“State of Black California” stops at Santa Barbara to discuss historic reparations priority bill package

SANTA BARBARA, Calif.—Local leaders like Jordan Killebrew are trying to find solutions for Santa Barbara’s most pressing needs.

“ How do we help people thrive here? How do we provide access to quality, affordable childcare? How do we provide access to good jobs?” asked Juneteenth Santa Barbara Executive Director Jordan Killebrew.

The California Legislative Black Caucus and California Black Freedom Fund are making stops at 6 cities throughout California to talk about the issues that directly impact the black community.

“We have over 400 years of policies and culture and systems that we have to dismantle. And it affected every segment of someone's and every segment of someone's life,” said Corey Jackson, who is the Assemblymember of District 60.

Assemblymember Jackson is raising awareness about the historic 2024 reparations priority bill package which aims to remedy the harms that resulted from slavery and the era of Jim Crow. 

The extensive legislative package tackles issues ranging from criminal justice reforms and education to property rights and food justice. 

“There’s a huge merger where Albertsons and Kroger are merging and closing hundreds of stores for people who are living in food deserts who oftentimes are black and brown and people of color, you know, the issues that they face are just exacerbated when when things like that happen,” said Black Freedom Fund Executive Director Marc Philpart.

This interactive series is meant to empower the black community to have a hand in shaping policy.
 
“Policy is most powerful when people who are proximate to the pain are a part of creating solutions. And we felt that far too many black people have been locked out of policymaking processes. They've been not only marginalized economically in their communities, but they've also been politically marginalized,” said Philpart.

The event will take place from 9:30 am to 1 pm Saturday at Santa Barbara City College’s BC Forum Building.