{"id":27651,"date":"2023-07-30T22:03:40","date_gmt":"2023-07-31T05:03:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=27651"},"modified":"2023-07-30T22:03:41","modified_gmt":"2023-07-31T05:03:41","slug":"the-emotional-toll-of-studying-reparations-a-look-into-californias-journey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2023\/07\/30\/the-emotional-toll-of-studying-reparations-a-look-into-californias-journey\/","title":{"rendered":"THE EMOTIONAL TOLL OF STUDYING REPARATIONS: A LOOK INTO CALIFORNIA\u2019S JOURNEY"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

With the academic aspect of their work now over, California reparations advocates are just coming to grips with the impact the last two years have had on their lives.<\/a><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Justin Phillips<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

July 30, 2023 (SFChronicle.com)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Eric
Eric McDonnell, chair of the African American Reparations Advisory Committee, speaks at the San Francisco Board of Supervisors\u2019s public hearing about the city\u2019s draft reparations plan at City Hall in San Francisco on March 14. For committee members like McDonnell, the journey has left a lasting impact on their lives.  Salgu Wissmath\/The Chronicle<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

When Black folks testified before the state\u2019s reparations task force about the long-term financial disadvantages they have faced because of slavery\u2019s legacy in California, Assembly Member Reggie Jones-Sawyer of Los Angeles said he could close his eyes and \u201calmost see that person\u2019s enslaved ancestor standing beside them, guiding their souls.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He called the time he spent studying reparations over the last two years a \u201clife-changing\u201d experience. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jones-Sawyer wasn\u2019t the only person among the nine members of the state task force<\/a> and the 15 on San Francisco\u2019s African American Reparations Advisory Committee<\/a> to feel this way. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

These 24 scholars, community leaders and elected officials were tasked with studying slavery\u2019s legacy in California and developing reparations proposals. Along their journey, they\u2019ve heard harrowing stories that bolster the case for reparations. At the same time, their efforts have been met with racism, threats of violence and a coordinated right-wing disinformation campaign that portrays them as only interested in sowing discord by dredging up America\u2019s disgraceful past.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think we were all a bit naive heading into the process,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen you\u2019re getting hit by people who are against reparations and you\u2019re getting hit by people who are for reparations and you\u2019re right in the middle, trying to do the right thing, it\u2019s really hard.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the past two years, members of both committees were unwavering in their commitment to the reparations cause. Within the last month, both groups published huge reports<\/a> that included hundreds of reparations recommendations<\/a> \u2014 the first of their kind in California. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The toll this process<\/a> had on them was profound. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some advocates told me sleepless nights and intense stress became their constant companions as they navigated the complexities of reparations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tiffany Carter, a San Francisco native who volunteered to serve on the San Francisco committee, told me the stories of discrimination in housing, education and employment that she heard from the city\u2019s Black elders still haunt her. These stories were coming from people she grew up around or with whom she shared a family connection. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m not an activist. I\u2019m a chef. I run my own business. I wanted to be a part of this process because I want to create a better future for Black people in the city,\u201d Carter said. \u201cBut I wasn\u2019t used to this kind of experience. \u2026 You don\u2019t just forget these stories or the pain in people\u2019s voices when you hear it so often for two years.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

During their joint efforts, the AARAC and the state task force had more than 40 public meetings, heard from more than 200 witnesses and listened to more than 100 hours of public comments. The groups created more than 200 reparations recommendations that both state lawmakers and legislators in San Francisco will consider in coming months. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe were wading into deep and infested waters to research the harms the Black community still experiences, and in many ways during this research we were being retraumatized by it all,\u201d San Francisco\u2019s AARAC chair, Eric McDonnell, told me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like Carter, McDonnell hasn\u2019t been able to shake the troubling testimony he heard during the committee\u2019s meetings during the last two years. He said in addition to the stories shared during public meetings, others were shared with him privately. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

One such story came from an older Black woman from San Francisco who told him she lost her home during urban renewal, which occurred between the 1950s and 1970s. Because the city compensated her with a paltry sum, she endured financial struggles for decades. Her family has yet to recover, McDonnell said.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou know these stories exist, you know they\u2019re out there but there\u2019s a specific kind of pain that comes from hearing them from the people still experiencing them,\u201d McDonnell said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Intensifying the emotional toll of studying reparations is the sense of responsibility that Black advocates feel about the concept, Tinisch Hollins, who is on the AARAC, told me. Hollins is an organizer who speaks often to Black residents about what they need, and that connection comes with its own unique pressures. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou want to improve the future for your own people,\u201d Hollins said. \u201cThey see what you\u2019re working on \u2026 so you\u2019re constantly working to get it right, to create the best future possible and make sure that everyone benefits.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet, the emotional toll of studying reparations isn\u2019t limited to the weight of hearing about historical atrocities or simply getting the recommendations right. It extends to the reactions of a society that often prefers to forget or deny the legacy of slavery. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

