California Becomes First State to Require Corporations to Disclose Slavery Profits, AB 2599 Signed by Gov. Newsom
California continues to make progress on reparations, becoming the first state in the nation to require corporations to declare under oath whether they or their predecessors profited from slavery. On September 30, 2026, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed AB 2599, The Truth in Disclosure Act authored by Assemblymember Isaac Bryan and a top priority for the California Legislative Black Caucus. The Alliance for Reparations, Reconciliation, and Truth (ARRT) expressed its appreciation to Gov. Newsom for signing the bill.
Updates
Op-Ed by EJS President Lisa Holder in Nonprofit Quarterly: ‘From the Birthing Chamber to the Ballot Box: A Choice Between Erasure and Equality’
Nonprofit Quarterly published a new op-ed by EJS President Lisa Holder, “From the Birthing Chamber to the Ballot Box: A Choice Between Erasure and Equality,” as part of the #WeTheCivic: America 250 series, a national narrative movement to put the multiracial nonprofit and civil society workers, organizations, and communities at the center of how the United States tells the stories and histories of 250 years of fighting for a true, vibrant democracy for all.
EJS Launches Special Juneteenth Zine Confronting the Black Maternal Health Crisis and Demanding Healthcare Harm Repair
The Equal Justice Society (EJS) released a special expanded Juneteenth edition of its monthly Health Equity Newsletter. The edition, Health Equity: The Origins of Modern Gynecology & the Movement Forward, turns its full attention to the enduring legacy of reproductive injustice experienced by Black women and families. Through a powerful combination of scholarship, personal storytelling, artistic expression, and expert legal insight, the zine bears witness to historical medical exploitation while critically mapping out modern pathways toward birth equity and systemic repair.
TIME ‘The Closers’ List of Black Leaders Recognizes EJS President Lisa Holder
TIME has selected EJS President Lisa Holder for its 2nd annual ‘The Closers’ list recognizing 25 Black leaders working to end inequality. In addition to Lisa, the list also includes actor Colman Domingo, Olympic gold medalist Gabby Thomas, U.S. Senator Raphael Warnock, and CNN anchor Sara Sidner.
Law, Social Science, the Arts
The Equal Justice Society is transforming the nation’s consciousness on race through law, social science, and the arts. Our legal strategy broadens conceptions of present-day discrimination to include unconscious and structural bias.
Alliance for Reparations, Reconciliation, and Truth
The Equal Justice Society (EJS), California Black Power Network (CBPN), and six former members of the California Reparations Task Force – Dr. Cheryl Grills, Lisa Holder, Dr. Jovan Scott Lewis, Assemblymember Reggie Jones-Sawyer, Senator Steven Bradford, and Donald Tamaki – formed a new collaboration called the Alliance for Reparations, Reconciliation, and Truth.