A recent poll reveals that a significant majority of California voters are against the proposition of providing cash reparations to the descendants of African-American slaves.
According to the survey conducted by the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies and co-sponsored by the Los Angeles Times, 59% of voters are against such cash payments, while only 29% are in favor. The poll further indicates that a substantial 40% of respondents "strongly" oppose cash reparations.
This survey comes in the wake of a bill signed by Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom in 2020, which led to the establishment of the California Reparations Task Force. The task force was created to investigate how the state could pioneer a potential reparations program.
Newsom, at the time of signing the bill, stated, "As a nation, we can only truly thrive when every one of us has the opportunity to thrive. Our painful history of slavery has evolved into structural racism and bias built into and permeating throughout our democratic and economic institutions."
He further emphasized that "Californias rich diversity is our greatest asset, and we wont turn away from this moment to make right the discrimination and disadvantages that Black Californians and people of color still face."
Earlier this summer, the task force released its final report, suggesting compensating qualifying Black residents with up to $1 million in cash payments from the state. The report also proposed other benefits such as the elimination of child support debt and free tuition to public colleges. These cash recommendations aim to address issues such as health disparities, housing discrimination, and mass incarceration.
The task force's recommendations include providing eligible descendants of slaves with $13,619 for each year of California residency to address health disparities, and $2,352 for each year of residency from 1971 to 2020, to compensate for mass incarceration and over-policing during the war on drugs.
The poll results, when analyzed by political party, reveal that 90% of Republicans oppose cash reparations, with only 5% in support. Among Democrats, 43% support cash reparations, while 41% oppose them. Independents are largely against the idea, with 65% opposing it compared to 22% in favor.
The most common reasons cited by respondents opposing the idea were the unfairness of asking today's taxpayers to pay for past wrongs and the perceived injustice of singling out one group for reparations when other racial and religious groups have also been wronged in the past.
The poll also found that Black voters were the most likely demographic to support the idea, with 76% in favor, compared to 16% in opposition. Six out of ten Asian and Latino voters and nearly two-thirds of White voters reported opposition to the idea.
Governor Newsom's office has yet to respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment on the poll results.
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