Gavin Newsom’s racial pandering knows no bounds



Leaders should seek to unify people. Instead, California governor and likely 2028 presidential candidate Gavin Newsom (D) embraces politics, dividing his constituents into those entitled to privileges and subventions by reason of their melanin, sex, or sexual orientation — and those who are required to fund the largesse.

He opposed race-neutral admissions to the California state university system (overruled by the people of California — twice), imposed gender and racial requirements on corporate boards (held unconstitutional — twice), required ethnic studies and ethnically dumbed-down math in K-12 curricula, and is carefully advancing a potentially multitrillion-dollar reparations plan for California’s black residents.

Whether born of intense self-loathing or kowtowing to the radical left, Newsom’s support for reparations is racist political pandering at its worst.

Newsom’s unconstitutional quest to curry favor with, undermine the confidence of, and potentially spend trillions of dollars on California’s 2.5 million black residents began in 2020 when he signed AB3121 into law, which required the state to study and develop reparation proposals for black Californians, with “special consideration” for descendants of slaves.

Then, in 2022, Newsom established a commission to develop policies that impact racial equity and disparities. The following year, it recommended payments exceeding $1 million for each descendant of slaves, as well as housing assistance, guaranteed wages, racially segregated education, and overturning California’s ban on affirmative action in college admissions, among hundreds of other racially abhorrent policies.

Now, Newsom has established a new bureau nominally to develop programs to implement the commission’s report, but with legislative authority to “expand” its mission to address remedies for the “lasting harms” of disenfranchisement, segregation, discrimination, exclusion, neglect, and violence impacting black Californians. The bureau is also authorized to collect nonpublic personal and genetic information to identify those who should obtain preferential treatment.

Newsom vetoed legislation to give admissions preferences to descendants of slaves, which he said colleges can already do; investigate racist property taxes, which is already within the new bureau’s mandate; and allocate 10% of state loans to slave descendants, which is clearly unconstitutional. An appearance of balance is important for a nascent presidential campaign.

Nonetheless, whether born of intense self-loathing or kowtowing to the radical left, Newsom’s support for reparations is racist political pandering at its worst.

Reparations are particularly inappropriate in California. The state was admitted to the Union in 1850 as a free state, in which slavery was prohibited. Its population today is about 37% non-Hispanic white, 39% Hispanic, 16% Asian, and 6% black. Over a quarter are foreign-born.

There is no doctrine in the United States that holds children liable for the crimes of their parents, much less their distant ancestors; nor do children inherit their ancestors’ debts. In 1860, there were 395,216 slave owners in the 15 states that permitted slavery and none in the other 18 states. In total, about 5%-6% of all U.S. households owned slaves.

Today, most blacks are at least middle class, live in diverse suburbs, and pursue the same careers as whites. They are doctors, lawyers, and chief executives. With about 12.5% of the population, blacks account for a somewhat larger share of U.S. House members and about one-third of the mayors in America’s 100 largest cities. Blacks have held the highest offices in government, from president and vice president to numerous Cabinet positions and 22% of current Supreme Court justices.

RELATED: Gavin Newsom lashes out at Joe Rogan for accusing him of ruining California: ‘He did horrible s**t!’

Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

In a 2002 Gallup poll, 14% of Americans favored the payment of cash reparations to descendants of black slaves. A 2019 Associated Press-NORC poll found 29% approval. In 2024, a Princeton University-Liberations poll found that 36% of Americans supported at least some form of reparations, with 15% strongly supporting cash payments. A 2022 Rasmussen poll and a 2025 YouGov poll had similar results. About a quarter of blacks oppose reparations.

At least 23 cities and states are considering paying reparations, including New York City, San Francisco, and Boston. Under most reparation proposals, the national cost would range from about $12 trillion to $20 trillion.

While polls usually ask about reparations for descendants of slaves, most commissions also consider payments to other black Americans. A Brookings Institution report justifies giving reparations to wealthy blacks and recent immigrants due to the wealth gap between black and white families.

Polls and partisan commissions aside, the 14th Amendment prohibits governments from allocating benefits based on race. The Supreme Court has been clear that our detour into justifying affirmative action and other race-based programs was a “pernicious aberration.” There have been trillions of dollars of transfer payments to black Americans through welfare, food stamps, loan payments, enterprise zones, minority contracting, and affirmative action. These giveaways deprive blacks of agency and create dependency, not a path toward self-actualization.

