California Reparations Legislation & Acts of Reparation

Governor Newsom's recent signing of two historic reparations bills—SB 518, creating the Bureau for Descendants of American Slavery, and SB 437, directing CSU to develop descendant verification protocols—marks a significant step forward in California's efforts to address the enduring legacy of racial injustice. In addition, $6 million is being deployed to further public education about why reparations is simple justice—shining a light on the through-line from 250 years of slavery, to another 100 years of Jim Crow, to decades more of discrimination leading to today's racial disparities. These legislative actions, championed by the California Legislative Black Caucus and supported by nearly 8,600 advocacy letters sent to Governor Newsom through outreach by the Alliance for Reparations, Reconciliation and Truth, reflect a growing public commitment to reparative justice—and you played a critical part in making this happen.

Next month, we invite you to join us for a screening of Acts of Reparation, a deeply personal documentary that explores what reparations can mean beyond policy—following two filmmaker friends, one Black and one white, as they journey to their ancestral lands in the South to reclaim buried family stories and transform their communities through what the filmmakers call "small acts of reparation." As the state of California moves forward with systemic change, this film reminds us that profound transformation happens both through legislative action and through the everyday choices we make in our families, friendships, and faith communities.

View the Trailer here: https://vimeo.com/1038040016?share=copy#t=0

Directors' Statement: "We all know the benefit of small acts of kindness. What we’ve learned over the last five years is that there is also a benefit to small acts of reparation. Each individual act may not change the country or the world in the same way that large policy changes might, but they can profoundly impact a family, a community and a region. We have witnessed it time and time again over the last five years, and experienced it first-hand. In the end, we believe it is these small acts that lead to the big change for which we long."

Quote from the film: "We should not forget where we came from, what we have had to go through to become who we are."