The Board of Supervisors Continue with the process to give SF Residents Reparations
The Board of Supervisors accepted the Reparations plan draft created by the African American Reparations Advisory Committee and Dream Keeper Initiative on March 14.
The Reparations movement had been trying to make policy changes in the government with the hopes of securing direct payments to the Black community because of the historical injustices African Americans have historically suffered in the U.S.
The draft had unanimous support from the board, and some commented that it needs to be done to start the healing process.
Supervisor Dean Preston gave a list of different aggressions against the Black community in the U.S., asking himself the question if this warrants reparations.
”The answer is of course,” Preston said. “The only question is who do we quantify that?” said Preston.
Within the meeting, many of the supervisors and speakers brought up other communities who had wrongs committed against them that were later given reparations. Some of them were the Jewish and the Japanese American communities of World War II.
Supervisor Preston, who comes from a Jewish background, recounted his own family’s positive history with reparations from the German government.
There were over 100 reconditions in the draft with one of the most covered being the payment of $5 million to every person who is eligible. The others are from an apology from the city to major financial support for Black businesses. All of them could pass in the final vote but many of them could be changed or removed once the final draft comes to the supervisors again.
Within the draft there were some eligibility requirements to be considered for reparations. Some of the requirements were the person can be a descendant of slaves, a person who was affected by the War on Drugs and been a San Francisco resident over 13 years.
City Hall was full of supporters for reparations to the Black community in San Francisco, with public comment extending the meeting into the night. The meeting had a total length of 7-hours-20-minutes.
Before the meeting started, many of the people who supported reparations stood outside as different speakers came out to support reparations.
Some of the speakers that came out were Tinisch Hollins, Vice Chair of the African American Reparations Advisory Committee, Rev. William Walker and Aurion Wiley-Green.
“The divestment in our community in the wealth gap has kept us segregated. It has literally created two different experiences for us in the city,” said Hollins. “And it's caused irreversible harm.”
All of them came in support of reparations, with the crowd yelling at points “cut the check.”
Many of the speakers told their stories and the stories of others that have been and still are being affected by slavery, Jim Crow laws, redlining, mass incarcerations and other aggressions against the Black community.
The item will be continued during the Sept. 19 meeting for a final vote.