{"id":28669,"date":"2023-09-21T12:18:40","date_gmt":"2023-09-21T19:18:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=28669"},"modified":"2023-09-21T12:20:12","modified_gmt":"2023-09-21T19:20:12","slug":"sf-supes-support-reparations-plan-but-cash-payments-face-hurdles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2023\/09\/21\/sf-supes-support-reparations-plan-but-cash-payments-face-hurdles\/","title":{"rendered":"SF supes support reparations plan, but cash payments face hurdles"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Black speakers urged the Board of Supervisors to stand \u2018on the right side of history\u2019 during an hours-long public comment session on reparations. That may well happen, but getting people paid will require more than that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\" by JUNYAO YANG<\/a><\/strong> SEPTEMBER 19, 2023 (MissionLocal.org)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A
People show up at a rally to support reparations for Black people on Tuesday. Photo by Junyao Yang.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

San Francisco\u2019s task force on Black reparations presented its final recommendations this afternoon on how the city can alleviate the harms of anti-Black racism, including the possibility of $5 million payments made to Black residents harmed by the city government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the supervisors were broadly receptive of the reparations plan, Mayor London Breed presents an obstacle: The city\u2019s first Black female mayor has stated that she is against cash payments at the city level, and has not agreed to fund a future reparations office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The mayor is not bound to spend money allocated by the supervisors. And the city is staring down painful budget cuts<\/a> next year, which are likely to forestall any grand spending on reparations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Still, District 10 Supervisor Shamann Walton, a strong supporter of reparations and the only Black supervisor, introduced a resolution on Tuesday to accept the final reparations plan<\/a>, which would cost tens, if not hundreds, of millions of dollars in additional spending, if fully implemented. The resolution will be voted on as early as next week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Supervisor
Supervisor Shamann Walton addresses the public at the reparations rally on Tuesday. Photo by Junyao Yang.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is a distinct moment, and this can not be overstated,\u201d said Tinisch Hollins, vice chair of the African American Reparations Advisory Committee. \u201cSo to speak, we have all the receipts, and truthfully, you do, too.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The recommendations presented Tuesday centered around three overarching proposals: San Francisco should issue a formal apology to Black residents, establish an independent reparations office and launch a committee to oversee reparations policy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That reparations office would be responsible for implementing specific policy fixes, of which there are more than 150 in the 400-page final plan created by the committee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those specific recommendations range widely: Lump sums of $5 million to Black residents who have suffered specific harms at the hands of city government, forgiveness of student loans for Black public-school students, the creation of new rental and homeownership opportunities for Black residents, and dozens of other proposals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The reparations committee was created by the Board of Supervisors in December 2020 to address harms inflicted by the San Francisco government against Black residents, and has been meeting since May 2021 to draft its plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018We are celebrating today\u2019<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Tuesday\u2019s session saw a rally on the steps of City Hall, led by committee members and Walton who, in 2020, introduced the ordinance establishing the committee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Three
People sing the Black National Anthem at a rally to support reparations for Black people on Tuesday. Photo by Junyao Yang.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe did the job, y\u2019all. Our 150 recommendations on how this city can get started,\u201d said Hollins. \u201cWe are celebrating today, and we are holding the city accountable.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Parris Lane stood in the crowd with a handmade umbrella covered by a collage of old photos and newspapers, showing scenes of Black suffering. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI feel sort of relieved that we are duly acknowledging our ancestors,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"a
Parris Lane holds a handmade umbrella at the reparations rally on Tuesday. Photo by Junyao Yang.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Derek Wilson, 74, has been living in San Francisco for almost 50 years. \u201cThey owe us, for what has been accomplished by African Americans in history,\u201d he said.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After the rally, throngs packed the Board of Supervisors chamber to hear the committee\u2019s final recommendations. Speakers in line for public comment, which lasted three hours, wrapped around the room. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Walton addressed the public at the start of the meeting. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn order to achieve reparations, we will need our Latino allies, our Asian allies, our LGBTQ allies, our Jewish allies, our white allies \u2014 the entire San Francisco to make this happen,\u201d Walton said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"People
People stand in line for public comment on SF Reparations Plan at the Board of Supervisors meeting on Tuesday. Photo by Junyao Yang.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The reparations committee spent the next 25 minutes outlining key recommendations from its report. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The presentation included a brief history lesson outlining suffering faced by Black San Franciscans, like the mid-20th century razing of vast swaths of the Fillmore District, which caused the displacement of nearly 20,000 people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere were atrocities before this and, sadly, many more have happened since,\u201d said Eric McDonnell, chair of the reparations committee. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou saw your Black neighbors and black businesses in your districts. Friends, people you grow up with, displaced. You continue to see the harm perpetuating as you work in your current seats,\u201d Hollins said at the end of the presentation. \u201cWe see you every day, doing your best. But this is the moment we are calling on you to do more than your best.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018The paralysis of an analysis\u2019<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Public comment kicked off with a speech from The Rev. Amos Brown, a pastor at San Francisco\u2019s Third Baptist Church. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBlack folks were looked at, but our humanities were never seen,\u201d Brown said to the board. \u201cOur house is on fire. We don\u2019t need a paralysis of an analysis. Just do it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Rev.
Rev. Amos Brown addresses the public at the rally. Photo by Junyao Yang.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In public comment, people shared experiences of family properties taken, displacement, and loss of loved ones. People said they were born and raised in San Francisco but couldn\u2019t afford to own a home here. A speaker said her grandparents\u2019 house was taken away.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A number of teachers showed up to call for investments in education for the Black community. A number of recommendations revolve around education, including the creation of a Historically Black College or University in San Francisco and the creation of an \u201cAfrocentric\u201d K-12 school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe city has too much money to have this kind of disparity in education,\u201d Suzanne Kelly said. \u201cSomething should be done about it, and should be done now.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

One speaker, who said she was a \u201cwhite woman named Karen,\u201d said she, too, supports the reparations plan. \u201cOur ancestors created systematic racism that we benefit from today. We need to repair the harm we have caused.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Though the Board did not vote on Tuesday, supervisors seemed supportive in moving forward with the plan. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf we don\u2019t right the wrongs for Black people, done to Black people in this country, we are never gonna heal as a nation, no matter what race you are,\u201d said District 2 Supervisor Catherine Stefani after public comment. \u201cI want you to come back when we are taking the votes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI want to reiterate: This is not a cry for help, but a demand on repair and creating equity,\u201d said Walton. <\/p>\n\n\n\n