensation, if it’s cash, housing allowances, or something else, is way more tricky. Do wealthy descendants get anything if it didn’t effect them much? Do biracial people only get half? These are legitimate questions that are not being solved, especially many surrounding the black population of California only being at 6%, and there are hundreds more.”
A final report on recommendations is due next year. The legislature will decide then if a bill or other measure like a proposition would be instituted to possibly enact any recommended reparations.
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September 30, 2020 -
What reparations will be for those who lost family members fighting for the NORTH?
or those who had nothing to do with this – not be penalized…all this is very silly no one alive had a thing to do with this.
There is no way to prove you are a descendant of slaves. Will be interesting to hear Ms. Webers’ eligibility list. I wonder if she considers herself unsuccessful and less fortunate since she had to “feel” her grandfathers pain and fear.
ThE myth that American Descendants Of Slavery know not from where they came is to keep us from pursuing a past. But the fact that Slaves were property makes it easy to trace our past. Tax records, census records and oral history traces to the past that are very traceable. Every Slave ship had a manifesto. I can prove my family back before the Civil War. Stop trying to erase the Enslaved Americans that your Major(today)insurance companies insured. #ADOS will not forget, not let go. We’re coming for our check.
Oh dear …
Actually you can trace your lineage to determine if your ancestors where enslaved. ADOS.com also has a plan of what reparations should look like for the descendants of slavery in America.
I don’t believe that tracing ancestry to slaves and slave owners is as straight forward as some people might think. I would suggest that people read this article on the subject as dispassionately as possible, given the highly emotional nature of the topic. (https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-37291230)
And the reparations should only be paid by the descendants of slave owners and Democrat KKK members.
“The fear my grandfather felt, I remember as a child, was palpable, and it crippled him and his family’s ability to dream beyond the cotton fields,” said Weber…
So, the psychological effect of fear and insecurity which Weber says her grandfather felt, to such an extent that it made it impossible for him to rise above it all, is what justifies reparations for her and those like her? What about those who were not psychologically or emotionally “crippled” and DID rise beyond the stigma of slavery, the cotton fields, and were successful in building their own American dreams? I’m sure those examples can be found. This seems like a very self-serving and unjustifiable reason for reparations.
Reparations should also be made to descendants of the approximately 350,000 White Union Army and Navy soldiers drafted and recruited from the 19 slave-free Northern states who were killed or otherwise died during the civil war and some compensation should be paid to the approximately 350,000 White Southern State soldiers who were killed after also being drafted into the Confederate Army.
In total about 710,000 White soldiers died while in service of the two armies while about 39,000 Black men died. It is thought that about 10% of all White men were killed during those 3+ years of war. Some White families lost dozens of their young male family members. Consider an average of about 20,000 young White men were killed EACH MONTH during the Civil War. In perspective, there were just 13.8 million While males and 2,2 million Black males, of all ages, in the 1860 US Census.
Any reparations to Black descendants should be paid by Southern States after being reduced by inflation adjusted dollars of the several trillion dollars already paid out in federal and state government low income welfare, poverty, and affirmative action programs beginning with the end of the Civil War, and heavily concentrated post-WW II through to the present.
Doesn’t Make any sense. A group of people were forcefully brought to America to build the nation for free for hundreds of years.
If they can trace the direct descendents of slaves then they can trace the slave owners who owned them and have them pay reparations. Having anyone else pay especially the non white citizens is not only unfair but a flat out stupid idea. A black women writes a bill to give money to black people for injustices but ignores the injustices other races endured in the history of this country. What about the native Americans? I think they are first in line. Does this women write bills that benefit all of us California’s? Or just the ones that have the same skin color as her? I can guarantee my descendents did not own a black slave. If these nut jobs try to take my tax money to pay reparations its time for me to leave this state.
Your descendants, (children, grandchildren, et al) will probably not own slaves. It’s a possibility and no one can guarantee the future.
