San Francisco proposes giving $5mn in reparations to Black residents for racism, slavery

The US city of San Franciso is planning to give out $5 million in reparations to each qualifying Black resident as compensation for the cruel legacy of slavery and racism. A city-appointed reparations committee made the recommendation earlier this week, while also asking for the elimination of personal debt, tax burdens and promising annual incomes of at least $97,000 for 250 years.

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors voiced their support upon hearing the recommendations. Reports state that the board has begun seriously considering the proposal, despite the opponents suggesting the price tag is too high to pay.

"When you consider all of the ways in which the systems and practices have been managed to exclude and steal, if you will, the opportunities for financial mobility - families are hurting and have been for decades, if not longer," Eric McDonnell, the reparations committee chairman, told the San Francisco Chronicle.

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When quizzed about how the committee arrived at the reparation sum,McDonnell said 'there wasn't a math formula'.

"There wasn't a math formula. It was a journey for the committee towards what could represent a significant enough investment in families to put them on this path to economic well-being, growth and vitality that chattel slavery and all the policies that flowed from it destroyed."

The draft proposal was first presented in December last year and since then, more than 100 suggestions have been added to it. The final report by the panelis expected to be released in June.

The reparations debate has been raging for a long time in the US. The Black Lives Matter movement acted as a catalyst, with many demanding that Blacks receive their due. Last year, Boston City Council took a leaf out of San Franciso's book and appointed a reparations task force.

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Though the idea appears great on paper, experts say the committee has not been able to determine who will qualify for receiving the reparations.

The current qualifying criteria is rather vague as it states that a person will have to be at least 18 years old and must have identified as Black or African American for at least a decade in the public documents. It adds that the person should have lived in the city during a certain time and should be descending from someone “incarcerated for the failed War on Drugs".

An estimated 50,000 Black people live in the city and granting reparations to even atiny faction may put a heavy toll on the exchequer, the opponents argue. The city is already facing a deficit of more than $728 million, according to reports.

(With inputs from agencies)

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