The Democratic representatives in San Francisco have unanimously approved a resolution to formally apologize to the black residents of the city for the long-standing issue of “institutional racism.”
During a vote held on Tuesday, all 11 members of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors endorsed the resolution as sponsors. It is worth noting that all 11 board members belong to the Democratic party.
The resolution aims to acknowledge the city’s involvement, along with its non-black residents, in perpetuating “systemic and structural discrimination.”
“On behalf of the City and County of San Francisco, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors offers its deepest apologies to all African Americans and their descendants who came to San Francisco and were victims of systemic and structural discrimination, institutional racism, targeted acts of violence, and atrocities,” the resolution reads.
“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.”
Last July the the San Francisco African American Reparations Advisory Committee concluded that “the City and County of San Francisco and its agencies must issue a formal apology for the past harms, and commit to making substantial ongoing, systemic, and programmatic investments in black communities to address historical harms.”
“This historic resolution apologizes on behalf of San Francisco to the African American community and their descendants for decades of systemic and structural discrimination, targeted acts of violence, atrocities,” supervisor Shamann Walton said.
The committee’s decision followed a heated debate over the city’s debt to black residents for enduring decades of discrimination.
The proposal put forth by the committee suggests that eligible Black adult residents should receive $5 million in cash payments and a guaranteed income of nearly $100,000 annually to help bridge the racial wealth gap in the city. As reported by the L.A. Times, the city’s Democratic mayor, London Breed, expressed concerns that $5 million payments could potentially total $100 billion, surpassing the city’s $14 billion annual budget.
The Times also noted that Breed has not fully committed to cash reparations. Despite unanimous approval from city officials to formalize an apology, some criticized the measure as inadequate due to other reparations being delayed due to budget constraints.
Supervisors emphasized that the apology marks just the beginning of reparations for black residents in the city. While acknowledging the significance of the apology, Walton emphasized that further action is necessary.
“This historic resolution apologizes on behalf of San Francisco to the African American community and their descendants for decades of systemic and structural discrimination, targeted acts of violence, atrocities,” Walton said.
“We have much more work to do but this apology most certainly is an important step.”
Rev. Amos C. Brown, a San Francisco reparations advisory committee member who suggested the city formally issue an apology, emphasized the necessity for further actions to be taken.
“An apology is just cotton candy rhetoric,” Brown said.
“What we need is concrete actions.”
“People want an apology,” supervisor Dean Preston said.
“But they also want a commitment not to repeat harms.”
