Where do state reparations bills actually stand heading into the 2026 midterms, not the headlines, the real bill counts? Host Mark Stevenson of It’s Culture Podcast brought on Chris Lodgson of California’s CJEC and Tamara Johnson-Shealey of Georgia’s Reparations Sunday to compare notes across states, and the numbers tell a more complicated story than most coverage suggests.
California’s Bill Count Is Shrinking
Lodgson, lead organizer with CJEC, the Coalition for a Just and Equitable California, gave a stark trend line: the state saw roughly 18 reparations-related bills the year after its task force released its final report in 2023, then around 10 to 12 the following year, and maybe just one this legislative session. “You can see something happened,” he said, without mincing words about the momentum loss at the state level.
He was direct about CJEC’s definition of reparations, rejecting vaguer framing entirely: cash payments, plus financial and tangible assets, plus lineage-based eligibility, full stop. Despite the state-level slowdown, he pointed to Alameda County’s Board of Supervisors approving its own reparations fund using members’ discretionary district funding, alongside similar city and county-level efforts in roughly ten to eleven jurisdictions statewide.
Georgia’s Fight Runs Through Cemeteries
Johnson-Shealey, founder of Reparations Sunday, described introducing a California-style study commission bill in Georgia for three consecutive legislative sessions, with a fourth attempt planned next year. Notably, she ran her own state senate campaign as a Republican explicitly centered on a reparations platform, drawing 10 percent of the vote in a district where most voters had never heard the term applied to a GOP candidate before.
Her organizing strategy centers on Georgia’s abandoned Black slave cemeteries, arguing that reclaiming that land is direct, tangible repair, distinct from waiting on study commissions. She’s built a coalition specifically around these sites, framing cemetery preservation as connected to Fulton County’s ongoing reparations task force, which continues its work through 2027, a timeline we’ve covered in our Freedmen Fridays roundup on Fulton and Alameda.
The Difference Between “Passed” and “Funded”
Both organizers stressed that a bill’s passage doesn’t guarantee actual movement. California’s task force recommendations that became law often stalled at symbolic acknowledgment rather than triggering cash payments or direct programs. Alameda County stood out precisely because its board didn’t just adopt recommendations, it moved county discretionary funds into an actual reparations fund with cash payments attached.
Lodgson connected this distinction to a broader strategic shift: CJEC now runs a program called READD, Reparations Education and Development, training people in genealogy, civics, and policy simultaneously, on the theory that durable political power requires organized, informed constituents, not just favorable headlines.
Why Both Organizers Are Watching Governor’s Races Specifically
Lodgson argued governors function as the closest state-level equivalent to presidential power, making 2026 gubernatorial races a strategic priority. In Georgia, Johnson-Shealey pointed to the tight race between Keisha Lance Bottoms and Rick Jackson, noting organizers are actively pressing both campaigns to address reparations directly rather than avoid the topic.
Both organizers described a shift in mainstream political rhetoric, with establishment figures increasingly echoing arguments long-time grassroots organizers made for years while facing accusations of being “Russian bots” for raising them. They framed this shift skeptically, as opportunistic timing rather than genuine new commitment.
5 Key Takeaways
- California’s reparations bill count has dropped sharply. From roughly 18 bills two years ago to as few as one this session, despite the task force’s landmark 2023 report.
- Alameda County shows what actual funding looks like. Its board moved discretionary district funds into a real reparations fund with cash payments attached.
- Georgia’s strategy centers land reclamation through cemeteries. Johnson-Shealey argues reclaiming abandoned Black burial grounds is tangible repair, not just symbolic recognition.
- A Republican reparations candidate drew real votes. Johnson-Shealey’s GOP state senate run centered on reparations pulled 10 percent in a low-awareness district.
- Both organizers are prioritizing 2026 and 2028 governor’s races. They’re pushing candidates in California and Georgia to address reparations directly, treating gubernatorial races as the next major leverage point.
Track this and every active reparations program at the Reparations Tracker