San Francisco leaders show early support for $5 million reparation payments for eligible Black residents

CNN — A one-time payment of $5 million to each eligible Black resident is among recommendations unanimously accepted by San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors as part of a draft plan by a panel proposing reparations. The move Tuesday was an intermediate step, with a final report that includes board feedback due in June, the San Francisco African American Reparations Advisory Committee said, and the board set to meet again on the issue in September. “Let’s not lose focus because when we receive the final report, we have to actually resource the path forward.” While federal reparations efforts have stalled in Congress, efforts by cities from Massachusetts to Illinois to California to atone for harms rooted in slavery – and address the racial wealth gap – have gained momentum since the 2020 police killing of George Floyd rekindled the Black Lives Matter movement. San Francisco’s reparations advisory committee was created in 2020 to craft a plan to address institutional, city-sanctioned harm inflicted upon African American communities.