Donald Trump got even more terrible, and Hurricane Milton bore down on Florida’s Gulf Coast, you can be forgiven for not noticing that California passed a series of bills that could signal the beginning of a new landscape for civil rights in America.With the passage of SB 1137, California became the first state in the nation to codify the concept of intersectionality into law.
Coined by legal scholar Kimberlé Williams-Crenshaw in 1989, intersectionality offers a framework for understanding how various forms of inequality interact, exacerbating discrimination and harm.
This landmark legislation explicitly safeguards individuals with multiple marginalized identities—such as Black gay men—against discrimination.Subscribe to Native Son’s newsletter for more news, information, and conversations about Black gay and queer everything.In addition to passing into law this groundbreaking bill, California formally apologized for its historical role in slavery and systemic oppression of Black individuals, making it the eighth state to do so.
The state has also committed to exploring reparations while addressing maternal health disparities and refining the definition of “race” to include traits such as hair texture and protective hairstyles.These legislative advances are part of a broader suite of reforms championed by the California Legislative Black Caucus.