San Francisco mulls millions in reparations to black residents

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors on Tuesday held its first hearing to consider possible plans to pay reparations for slavery and systemic racism to the local black community.

Supervisor Shamann Walton insisted that reparations were necessary, but indicated the board was not prepared to declare that day specifically "what recommendations we will be supporting or moving forward with," the Associated Press reported.

"It is not a matter of whether or not there is a case for reparations for Black people here in San Francisco. It is a matter of what reparations will and should look like yet," he added.

Proposals include plans to allow black families to purchase homes in the city for $1, eliminating tax burdens or personal debt, and others. The AP highlighted one estimate indicating that non-black families would have to pay as much as $600,000 each to finance such a plan.

The city's African American Reparations Advisory Committee in January called for a "one-time, lump sum payment of $5 million to each eligible person" and the establishment of "legal structures to protect those who receive reparations from financial speculators or predators including court block accounts/trust accounts."

A draft plan outlined possible eligibility requirements, including that a person be at least 18 years old, have identified as black or African-American on public documents for a decade, and meet a residency or ancestry requirement.

Critics have questioned the historical basis of reparations for slavery in San Francisco, since California was admitted to the Union as a free state.

Fewer than 50,000 black people live in the city.

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on Twitter.