HISTORY of Slavery in california
Equity has been at the heart of many landmark policies and legislative actions in California and beyond. These milestones highlight how equity and Reparations intersect to create a more just and inclusive society.
Key Equity Milestones
Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Federal): A critical step in eliminating overt discrimination and laying the groundwork for equity-focused policies.
California Fair Employment and Housing Act (1959): One of the nation’s first comprehensive anti-discrimination laws.
California’s Proposition 209 (1996): While limiting affirmative action, this measure sparked alternative equity-focused solutions in public policy.
SB 17 (2017): Highlighted disparities in healthcare and required transparency to address inequities in prescription drug pricing.
AB 3121 (2020): Established the California Task Force to Study and Develop Reparations Proposals for African Americans, addressing systemic inequities through direct action.
AB 2282 (2022): Strengthened equity in California by requiring pay transparency to address wage gaps across race and gender lines.
The Equity in Education Act (2023): Focused on closing the achievement gap for underrepresented students by allocating targeted funding and resources.
The California Equity Initiative recognizes these milestones as part of an ongoing journey. By connecting equity and Reparations, we advocate for comprehensive solutions that uplift communities and create opportunities for all.
Wasn’t California a Non-Slave State?
Not quite.
While California entered the Union in 1850 as a “non-slave state”, it was highly complicit with the institution of slavery. There were somewhere around 1,500 people enslaved in California.
California’s 1849 antislavery state constitution meant little: It was not actually a crime to keep someone enslaved. From 1852 to 1855, the California legislature passed Fugitive Slave Laws allowing anyone accused of escaping enslavement to be chased down, dragged before a court, and sent back to the South, even if they had been living in the free state of California.
Post-Slavery
During Reconstruction, when Congress sought to protect the rights of newly freed Black Americans, the Fourteenth Amendment was ratified in 1868—ostensibly guaranteeing the equal protection of the laws. The 15th Amendment was ratified in 1870—ostensibly prohibiting states from discriminating against voters on the basis of race.
California officials openly refused to abide by the Fifteenth Amendment. California’s Attorney General instructed county clerks not to register Black voters until Congress passed legislation commanding them to do so.
It would take California nearly another decade to change its Constitution in 1879 to partly conform to the Fifteenth Amendment’s requirements, and nearly another century to formally ratify the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments in 1959 and 1962, respectively.
Much of jim crow found its way into California
In 1867, Democrats came back into power by promising white voters that they would fight against any new law that would make African Americans, Native Americans, or Chinese Americans equal to whites.
White supremacy groups flourished in the West. In the 1920s, California became a “strong Klan state” with a sizable and violent Klan resurgence emerging in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Oakland, Fresno, Riverside, Sacramento, Anaheim, and San Jose. Glendale, Pasadena, and Culver City were “sundown towns” excluding African Americans through laws, intimidation, or violence.
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Racial Zoning
During much of the 20th century, federal, state, and local government officials working with private individuals actively segregated American land into Black and White neighborhoods through racial zoning, racially restrictive deed covenants, redlining, and policies. This prevented Black families to move outside designated Black neighborhoods.
The Federal Housing Administration, Veterans Administration (VA), and the Home Owners’ Loan Corporation helped millions of mostly white Americans buy houses, while refusing the same opportunity to Black Americans. Between 1934 and 1962, the federal government had issued $120 billion in home loans, 98 percent of which went to white people.