News, information, & resources

(There is no direct affiliation between the Freedmen’s Bureau & the information or events shared below)

➼➼➼Freedmen news & updates➼➼➼

➼ Join us in private community threads to discuss the birth of Black American Freedmen communities and collective Freedmen values: https://www.facebook.com/groups/blackamericanfreedmen

➼Read SB-490 from Senator Bradford regarding the Freedmen Affairs Agency- https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240SB490

➼ “President Biden; sign an executive order to re-establish the American Freedmen’s Bureau”
https://chng.it/yGptwLq8Wr

➼ Rep Cori Bush introduces H.Res.414 – “Recognizing that the United States has a moral and legal obligation to provide reparations for the enslavement of Africans and its lasting harm on the lives of millions of Black people in the United States.” Send your Congress members an email to state that you support “lineage based reparations for the group generally known as African or Black American Freedmen, descendants of the U.S emancipation”. Email link to find your rep is listed in the resolution bill below;
https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-resolution/414/text?s=2&r=1&q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B%22cori+bush%22%5D%7D

➼ Letter from the Freedmen descendants regarding class action: https://thefreedmensbureau.org/black-america-class-action-lawsuit/

➼ Letter from the Freedmen descendants regarding reparations owed by the state of California: https://thefreedmensbureau.org/ca-reparations-an-over-due-debt/


➼➼➼Reparations News➼➼➼

➼ #AB 3121 California Reparations (state)
“On June 1, 2022, the Task Force to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans issued its interim report to the California Legislature. The interim report surveys the ongoing and compounding harms experienced by African Americans as a result of slavery and its lingering effects on American society today. The interim report also includes a set of preliminary recommendations for policies that the California Legislature could adopt to remedy those harms. A final report will be issued before July 1, 2023.”
https://oag.ca.gov/ab3121/reports

➼”California Reparations Calculator: How much does a state panel say I’m owed?” https://calmatters.org/california-divide/2023/05/california-payment-calculator-reparations/

➼ Illinois (state)
“The Commission shall develop and implement measures to ensure equity, equality, and parity for African American descendants of slavery”- https://www2.illinois.gov/sites/bac/SitePages/AppointmentsDetail.aspx?BCID=1236
 
➼ Maryland (state)
“Establishing the Maryland Reparations Commission to develop and administer a program to provide compensatory benefits to the descendants of individuals enslaved in the State; providing that any individual whose ancestors were enslaved in the State is eligible to receive certain benefits” https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Legislation/Details/hb0409?ys=2023RS#:~:text=Establishing%20the%20Maryland%20Reparations%20Commission,benefits%3B%20authorizing%20the%20Commission%20to

➼ Minnesota (state)
“relating to state government; establishing the Minnesota Migration Act; appropriating money to study and develop reparation proposals for American descendants of chattel slavery who reside in this state” https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/text.php?number=HF3850&version=latest&session=92&session_number=0&session_year=2021
 
➼ New York (state)
“Relates to acknowledging the fundamental injustice, cruelty, brutality, and inhumanity of slavery in the city of New York and the state of New York; establishes the New York state community commission on reparations remedies to examine the institution of slavery, subsequently de jure and de facto racial and economic discrimination against African-Americans, the impact of these forces on living African-Americans and to make recommendations on appropriate remedies; provides for the repeal of such provisions.” https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2021/A2619

➼ Oregon (state)
“Directs Department of Revenue to establish program to pay reparations to Black Oregonians who can demonstrate heritage in slavery and who submit application no later than December 31, 2022”-https://olis.oregonlegislature.gov/liz/2021R1/Downloads/MeasureDocument/SB0619/Introduced

➼ Vermont (state)
“H.387 An act relating to establishing the Task Force to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for the Institution of Chattel Slavery” https://legislature.vermont.gov/bill/status/2022/H.387

➼ Boston City (MA) (local)
“The task force will help the Mayor and the City of Boston on healing racial inequities for descendants of slavery.”- https://www.boston.gov/equity-and-inclusion/task-force-reparations