Chief Justice John Roberts said it well in the Supreme Court’s decision ending racial preferences in college admissions: “Eliminating racial discrimination means eliminating all of it. … [T]he guarantee of equal protection cannot mean one thing when applied to one individual and something else when applied to a person of another color.”

Gavin Newsom knows all this. He just doesn’t care.

Editor’s note: This article was originally published by RealClearPolitics and made available via RealClearWire.

The radical left is poisoning our schools — here's how we fight back



Two hundred and fifty years ago, my great-grandmother’s great-grandfather pledged his life, his fortune, and his sacred honor to help forge this great nation.

In the centuries since, Americans have celebrated triumphs, endured hardships, and mourned tragedies. Our union, like Old Glory herself, bears scars — marks of a nation that is imperfect but resilient.

We must advocate for an education that promotes building and creating, that equips young people with the tools to succeed in a complex world.

While the United States was founded on a bedrock of Enlightenment values and principles, they are under ideological assault — not from external enemies, but from within our own K-12 schools.

In order for us to preserve this constitutional republic for posterity, we must not only expose these destructive far-left, anti-Western-civilization ideologies and their adherents, but we must also counter them by offering a better vision — one rooted in the timeless principles that built this nation and can guide future generations.

We need to fight for a “more perfect union” that is noticeably better today than yesterday. Unfortunately, Wormtongue has the ear of education.

History hijacked

Cloaked under the guise of “culture” and “history,” ethnic studies is a far-left political programming that brings together a “Red-Green Alliance” bent on ending capitalism and overturning stability.

Proponents such as the teachers' unions, Black Lives Matter, the Democratic Socialists of America, and anti-Israel activists are using K-12 schools to advance their agenda by seeding their radical ideology into curriculums and training the youth to be social justice street activists.

Based on cultural Marxist Paulo Freire’s work, ethnic studies teaches children to obsess over their identities, find oppression and racism in every corner of society, and resent those who are perceived to have more “privilege” than them.

It then presents students with a new set of “heroes” and idols such as the Black Panther Party, the Third World Liberation Front, and even Che Guevara.

RELATED: 'Critical theory is the framework' used to train teachers: K-12 public schools 'saturated' with CRT

mj0007/iStock/Getty Images Plus

Ethnic studies then offers a utopian vision, promising “liberation” through street activism and the relentless critique and dismantling of societal norms — a process eerily reminiscent of Mao’s Cultural Revolution.

This corrosive ideology thrives on destruction, not creation. It fuels resentment and division, teaching children to see themselves and their neighbors as victims or villains in an endless struggle.

Future forged

Despite this, we can do better. We need to do better. We must advocate for an education that promotes building and creating, that equips young people with the tools to succeed in a complex world.

American youth are hungry for meaningful change, lasting self-confidence, and inspirational leadership. They deserve to be taught what it takes to be successful, what it means to be American, and what it requires.

It starts with faith — the belief in things hoped for but not yet seen, like a “more perfect union.” Young people need to trust that their future, and the future of this nation, can be shaped through their efforts. They should be encouraged to dream boldly and believe in their potential to achieve greatness — but to be humble enough to admit their mistakes.

There needs to be a renewal of integrity and an emphasis on valuing a person of his word, someone who means what he says and says what he means. This fosters societal trust, which is a hallmark of a thriving culture.

The sacrifices made today — whether time, comfort, or ease — pave the way for the outcomes we seek tomorrow.

Additionally, high societal trust requires taking on great responsibility. We need to help the youth understand that there is fulfillment in taking ownership over their own actions and the consequences that follow. As much has been given, much is required in return.

Prioritizing effort is also essential. A commitment to hard work and quality repetition forges habits and automaticity, and this leads to competence. Moreover, making the little things matter can be the difference between success and failure.

Finally, we must assist the youth in learning that making proper sacrifices is crucial to stable, long-term successes. The sacrifices made today — whether time, comfort, or ease — pave the way for the outcomes we seek tomorrow. Success is a byproduct of the right sacrifices at the right time.

Republic renewed

Two and a half centuries ago, the founders put everything they had on the line to establish this republic. It is now upon us and our children to keep it.

By teaching faith, integrity, responsibility, effort, and sacrifice, we empower American youth to make today better than yesterday — and to shape a future that honors the sacrifices of those who came before us.

America’s children deserve a vision that uplifts, not one that tears down.

Let’s give them the tools to build a nation that, while scarred, remains a beacon of hope and opportunity for all — a renewed and reinvigorated “shining city upon a hill.”

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