San Francisco is ready to give black residents $5 million each in reparations

San Francisco is one of the few cities that appears to be seriously considering compensation for its black residents — and there are some hard numbers on the table… from $1 to millions.

SF’s board of directors — made up of 11 members — last week heard a proposal tabled by a reparations committee — formed a few years ago at the city’s behest following the George Floyd protests across the country.

San Francisco could become the first major US city to fund reparations.

City regulators are taking on a draft redress proposal that includes a $5 million lump sum payment for each eligible Black person. pic.twitter.com/hKk6Estke2

— The Associated Press (@AP) March 14, 2023
@AP

On Tuesday, these folks shared their suggestions with the African American community on how to make things right … and they landed $5 million per eligible Black resident. There are certain criteria they keep in mind…including, among others, being at least 18 years old and identifying as Black/African American in public documents for at least 10 years.

There is more that people could get as part of the draft reparations plan. In addition to the one-off payment of $5 million, the committee then recommended a guaranteed basic income…of $97,000/year for 250 years.

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Plus, they would have all their debt and tax bills wiped clean, no questions asked. And finally… Single family homes in SF for just a dollar. It seems each family is only allowed to buy one, although it’s not entirely clear.

Regarding the payment of all of this… the indemnity committee had no answers, instead placing that burden on the superiors themselves. The BOS, in turn, actually unanimously supported the proposal – and said they could figure out funding later.

The board’s only black boss, Shamann Walton, has claimed responsibility for it … and says he wants the reparations package to be included in future city budgets.

Incidentally, not everyone agrees with the terms of the committee – which is made up of black leaders/community members in and around SF. Indeed, one opponent is the NAACP – which, while supporting the idea of ​​reparations, is not on board with the $5 million in cash payments… instead, they are demanding that the focus of investment be on institutions like schools/homes etc.

The NAACP does NOT represent the views and values ​​of the 40 million Foundational Black Americans who are entitled to cash reparations pic.twitter.com/6PQAtyDJyG

– Tariq Nasheed 🇺🇸 (@tariqnasheed) March 15, 2023
@tariqnashed

Of course, actually getting this through would be a mountain of work… and while there is some movement, it could be a while before any of it actually materializes. The committee will present a final report in June and the board will meet again in September.