➼ Berkeley City (CA) (local)
“Berkeley school district explores giving cash payments to students with enslaved ancestors​”​ https://www.berkeleyschools.net/reparations-task-force/

➼ Kansas City (MO) (local)
“intent to make amends for its participation in the sanctioning of the enslavement of Black people and any historical enforcement of segregation and accompanying discriminatory practices against Black citizens of Kansas City,”  https://kansascity.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=5899573&GUID=DD38FE77-2A96-4BDF-A3A8-48F43E5ACD2F

➼ Los Angeles (CA) (local)
“In June 2021, the City of Los Angeles established the Reparations Advisory Commission, a blue-ribbon task force comprised of leading voices in activism, academia, law, and racial justice — which will advise the City on a future reparations pilot program for a group of Black residents.” https://civilandhumanrights.lacity.org/commissions/reparations-advisory-commission

➼ Louisville (KY) (local)
“Louisville Council Votes To Support Federal Reparations Study. No, it won’t actually set aside money for Black descendants of slaves. But it does support a resolution in the U.S. House of Representatives that seeks to create a commission to study the effects of slavery on descendants and recommend “appropriate remedies.” https://moguldom.com/374600/louisville-council-votes-to-support-federal-reparations-study/

➼ San Francisco (CA) (local)
“The San Francisco reparations advisory committee recently proposed $5 million dollar payments to Black residents for harm caused by generations of systemic racism and structural violence.” https://sf.gov/departments/african-american-reparations-advisory-committee


➼➼➼Freedmen resources➼➼➼

➼ Freedmen’s Bureau Search Portal; https://nmaahc.si.edu/explore/freedmens-bureau

➼ “United States American Freedmen’s Inquiry Commission records; 1862-1864”-https://hollisarchives.lib.harvard.edu/repositories/24/resources/1446

➼ “In this speech, Charles Sumner, an outspoken advocate of abolition, urges the President to consider the Senate’s bill for establishing the Freedmen’s Bureau. Sumner expresses his belief that the national government is obligated to found this institution in order to aid former slaves in their post-war transition to freedom.” https://www.thirteen.org/wnet/slavery/experience/freedom/docs9.html

➼ Gov’t Archives; https://www.archives.gov/research/african-americans

➼ “Documents from Freedom: A Documentary History of Emancipation, 1861–1867” http://www.freedmen.umd.edu/sampdocs.htm 

➼ From Kamilah Moore, the chair of the CA reparations taskforce; “curated digital presentations on the following: general overview of the CA Reparations Task Force; narrowly tailored digital presentations corresponding to each of the 12 chapters in interim report; and digital presentations presented by Chair Moore to task force on: 1) eligibility, 2) revival of Freedmen’s Bureau, and 3) report back re: economics advisory committee.” https://www.kamilahmoore.com/education

➼ “The 40 Acre Conservation League is a nonprofit, land conservancy formed with the goal of fostering greater human connections to nature to increase community support for its protection.”- https://www.40acreleague.org/about/

➼ Where Is My Land; “We help Black Americans discover connections to stolen land through research, data, and technology. We help families and descendants reclaim stolen land and secure restitution through traditional advocacy and digital amplification. We educate the public about the hidden history of Black land theft by whites through partnerships, content, and programming.”  https://whereismyland.org/

➼ This is a map of Field Offices established by the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen and Abandoned Land, also known as the Freedmen’s Bureau; https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/viewer?mid=1YKvEFW9ROwtYP7_JZknF_Ud8imL5i_4&hl=en_US&ll=34.085462772533845%2C-87.37058739999999&z=5


➼➼➼Archives➼➼➼

➼ CA State reparations task force meeting Thursday June 29, 2023 in Sacramento, CA; https://oag.ca.gov/ab3121/meetings

➼ California Democratic Party’s event, “Reparations Now! Strategy Session — Los Angeles Saturday, May 27 5 – 6pm PDT”; https://www.mobilize.us/cadems/event/552611/?rname=Tieira&share_context=event_details&share_medium=copy_link

