Poll: California Voters Deliver Resounding ‘No’ to Cash Reparations for Slavery

The concept of the state delivering cash payments as reparations to the descendants of enslaved African Americans is opposed by California voters by a 2-to-1 margin, a poll released Sunday reveals.

This insight into public reaction to offers of cash settlements shows difficulties await state lawmakers when they begin to consider the idea already flagged for action next year.

The UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies poll, co-sponsored by the Los Angeles Times, found some 59 percent of voters oppose cash payments compared with 28 percent who support the idea. The lack of support for cash reparations was resounding, with more than four in ten voters “strongly” opposed.

“It has a steep uphill climb, at least from the public’s point of view,” said Mark DiCamillo, director of the IGS poll. The Times report states:

Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom and state lawmakers created California’s Reparations Task Force in 2020 with the goal of establishing a path to reparations that could serve as a model for the nation. After two years of deliberations, the task force sent a final report and recommendations this summer to the state Capitol, where Newsom and the Democratic-led Legislature will ultimately decide how the state should atone for slavery.

The group suggested providing cash payments to all descendants based on health disparities, mass incarceration and over-policing and housing discrimination that have adversely affected Black residents compared with white Californians.

The poll results now pressure Democrats to deliver on something they have worked towards for years even as it is opposed by voters in such strong measure.

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