California Reparation Task Force Issues New Demand: State MUST Apologize for Ronald Reagan
A reparations task force paneled by California Gov. Gavin Newsom is taking aim at an era of the state's history -- 50 years ago.
The California Reparations Task Force submitted a set of recommendations demanding that the California legislature formally apologize for several historical grievances over the weekend, according to Fox News.
"The legislature must apologize on behalf of the state of California and the people of California for the perpetration of gross human rights violations and genocide of Africans who were enslaved and their descendants through public apology, requests for forgiveness, censure of state perpetrators, and tributes to victims," the body demanded.
In an exhaustive list of "barbarities" allegedly inflicted upon black Americans, the task force identifies one phrase considered a creation of former President Ronald Reagan.
The body objects to Reagan's use of the phrase "welfare queen," a term it argues he began using while serving as governor of California from 1967 to 1975.
Reagan is most known for using it as a presidential candidate in 1976 -- losing in the Republican primary to President Gerald Ford.
The state body identifies the phrase as "racist coding to promote [Reagan's] philosophy preferring a limited government."
The panel also asks the government of California to apologize for slavery -- even though slavery was never practiced in the state's history.
The demographic statistics of California's doctors and lawyers are also a point of contention for the panel.
Why should the state apologize for something a dead governor said? Or for the fact there are low numbers of Black doctors and lawyers? The state has given Black college students every possible advantage, from scholarships to grants. https://t.co/gGXdsxTvUI
— The Marina Times ⛵️🗞️ (@TheMarinaTimes) May 11, 2023
The same panel has also approved a tentative plan that would see the state pay up to $1.2 million to every black resident of California as reparations.
Newsom -- who created the panel -- has shied away from endorsing the extremely costly proposal.
The progressive Democrat described the legacy of slavery as being "more than cash payments," while praising many of the panel's recommendations.
Newsom is dismissing the reparations proposal of the commission he created. I opposed creating it in the first place.https://t.co/aoANl330nw
— Kevin Kiley (@KevinKileyCA) May 10, 2023
California has suffered from a population exodus in recent years, with middle-class residents of the state packing up and leaving for greener pastures.
The state witnessed an outright population decline for the first time in its recorded history in 2021.
Roughly a quarter of the total homeless population of the United States lives in the state.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
