Reparations Advocate Has No Idea How San Francisco Can Give Black Residents $5 Million Each

Robin Rue Simmons, a reparations advocate, told CNN that San Francisco will not pay $5 million to Black residents each in reparations. This is after she had successfully awarded reparations in Evanston Illinois to residents.
Adrienne Broaddus, CNN’s anchor, asked Simmons about the $5 million San Francisco will pay Black residents.

“I don’t know. Simmons stated that these are the challenges we all face as municipalities.

Simmons, a former alderwoman who became an activist, pushed for reparations to Evanston. This was the first city to offer such restitution to Black residents.

CNN reports that grants of up to $25,000 were given to those who met the criteria for mortgage assistance, down payment, or home renovations. The Evanston City Council approved a cash option Monday.

CNN reported that Evanston was funded by the Illinois approval of recreational marijuana. It went into effect in 2022.

Simmons stated to the outlet that it is one thing for Simmons to recognize a problem and then prescribe a solution. “In the case Evanston, we were led to understand that home-rule taxes are the most viable method to fund reparations. They’re within our reach.”

Broaddus was told by Romona Burton that she was one of the 14 recipients of a reparations grant from Evanston. She said that the money was used for windows, her roof, and the chimney in her home.

San Francisco’s reparations commission proposed that each Black resident be paid $5 million. The board of supervisors is currently considering the proposal.

Eric McDonnell, the consultant who chairs the committee, stated that the $5 million figure was a result of a journey and not a mathematical formula.

McDonnell stated to the Washington Post that there wasn’t a mathematical formula. “It was a journey by the committee to what could represent an important enough investment in families to put them onto this path of economic well-being and growth that will not be ruined by chattel slavery or all the policies that followed it.”

Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-Calif.) has not made a public statement on the possibility for reparations.

California Reparations Task Force was established by state legislation in 2020. It is currently considering a proposal for nearly $360,000 per person to roughly 1.8 million Black Californians whose ancestor was enslaved in America. The total cost of the program would be approximately $640 billion.