The Democrats are getting serious about paying “reparations” to blacks, so they are laying the bureaucratic groundwork for the California reparations plan, which distinguishes descendants of slaves from descendants of post-1865 black immigrants. From the Wall Street Journal:

U.S. Considers Asking Black Americans on Census if They Are Slave Descendants

Change would help quantify eligibility for reparations should the government agree to pay them

By Michelle Hackman and Paul Overberg
March 30, 2023 11:33 am ET

The U.S. government is considering asking Black Americans on federal forms, including the census, whether their ancestors were enslaved.

In a proposed update to how the government tracks Americans’ race and ethnicity, the Biden administration is asking the public for input on how it might go about differentiating Black people who are descendants of slaves in America from those whose families arrived more recently as immigrants from sub-Saharan Africa, the Caribbean or other countries.

On the other hand, this will drive a wedge into the black bloc. At present, nobody pays much attention to the fact that lots of black beneficiaries of affirmative action, such as President Obama and Vice President Harris, are not descended from American slaves. But make it a check box on all government forms, with money and prizes for checking the right box, and suddenly people will take notice.