In a draft resolution, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors intends to apologize to the Black community for the “racial inequity” faced by city-wide legislation, as the fight for reparations continues.
The board of supervisors for San Francisco has plans to formally apologize to Black residents for their history of “racial inequity” found within their city-wide policies and legislation. Their resolution to do so comes as a task force urges for reparations on behalf of its long-standing Black community.
A committee hearing on Feb. 15 led to the resolution, which will acknowledge and detail the city’s remorse for their displacement and lack of public investment in the Black community’s growth, in addition to historical police injustice and distrust. According to the National Review, the apology also mentioned how redlining practices led to wealth inequities and educational divestment in the areas that Black people were heavily concentrated or push into.
“San Francisco has a long history of creating and/or enforcing laws, policies, and institutions that have perpetuated racial inequity in our city, much of which is difficult to document due to historical erasure,” the draft resolution stated.
However, the city’s political figures are divided on instituting reparations, as reported by the San Francisco Chronicle. One board member, Shamann Walton, believes that the $5 million allotments to each Black individual is not sufficient to absolve of all the racial injustice and trauma endured directly by the San Francisco government, but shared that the apology in the first step in a lengthy process of action to remedy these generational issues.
“I want to acknowledge all the work around reparations here in San Francisco, so as we continue to improve outcomes for Black people in this city, this apology will bring us all closer to that end goal,” stated Walton.
Several other cities, including Boston and church communities in East Lansing, Michigan, have made steps toward rectifying the systemic violence and discrimination toward Black people through monetary aid. However, San Francisco still has a long way to go before passing legislation that would allocate funding of that magnitude on behalf of the demographic.
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Source: Black Enterprise