You probably meant ancestors. That group of people will number over 1,000 in 10 generations.
I hope you don’t lay any money down based on your guarantee. You are likely to lose that bet.
Does a Secretary of State normally write legislation??
No kidding, Michele1L, excellent point.
Shirley Weber used to be a legislator and authored this nonsense that created a “reparations task force” before she was so questionably appointed to be Secty of State by Gruesome when Alex Padilla’s exit (another Gov appointment, to the Kamala Senate seat, this time) left a vacancy in the SOS position. All very convenient before a recall election involving the very same governor who appointed her, don’t you think?
Wouldn’t it be nice, however, if Secty of State Shirley Weber dropped participation in and comment about her slavery task force and focused instead on doing her job in this election-integrity-challenged state? How about putting aside the usual resentment bait for awhile and spending some time cleaning up the bloated voter rolls, for instance? Just for starters; after all, there is SO MUCH work to be done in making our elections…. well…. let’s just say “clean enough” to get a fair idea of what the voters of this state really want. Especially in light of the Dems’ thumb on the scale of the latest redistricting exercise.
Think it will happen? Don’t hold your breath.
Narrowly defining a concept (reparations in this case) does NOT legitimize it.
So let me get this straight. A state that was a Free State from 1850, whose gold help financed the North during the Civil War, where 100 years ago maybe 1% of the population was black (about 38,000), and almost all blacks in the state arrived after 1940, is to pay “reparations” for Slavery.
I think I know a criminal shake down when I see it. I think the Sec of State should go back to her home state of Arkansas and try her “reparations” scams there. After all, it was the fine Democratic state of Arkansas that had enslaved her ancestors. Not California. It was California that helped free them.
I think she owns us money. To the decedents of the approx 500 Californians who died to free her ancestors.
But I will say this about the State Democratic Party. Just like in the 1850 and 1860 they come up will lots of great ideas to racially divide the state. Which is the only purpose of the “reparations” scam.
Oh my, SO well said! What a fine, factually-based argument.
Thank you for posting it, tfourier.
Bottom line: CA taxpayers say HELL NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I thought California was built on the backs of Chinese laborers.
How about helping the women and girls on the reservations that are still preyed upon ,
since Newsom is so hot to give away money.
There is a HUGE problem happening there.
There are plenty of past and current ‘wrongs’ that were never addressed,
but throwing money at them is not always the answer.
Gavin Newsom will not to stand up to whatever popular wave the media is floating.
If they need a funding source for the reparations, they should announce a specialized tax placed on
rich white republican conservatives living in the state. They are Trump loving racists who still think
people of color are beneath them.
As usual, the Globe Troll proposes an Unconstitutional Tax. You’re hilarious because, President Biden’s closest friend back in his Senate days was a former KKK recruiter and Joe loved him. President Biden had issues with Blacks too. He filibustered the appointment of Judge Janice Rogers Brown. I guess your President is racist too since he used the filibuster twice before she was confirmed.
Yes, CPUNerd559. And let’s remember Biden’s description of Obama as the first mainstream African-American who is “clean and articulate and bright.” This could be racist or retarded or BOTH. (https://youtu.be/EgIFV7jXBFQ)
Troll- W 16521
You have made it official today with such an ignorant statements. You are officially the Globe Troll????
Racists come in all shapes and sizes and from varied political leanings. Democrats have a long sorted history of racist moments and policies.
Former President Trump put forth a female black federal nominee. Twelve Senate Democrats voted against Ada E. Brown, former President Trump’s nominee for district judge of the northern district of Texas.
Abraham Lincoln a republican, signed the emancipation proclamation.
Democrats put forth policies to dismantle the black nuclear family. The absence of fathers in the home has led to escalating crime and poverty in primarily black neighborhoods.
Hundreds of young black males die in violent deaths all you have to do is look to Chicago, a strong democrat controlled city. Why has this not been addressed by Lori Lightfoot the current mayor or the former president Obama.
