How to Get Involved in Reparations: Contact Your Lawmaker and the Black Caucus

Forcing the Vote · Part 5 of 5

Leadership brings a bill to a vote when ignoring it costs more than moving it. That cost is made by voters. Here is how to add yours.

Step 1: Find your lawmakers

• California: use the official Find Your California Representative tool. You have one Assemblymember and one State Senator.
• Other states: use your legislature's "find my legislator" page, or OpenStates.
• Congress: House and Senate lookups.
• The caucus: California Legislative Black Caucus, the Congressional Black Caucus, and the NBCSL for other states.

Step 2: Call or email — a script that works

Staff count contacts by bill number and district. Keep it short:

"Hi, my name is ___ and I live in ___ [city/ZIP], in your district. I'm a descendant of people enslaved in the United States. I'm asking [lawmaker] to support a reparations compensation bill and to ask leadership to bring it to a floor vote this session. Can you tell me where they stand?"

Ask for a written answer. Write down the name of the staffer you spoke with.

Step 3: Show up at a hearing

California committee hearings are open to the public and allow short public comment, in person or by phone. Find the schedule on the Assembly and Senate websites.

• Say your name, your city and "support" or "oppose" with the bill number.
• If you get longer testimony, tell one family story backed by one record — a census line, a deed, a Freedmen's Bureau file. Use our 1870 tracer and county records lookup to find them.

Step 4: Watch the calendar

Other states keep different calendars; check your legislature's session dates.

Step 5: Organize locally

• Bring five people. One call is a message. Ten calls on the same bill from the same district is a pattern.
• Meet in the district. Lawmakers hold district office hours. Ask for a meeting with a small group.
• Join groups already doing the work. See our community groups directory.
• Send us tips. Leaked whip counts, hearing dates and documents help our Reporting Desk keep the pressure public.

Frequently asked questions

How can I support reparations legislation?

Find your state and federal lawmakers, call or email about a specific bill, testify at committee hearings, and press Appropriations members before the suspense-file deadline.

When do reparations bills die in California?

Most often in May, when the Appropriations committees act on the suspense file. That is the most important time to call.

The bottom line

The caucus can write the bill. Only voters can make leadership schedule it. Find your lawmaker, make the call, and put your family's record on the record.