In another success for reparations advocates, just before Christmas the mayor of San Francisco, Daniel Lurie, signed into law a local ordinance creating a reparative justice fund to address long-standing discrimination toward Black residents. According to recent reporting, the measure was approved unanimously by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors and comes on the heels of the release of the “San Francisco Reparations Plan 2023” produced by the San Francisco African American Reparations Advisory Committee and the San Francisco Human Rights Commission (SFHRC). The measure did not specify a total amount for the fund, but will enable contributions from various entities including institutions, individuals, and city funds. The fund will be governed by the SFHRC, and while the ordinance does not specify the fund disbursement recipients, it is expected that it will fund projects proposed in the 2023 report. Subsequent deliberations will determine details the size, nature, and recipients of funds.
Jolyon G. R. Pruszinski, Ph.D.
Reparations Commission Historian
Episcopal Diocese of New Jersey