Biden voted against mandated school busing.
He said that his children will grow up in a jungle which will be a racial jungle with tensions having built so high that it will going to explode at some point. It is on film.
His VP reminded him of his words during the 2020 Democrat primaries.
Conservative policies on the whole are favorable for all families, of all backgrounds and colors.
But Troll you can repeat the same tired garbage and believe it as truth. Others are doing their own research and are walking away from the democrat party.
This publication is for all, with many readers of all backgrounds.
Go back to your comic books, Troll. Fantasy Land is calling you back.
Amen, One Fed Up Cali Girl…!!!
You tell ’em! Great post, so well said, Cali Girl.
The reparations should all come from the Democrat party! It was the DEMOCRAT PARTY THAT STARTED THE KKK, CREATED JIM CROW, CREATED POLL TAX ON BLACK PEOPLE, IT WAS A DEMOCRAT GOVERNOR GEORGE WALLACE THAT BLOCKED BLACK STUDENTS FROM ENTERING ALABAMA UNIVERSITY, AND IT WAS JOE BIDEN (PRESIDENT POOP PANTS) AND HILLARY CLINTON WHO WORKED SIDE BY SIDE IN THE U.S. SENATE WITH ROBERT BYRD WHO WAS A MEMBER OF THE KKK WHO THEY SAID WAS THEIR MENTOR. A SPECIALIZED TAX SHOULD BE PLACED ON THESE RICH WHITE DEMOCRAT LIBERAL RACISTS LIVING IN THE COUNTRY FOR REPARATIONS! TRUMP HAD BLACKS IN HIS ADMINISTRATION AND THEY WERE THERE FOR THEIR QUALIFICATIONS NOT FOR THE COLOR OF THEIR SKIN! IF I MISSED ANYTHING WOULD SOMEONE OF A SOUND MIND AND ONLY A SOUND MIND LET ME KNOW! w00000 YOU NEED TO TO READ MORE ABOUT THE EXTENSIVE HISTORY OF YOUR RACIST DEMOCRATIC PARTY
@JohnthePatriot, yes history has been rewritten by the very people who held back people back from voting and having landowner rights.
Here is an interesting article:
https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2016/05/the_secret_racist_history_of_the_democratic_party.html?ref=patrick.net
Thanks Cali Girl! I read American Thinker and I missed that one.
https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/american-thinker/
Sorry girlie girl, you lose again.
Why are all the fact checks done by left wing media sites and they give no facts? Just went there and as usual there is nothing there as there is nothing in your lefty melted mind.
And how about all the RACIST FACTS THAT I POSTED ABOUT YOUR BELOVED RACIST DEMOCRATIC PARTY?
Troll w16521,
Instead of condemning the source, next time read the content and fact check that.
Let me get you started on your journey for truth. It just might set you free.
https://books.google.com/books?id=JSpEAQAAMAAJ&pg=PP5&lpg=PP5&dq=the+report+of+the+joint+select+committee+to+inquire+into+the+Condition+of+affairs+in+the+late+insurrectionary+states&source=bl&ots=s6S3OWCBux&sig=TJkAPLxSyU41IRRaZHzrzRQ1XYs&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi6pe7B66zLAhVrsoMKHUAOBiw4ChDoAQgiMAE#v=onepage&q=the%20report%20of%20the%20joint%20select%20committee%20to%20inquire%20into%20the%20Condition%20of%20affairs%20in%20the%20late%20insurrectionary%20states&f=false
https://history.house.gov/People/Detail/23324
Your “fact checker” is some guy in his basement in NC who has a “communications degree” from a community college and has some non professional job in “heath care”. Basically a narcissistic crank with some low level job.
And thats your authoritative source of objective information.
The only thing to be said about this guy Van Zandt is that at least he is not being ultimately financed by some billionaire or very wealthy left wing foundation. Like all the other “fact checkers”. Pierre Omidyar on his own directly or indirectly fiances at least one quarter of all “fact checking” organizations in North America and Europe.
