San Francisco's African American Reparations Advisory Committee presented its full report to the board of supervisors Tuesday.
Supporters of the committee's recommendations rallied just before the board meeting at city hall. But the price tag for one recommendation, cash reparations, is drawing plenty of controversy.
“We made sure that the recommendations that they put in this report were things that the city actually could do,” said Tinisch Hollins, committee vice chair. “So that means you have 150 plus opportunities to show how much Black lives matter in San Francisco.”
Among those new ideas is something committee members say could be a win-win for the city.
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“The bringing of a HBCU satellite, a historically Black college satellite, to downtown San Francisco … We believe that would actually not only address the needs of the Black community, but also address the needs of the city,” said Eric McDonnel, committee chair.
Following the rally, organizers served up a lunch of fried shrimp sandwiches and brisket -- an effort to keep the momentum going into Tuesday’s presentations to the board of supervisors.
Supporters of San Francisco's reparations report showed up in force at City Hall.
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A similar group presented its findings in Sacramento earlier this summer for state reparations.
But among California voters who were recently polled, there is not a whole lot of support for one recommendation in particular.
In a poll released early last week by the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies and the LA Times, 59% of those polled said they do not support cash reparations, only 28% say they do.
Both San Francisco and California's recommendations include millions of dollars for each African American resident who would qualify.
At Tuesday’s hearing, board president Aaron Peskin said he's looking forward to going through the report.
“I believe that we are eager to formally recognize the harm that has necessitated this conversation, and work to repair that harm,” he said.
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors has not made any decisions on which recommendations it will adopt from the report.
