“For several years, communities across the city have been working with the government to acknowledge the decades of harm done to San Francisco’s black community.”
San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie signed a reparations bill just days before Christmas that could see black residents in the city receive up to $5 million.
Following a 2023 report by the city’s African American Reparations Advisory Committee (AARAC), the city has moved to create a reparations fund. The fund will allow for future contributions, either from the city budget or private donors, but no actual financial commitment was made in the ordinance itself.
The AARAC was tasked with developing recommendations for “repairing harm in our black communities.” According to the 2023 report, the committee included more than 100 proposals, among them a controversial one-time lump-sum payment of $5 million to each qualifying Black adult in San Francisco to “compensate the affected population for the decades of harm that they have experienced.” Other proposals included initiatives such as debt relief, a guaranteed annual income of $97,000, city-funded homes, and others.
Eligibility requirements for the lump sum payments remain unclear. There are roughly 50,000 black residents in San Francisco.
Mayor Lurie told the Daily Mail, “For several years, communities across the city have been working with the government to acknowledge the decades of harm done to San Francisco’s black community.”
“While that process largely predates my administration, I am signing the legislation to create this fund in recognition of the work of so many San Franciscans and the unanimous support of the Board of Supervisors,” he added.
The initiative comes as San Francisco is facing a $1 billion budget deficit next year.
“That means identifying key priorities for funding so we can continue delivering those services well,” Lurie explained. “Given these historic fiscal challenges, the city does not have resources to allocate to this fund.”
Lurie added that the city is open to donors who can contribute to the reparations fund.
The decision to create the reparations fund framework has drawn criticism. Amos Brown, president of the San Francisco chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), said the plan gives false hope. The organization also described the proposed $5 million figure as “arbitrary” in a press release.
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