So w16521 you are really just a shill for very rich people and too stupid to realize it. Progressive types are generally not the brightest people despite their pretensions. An observation based on many decades of living in SF.
Hmm W16521, I didn’t realize all “republican conservatives” were white. Your contribution to this site is as great as your contribution to society.
I and other progressives contribute mightily. You righties are doing everything to hold back progress.
Wow, now I know your just here to STIR THE POT.
History lesson: Republicans are the ones who freed the slaves from Democrats, the Republicans also voted for civil rights when Democrats used every method to block it. Republicans have no fear to vote for POC look around there are many even in SCOTUS. Democrat LA TIMES called out Larry Elder as if he ain’t black because of a political stance and many democrats agreed and continue to push the narrative if your black and republican your not black. Joe Biden even said it clearly: You ain’t black if you don’t vote for me!
Democrats always are calling out people’s race, gender, or anything else to continue segregation of the people. Democrats call for equity as if it MLK meant it inside of EQUALITY (this is a common tactic they use to lie to POC, where equity means everyone gets same outcome which will end in all being in POVERTY, and EQUALITY is to not segregate based on color/race/etc – Content of Character!!)
Let me guess. She wants to be the arbiter of who gets or does not get the “reparations”. This would make her the most powerful person in the black community. If she is anything like BLM 95% of the money will end up in her bank accounts.
I have no problem with paying reparations to any living slave who was owned by one of my ancestors. Fair is fair.
Troll w16521
There is no shame in having a mental disorder. Help is out there. I am not saying this to offend you, but I think you should go get your mental health a check up. I know it’s not a nice thing to tell someone but if it leads to help so be it.
You close minded righties are the ones who need help.
Go back down to your parent’s basement and put another Hotpocket or Cheesy Bowl in the microwave and calm down.
Speaking of being closed minded, you’re actually a poster child for the Left. You’re always singing the praises of your dear leader and won’t admit that he’s done anything wrong.
Conservatives and Republicans are a minority in this State andvyet, if some legislation you want doesn’t get out of a committee, you start blaming US or use lefist leaning “fact check sites” to fuel your hate to dispute our claims.
And the minute we bring “receipts” that prove we are right and you’re incorrect, your comments on the topic cease because you go off to another topic to spout your allegiance to your Dear Leader.
Communist Countries and leaders love people like you because you drink their Kool-aid faster than a Jim Jones disciple..!!
Truth!????????
Well said, CPUNerd559
THIS is the most important issue facing the CA Secretary of State’s officer???
What about the rampant voter fraud and rolls that haven’t been purged since the Nixon administration??
Focusing on red herring issues like this should be grounds for removal from office for dereliction of duty and abandonment of fiduciary care….
CD9, they need all that stuff to win their elections. But hey, good points as usual.
Exactly, CriticalD!
I guess in a demented way, she feels it is her job to gain democrat voters. As the democrats bleed POC voters they either recruit from south of the border or give out cash incentives. Unfortunately they use minority groups to hold onto power. That power results in more crime, homeless and lack of services! We as citizens all lose.
Weber’s statement last Thursday effectively concedes that no tax money will be spent on actual reparations.
The money wasted on the Task Force is negligible given that the pols and staff involved would have been squandered on some other virtue signaling lark.
I’m all for the one party rulers passing laws like this. They can look busy at Wokeness. And they have less time to do real damage.
Background: California has always been a free state. Any slave brought into California was automatically free under Federal Law passed in 1820. Any slave owner who didn’t tell their slaves that they became free when they crossed into California is personally responsible for the enslavement.
The Dred Scott decision which struck down the 1820 law in 1857. That leaves a window of 7 years and some months for a person to have a claim of legal slave status in California. The State could not enforce a slave owner’s property rights. It would only be after slave and owner returned to a slave state that property rights would be enforced