San Francisco\u2019s committee received so many racist responses<\/a> from the public that members of the Board of Supervisors spoke out against the backlash during a meeting in March. Multiple supervisors, including Rafael Mandelman and board President Aaron Peskin, noted how many of the remarks came from residents of this supposedly progressive city. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jones-Sawyer said his office has been inundated during the past two years with messages threatening his staff and members of the state task force. These reactions, he said, can make reparations advocates fear for their personal safety but it can\u2019t stop their work. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jones-Sawyer said when the backlash felt overwhelming, he thought about his late uncle, Jefferson Thomas. Thomas was one of the \u201cLittle Rock Nine,\u201d the group of students who fearlessly integrated Central High School in Arkansas in 1957. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI would remind myself in those moments what he went through,\u201d Jones-Sawyer said. \u201cIf you put things in context, you realize it\u2019s tough and you\u2019re experiencing a lot of mental anguish and trauma, but there are people who advanced us, whose shoulders we stand on, that went through a lot more.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While submerged daily in past atrocities committed against Black people in California, state task force member and San Francisco attorney Don Tamaki wrestled with something more: a sense of not belonging. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tamaki, who is Japanese American, has successfully worked on reparations for Japanese Americans following their forced incarceration during World War II. His parents were among the nearly 8,000 Bay Area residents forced into a San Bruno detention facility after Pearl Harbor was bombed in December 1941.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tamaki is well-qualified to serve on the state task force, but even he admitted that researching the brutal scope of anti-Black racism in the state, which he said often had him \u201cinternally screaming and crying\u201d during meetings, made him question his place among other Black reparations advocates.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFrom the beginning, as the only non-Black member of the task force, I wondered if I was the right person to be there. It\u2019s something I thought about and stressed about often,\u201d Tamaki said. \u201cI realized early on that I really needed to earn my place among the task force members.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Self-care has been crucial for Tamaki and the others, whether it was keeping a journal, going on a nature walk, or spending more time with friends and family. Stepping away from intense subject matter helped many of them sustain the emotional stamina needed to move a taxing reparations process forward. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hollins told me her self-care involved connecting more with nature, and \u201cfinding ways to create spaces for Black people to find joy in San Francisco\u201d through her nonprofit SF Black Wall Street<\/a>, which works to improve the economic mobility of Black residents. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

McDonnell said he turned to \u201ca spiritual path to help me navigate this work.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jovan Scott-Lewis, a task force member and UC Berkeley geography professor, told me via email the end result of his reparations work is part of his self-care journey. It \u201cwas in that work that I found my method of coping with all the trauma that was being shared with us. It was by making sure that we advocated for the fullest possible sense of repair through our policy recommendations and compensation models.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the topic of reparations continues to gain traction in California, it is crucial we acknowledge and support those who bear the emotional toll of this vital work. Only then can we hope to move toward a future defined by healing, justice and true equality for all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reach Justin Phillips: jphillips@sfchronicle.co<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/a>Written By Justin Phillips<\/a><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Justin Phillips joined The San Francisco Chronicle in November 2016 as a food writer. He previously served as the City, Industry, and Gaming reporter for the American Press in Lake Charles, Louisiana. In 2019, Justin also began writing a weekly column for The Chronicle\u2019s Datebook section that focused on Black culture in the Bay Area. In 2020, Justin helped launch Extra Spicy, a food and culture podcast he co-hosts with restaurant critic Soleil Ho. Following its first season, the podcast was named one of the best podcasts in America by the Atlantic. In February, Justin left the food team to become a full-time columnist for The Chronicle. His columns focus on race and inequality in the Bay Area, while also placing a spotlight on the experiences of marginalized communities in the region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"San<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\"HEARST\u00a92023 Hearst Communications, Inc.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With the academic aspect of their work now over, California reparations advocates are just coming to grips with the impact the last two years have had on their lives. Justin Phillips July 30, 2023 (SFChronicle.com) When Black folks testified before the state\u2019s reparations task force about the long-term financial disadvantages… Continue reading → <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[556],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27651"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27651"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27651\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27652,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27651\/revisions\/27652"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27651"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27651"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27651"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}