Reparations Roundup: March-April 2025
Lawmakers across the country are proposing reparations to black Americans for slavery and America’s history of racial discrimination. Proposals have included direct cash payments, grants, formal apologies from the government, and government programs with race-based eligibility.
Because certain reparations proposals would inevitably advantage and disadvantage individuals based on their race and ancestry—in violation of the Constitution—PLF is tracking the development of these policies at state and local levels. See the previous roundup here.
Here is what has happened the past two months:
California bills race through the legislature
Sacramento has been busy advancing several bills from the “Road to Repair 2025 Priority Bill Package” that are grounded in the recommendations of the California Reparations Task Force. Critics of these bills have also been busy reminding policymakers of their constitutional obligation to equality under the law. And apparently some reparations supporters would like critics to shut up. But that’s not going to happen.
To get around the Constitution’s prohibition on race-based treatment, reparations advocates insist these bills are race-neutral because they benefit individuals on the basis of lineage and ancestry. The origin, purpose, and anticipated effect of these bills suggest otherwise. Never mind that these bills stem from recommendations of the state’s Reparations Task Force, which the state assembled to study and develop reparations proposals specifically for African Americans. Or that the chairperson of the California Legislative Black Caucus said that the bill package is about “repairing centuries of economic damage and abuse that was inflicted on Black Californians.” One Assembly member even admonished reparations critics to visit the National Museum of African American History in Washington, DC, to temper their opposition. So, it’s hard not to see how these reparations bills are using ancestry as a loophole for race.
Maryland poised to consider reparations
The Maryland House voted 101-36 in favor of establishing a commission to study and recommend possible reparations for slavery. The recommendations could include official apologies, cash compensation, property tax rebates, social service assistance, and licensing and permit fee waivers and reimbursement, among others.
The bill is now before Governor Wes Moore, who has promised to consider the legislation. If he signs the bill, preliminary findings will be due from the Commission in January 2027; its final report would be due November 2027.
When posed with the query as to how Maryland would pay for this initiative, advocate and Maryland State Delegate Caylin Young deflected, stating, “I think that’s a conversation for another day.”
Minnesota’s “fiscally irresponsible and historically illiterate” bill
Economist John Phelan came out swinging against a bill advanced by Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party members. Despite Minnesota’s history of robust abolitionist support and its current fiscal deficits, the bill would appropriate money to study and provide reparation grants for slavery.
Revenue for Evanston reparations not as high as anticipated
Funding for the first-in-the-nation reparations program in Evanston, Illinois, is falling short of expectations, thanks to a shortage of cannabis dispensaries. Evanston’s reparations program, which provides housing assistance to black residents of the city from 1919 through 1969 and their descendants, depended on sales tax revenue from the anticipated opening of three dispensaries. Only two of the three dispensaries are open and sales are lower than projected.
Judicial Watch sued the City last year over the reparations program. That lawsuit is ongoing.
Chicago seeking members for its task force
Chicagoans can now apply to be part of the City’s 25-member reparations task force. The mayor and the City Council’s Black Caucus will appoint members to study the legacy of slavery, discriminatory policies, and how to compensate for that legacy. The City is accepting applications through May 20.
U.S. congressman pushes back against reparations
As reported in January, Washington, DC’s surreptitious renaming of the bill establishing a reparations task force did not go unnoticed. Congressman Brian Babin (TX-36) introduced the No Bailouts for Reparations Act bill, which would prohibit federal assistance to any state or local government that implements reparations programs.
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