San Francisco considers reparations of $5M for eligible Black residents

March 14 (UPI) -- San Francisco city leaders are considering a reparations plan that would repay each eligible Black resident $5 million to make amends for slavery and discrimination.

San Francisco's African American Reparations Advisory Committee presented its reparations proposals during a public hearing Tuesday before the city's Board of Supervisors, making San Francisco the first major city to consider funding reparations for historical wrongs.

The draft reparations plan, released in December, calls for a "one-time lump sum payment" of $5 million to all eligible Black residents.

In addition, there are 100 recommendations, which include guaranteed annual incomes of at least $97,000 for Black families for the next 250 years and homes in San Francisco at a cost of $1.

Other proposals call for exempting Black businesses from specific city taxes and grants to maintain their homes.

While the plan is controversial, with critics calling it financially impossible, the committee says it is more than justified.

"There's still a veiled perspective that, candidly, Black folks don't deserve this," said Eric McDonnell, chair of the reparations advisory committee. "The number itself, $5m, is actually low when you consider the harm."

Not every Black San Francisco resident would be eligible. Among the criteria being considered are length of time living in the city or whether they were a victim, or are a descendant of a victim, in the war on drugs.

In 2021, Evanston, Ill., approved reparations for Black residents to make up for its discriminatory housing practices. The reparations, funded by tax money from the sale of recreational marijuana, has provided eligible Black residents with up to $25,000 in home ownership, home improvement and mortgage assistance funds.

Last year, Boston's city council approved the formation of a reparations study task force, while California became the first state to form a reparations task force in 2020.

Last June, California's task force released a report detailing the "innumerable harms" slavery caused Black Americans while calling for "comprehensive reparations." The 500-page report documents how slavery, Jim Crow laws and other discriminatory actions have created a modern-day wage gap between Black and White Americans in the state.

In San Francisco, the Board of Supervisors will now consider the reparations proposals presented to the city Tuesday, and whether to vote to change, adopt or reject any of them.