San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Breed is never going to support reparations
San Francisco Mayor London Breed revealed this week that she won’t spend money to create an office overseeing the rollout of possible reparations, dealing another crushing blow to Black San Franciscans who have been eagerly hoping she would reverse course on the critical issue.
Breed blamed her decision on budget constraints. Apparently, there isn’t a meager $4 million available in San Francisco’s roughly $14.6 billion annual budget to get the office started.
San Francisco’s budget is a reflection of Breed’s political priorities, and reparations likely will never be realized while she’s in power. Heading into the 2024 election season, Breed doesn’t seem to care if her opposition to reparations alienates Black voters.
“I’m extremely disappointed,” said Eric McDonnell, chair of the African American Reparations Advisory Committee. “The decision by the mayor’s office suggests an unwillingness to prioritize the Black community (in the city’s budget) and make the investments called for in the reparations committee’s report.”
Over the summer, Breed agreed to allocate money for the office of reparations. She was careful not to agree to actually spend it. But if she had, it would have signaled that San Francisco is committed to paving the way for a future of equity, justice and inclusivity.
Reparations aren’t a matter of charity or discretionary spending; they represent a moral imperative to rectify historical wrongs and provide redress for the systemic injustices faced by Black residents.
The Rev. Amos Brown, a member of the San Francisco reparations committee, pastor of Third Baptist Church and the president of the San Francisco NAACP, was frustrated by Breed’s latest move, calling it a missed opportunity for the city “to do more than just pay lip service and drag its feet” on reparations.
No powerful local politician is dragging their feet more, in full public view, than Breed.
Blaming the budget isn’t the first suspect explanation Breed has used for her inaction around reparations. Before this, she had argued that the federal government should be in charge of reparations, despite the fact that the nation’s track record with such promises, like “40 acres and a mule,” shows it can’t be trusted. Before that, she was gaslighting Black residents into thinking that reparations were already happening through her Dream Keeper Initiative, a program that started in 2021 and has allocated $107 million for the Black community so far, according to Breed’s office.
Both the Dream Keeper Initiative organizers and members of the reparations committee have made it abundantly clear that the two programs are not the same. Reparations seek to address centuries of deep-rooted historical harm while the ambitious Dream Keeper Initiative focuses more on the injustices of today.
The race for mayor next year will make the future of reparations more complicated.
Breed will be fighting to maintain her power amid a growing right-wing-fueled sentiment that San Francisco is falling victim to progressivism gone awry. Nothing is more progressive in politics right now than reparations. Yet, rather than championing progressive causes that could genuinely uplift the Black community and restore faith in her leadership, Breed is pandering to the rightleaning moderate voters, many of whom, just like most California voters, oppose reparations specifically in the form of cash payments. The political maneuvering by Breed is just further proof she’s more concerned with her own image than with enacting true change when it comes to reparations.
Supervisor Shamann Walton, who has been leading the city’s reparations work and also helped create the Dream Keeper Initiative alongside Breed, said despite the office not being funded in Breed’s budget, the “Black community will continue to pursue justice and equity through reparations here in San
Santiago Mejia/The Chronicle
Francisco.”
Visionary leaders are expected to rise above political expediency and prioritize the wellbeing of their constituents. It’s crucial for Black San Franciscans to remember that true progress is not achieved through empty promises, but through bold action, which Breed seems incapable of doing.
Until she does, the dream of reparations in San Francisco will remain just that — a dream deferred, a painful reminder that the fight for justice is far from over.