Hundreds of members of the public packed the Board of Supervisors’ chambers on the evening of March 14, expressing unanimous support for the City’s African American Reparations Advisory Committee recommendations. They asked the board to take action and fund the draft plan. Larry Dorsey, who said he was born and raised in the city, referenced the generations who have fought for reparations.
“Don’t let these elders die without getting that money, without getting that justice, without getting all that they deserve. I see tears in people’s eyes. My father talks about it almost every day. Don’t let these elders go without getting them what they deserve,” Dorsey said.
Though there are 111 policy recommendations in the report, the committee’s chair, Eric McDonnell, and vice chair, Tinisch Hollins, admonished the media for focusing only on one: a $5 million payment to compensate qualified individual African-American San Franciscans for the losses they’ve endured through the legacy of slavery as well as harms perpetuated by city policy.
The City is anticipating a budget deficit, but board members expressed support for the draft plan. After hearing four hours of comments, Supervisor Shamann Walton, who represents Bayview Hunters Point, said the board would take action on reparations during the coming budget cycle. The board will return to the topic on September 19, following the final submission of the advisory committee’s report in June.
