San Francisco lawmakers vote to create reparations fund for Black residents without initial funding
Reparations for Black San Franciscans are back on the table after the Board of Supervisors gave final approval Tuesday of an ordinance to create a fund aimed at addressing harms caused by past discriminatory city policies.
The measure does not allocate any initial city dollars, a move that may have helped secure support from the board's moderates after repeated years of city budget shortfalls. Instead, the ordinance establishes a framework to receive future contributions - whether through city appropriations or private donations.
"This most certainly is different than asking the city to pony up dollars to support reparations recommendations," said Supervisor Shamann Walton, who authored the ordinance. "It's gonna take some time. We've got to build a pot and then, of course, come up with the right criteria in terms of how we're going to prioritize what recommendations we address first. But this is a major first step."
The vote follows years of work by the city's African American Reparations Advisory Committee, which in March 2023 released a sweeping draft proposal that included over 100 recommendations. Those included one-time lump-sum payments of $5 million to each qualifying Black adult, guaranteed annual income of $97,000, down-payment assistance, tax and debt relief, and affordable housing options such as homes for just $1 - marking one of the most ambitious reparations plans in the country.
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As part of that effort, the committee highlighted systemic disinvestment in predominantly Black neighborhoods like the Western Addition and Fillmore starting in the1950s through the early 1970s, which led to mass displacement without compensation.
The city's Black population has since declined, and today, while making up about 5% of residents, accounts for about 37% of those in shelters or experiencing homelessness.
James Taylor, a descendant of enslaved people and a committee member, framed the proposal in deeply personal terms.
"I think it means the social repair of the most affected group by these policies that go back 150 years in the state and that continue to under-develop the full potential of the Black population of the state," he said.
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"Think about how recent that is and how economically - the empty hands of my grandfather left me with nothing, because the empty hand of his grandfather, who started in slavery, left him nothing," he said.
If funded, the San Francisco fund could award reparations to Black residents who can demonstrate harm from past city-sanctioned policies or lineage tied to U.S. slavery.
Past critics have questioned the economic feasibility of such reparations or how it would be distributed fairly.
Walton acknowledged funding remains the central challenge, but expressed optimism about tapping foundations, corporations, and individuals to support the effort. He emphasized that the ordinance puts structural pieces in place, even without immediate funding.