➼ United Nations Fellowship Programme for People of African descent, Deadline for application is extended until 15 MAY 2023; https://www.un.org/en/observances/decade-people-african-descent/fellowship-programme

➼ CA state task force meeting on Saturday May 6th at 9:00 AM in Oakland at Mills College, 5000 MacArthur Blvd, Oakland, CA 94613. https://oag.ca.gov/ab3121/meetings

➼“SAVE THE DATE | On April 29th from 1PM-3PM, Join Monica Montgomery Steppe, @KamilahVMoore , and @cjecofficial for an in-person Listening Session on California Reparations. Bring your questions and inquiries for a community conversation about California Reparations. #AB3121 #CRTF” -Educational Cultural Complex, 4343 Ocean View Blvd, San Diego, CA 92113

➼ “The Los Angeles Reparations Advisory Commission is hosting an in-person community event at @CAAMinLA on Saturday, April 22 at 11AM. Commissioners will share their work and hear your input on a #reparations program for Black Angelenos. RSVP now at”; https://www.eventbrite.com/e/los-angeles-reparations-advisory-commission-community-meeting-tickets-598080955237

➼ Public comment regarding our American Freedmen ethnic designation can be given by email until April 27th, 2023 @ https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2023/01/27/2023-01635/initial-proposals-for-updating-ombs-race-and-ethnicity-statistical-standards#open-comment (as a reminder, we exist well beyond the created concepts of race & we truly believe that an American Freedmen category suffices on it’s own but at a minimum, under the “racial” categories of African/Black, American Freedmen is the correct designation.  

➼ CA Task force meeting in Sacramento on Wednesday March 29th & Thursday March 30th @ the Environmental Protection Agency’s Byron Sher Auditorium, 1001 I Street 95814. (In person & virtual are both options); https://oag.ca.gov/ab3121/meetings

➼ #AmericanFreedmen “Save the Date: Town Halls on OMB’s Race and Ethnicity Statistical Standards; Town Hall 2: Friday, March 17 at 2pm ET Town Hall 3: Saturday, March 18 at 2pm ET”- https://spd15revision.gov/content/spd15revision/en/news/2023-03-01-bulletin.html

➼ Public comment regarding our American Freedmen identity can be given by email until April 27th, 2023 @ https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2023/01/27/2023-01635/initial-proposals-for-updating-ombs-race-and-ethnicity-statistical-standards#open-comment

➼ Event Name: Benin Bronzes: Restitution and Reparation
Date: February 27, 5-6:30pm, Virtual
“One Benin bronze sold for $13 million in 2016. The slave trader heirs of the Benin Kingdom want them back, but they don’t want to share them with the descendants of the people they enslaved — whose lives literally financed them. But we want co-ownership” https://www.change.org/p/share-the-benin-bronzes

➼ Event Name: California Reparations Task Force Public Hearings (state)
Date: Friday, March 3rd & Sat March 4th in Sacramento @ the Environmental Protection Agency’s Byron Sher Auditorium, 1001 I Street 95814. (In person & virtual are both options)
Agenda; https://oag.ca.gov/ab3121/meetings

➼ Event Name: Dreaming Land Back into Reality
Date: Saturday, January 21, 2023 in Los Angeles, CA 
“Clockshop presents a new series Dreaming Land Back into Reality, an exploration of the intersectional movements that work towards the return of stolen land. Community-led campaigns have lent a renewed momentum to the return of land to Indigenous, Black, and other communities of color in California. We turn our attention to collaboration within these efforts and the processes, languages, and imaginations that have brought about change.
https://events.humanitix.com/dreaming-land-back-into-reality-02

➼ Event Name: California Reparations Task Force Public Hearings
Date: Fri Jan 27th/Sat Jan 28th in San Diego
Agenda; https://oag.ca.gov/system/files/media/task-force-notice-agenda-01272023-01282023.pdf