FILE NO. 200149 1 AMENDED IN COMMITTEE 8/10/20 RESOLUTION NO. 376-20 [Supporting a Reparations Plan and Advisory Committee] 2 3 Resolution supporting a reparations plan that will comprehensively address the 4 inequities that exist in the African American community as a result of slavery’s legacy 5 of systemic oppression and creation of an advisory committee for the African 6 American community. 7 WHEREAS, African Americans were enslaved in the United States from 1619 to 1865, 8 9 when slavery officially ended with the ratification of the 13th Amendment; and WHEREAS, The trauma of slavery has remained throughout generations for the 10 11 African American community and exists today; and WHEREAS, The legacy of slavery continues to manifest in education disparities for the 12 13 African American community; schools with majority African American students suffer from 14 fewer material resources, advanced classes, experienced teachers, and school counselors, 15 and lower completion rates, ultimately leading to lower acceptance rates at top universities; 16 and 17 18 19 20 21 WHEREAS, In San Francisco, only 26% of African American students met state standards in the 2015-2016 school year, compared with 85.4% of white students; and WHEREAS, The legacy of slavery continues to manifest in housing disparities for the African American community; and WHEREAS, From 1934 to 1968, the Federal Housing Administration carried out a 22 policy of “redlining,” refusing to back loans for African Americans; this forced African 23 Americans to live in poor, under-resourced neighborhoods and strongly hindered wealth 24 accumulation among African Americans; and 25 Supervisors Walton, Ronen, Mandelman, Preston, Yee, Safai, Mar, Haney, Stefani, Peskin, Fewer BOARD OF SUPERVISORS Page 1 WHEREAS, Because of low property value in previously redlined areas, landlords and 1 2 investors have specifically targeted these areas for redevelopment and gentrification; as a 3 result, to clear these areas for redevelopment, redlined areas in San Francisco are more 4 affected by foreclosures on high-interest loans and no-fault evictions via recent laws like the 5 Ellis Act than non-redlined areas in San Francisco; for example, folks living in Bayview 6 Hunters Point, with a zip code of 94124, a predominantly African American neighborhood and 7 previously redlined neighborhood, are 5 times more likely to face foreclosures than folks living 8 in the Marina, with a zip code of 94129, a predominantly white neighborhood and not 9 previously redlined; and WHEREAS, The legacy of slavery continues to manifest in overcriminalization of the 10 11 African American community; and WHEREAS, African Americans in San Francisco are 7.7 times more likely than white 12 13 San Franciscans to be arrested; once arrested, African Americans are more likely to be 14 convicted, and once convicted, they are more likely to experience lengthy prison sentences; 15 and 16 WHEREAS, In San Francisco, these disparities have led to African Americans making 17 up 41% of those arrested, 43% of those booked into jail, 38% of cases filed by the Office of 18 the District Attorney, and 39% of new convictions despite making up only 6% of San 19 Francisco’s population; and 20 WHEREAS, The legacy of slavery continues to manifest in health disparities for the 21 African American community; African American neighborhoods consistently have fewer 22 healthy food options than white neighborhoods; this, in combination with predatory advertising 23 by unhealthy food and drink companies, has led to African Americans having higher rates of 24 diabetes, obesity, heart disease, and tooth decay among other disparities in cancer rates and 25 mental health diseases; and Supervisors Walton, Ronen, Mandelman, Preston, Yee, Safai, Mar, Haney, Stefani, Peskin, Fewer BOARD OF SUPERVISORS Page 2 1 WHEREAS, In San Francisco, African Americans are 6.7 times more likely to be 2 hospitalized by diabetes, 3 times more likely to have high blood pressure, 7 times more likely 3 to have tuberculosis, and have an average life expectancy of ten fewer years than white San 4 Franciscans; and 5 WHEREAS, Reparations are a financial recompense for African Americans whose 6 ancestors provided free labor for hundreds of years and lived through the Jim Crow era; the 7 enslavement and overall persecution of African Americans in the United States has enriched 8 the United States and created disparities in income, wealth, and education between blacks 9 and whites; reparations are needed to reduce these current-day legacies of slavery and Jim 10 11 Crow; and WHEREAS, The City and County of San Francisco has previously acknowledged the 12 wrongs of history towards African Americans in 2006 through Chapter 12Y: The San 13 Francisco Slavery Disclosure Ordinance, which requires insurance companies, financial 14 services firms, and textile companies, either directly or through their parent entities, 15 subsidiaries, predecessors in interest, or otherwise engaged in slavery or the slave trade to 16 disclose their history; now, therefore, be it 17 RESOLVED, That the San Francisco Board of Supervisors intends to create an 18 advisory committee housed under the San Francisco Human Rights Commission to create a 19 reparations plan that will comprehensively address the inequities that exist in the African 20 American community as a result slavery’s legacy of systemic oppression; this committee will 21 be the first of its kind; and, be it 22 FURTHER RESOLVED, That this reparations advisory committee will include input 23 from the African American community on prioritizing reparations addressing education, 24 housing, violence prevention, workforce development, economic opportunities, financial 25 stability, small businesses, transportation, health disparities, food insecurity, and Supervisors Walton, Ronen, Mandelman, Preston, Yee, Safai, Mar, Haney, Stefani, Peskin, Fewer BOARD OF SUPERVISORS Page 3 1 overcriminalization to achieve a comprehensive and true reparations plan to alleviate the 2 residue of oppression from slavery that continues to plague the African American community 3 in San Francisco. 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 Supervisors Walton, Ronen, Mandelman, Preston, Yee, Safai, Mar, Haney, Stefani, Peskin, Fewer BOARD OF SUPERVISORS Page 4 City and County of San Francisco Tails Resolution 200149 File Number: City Hall 1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place San Francisco, CA 94102-4689 Date Passed: August 18, 2020 Resolution supporting a reparations plan that will comprehensively address the inequities that exist in the African American community as a result of slavery’s legacy of systemic oppression and creation of an advisory committee for the African American community. August 10, 2020 Rules Committee - AMENDED, AN AMENDMENT OF THE WHOLE BEARING SAME TITLE August 10, 2020 Rules Committee - RECOMMENDED AS AMENDED August 18, 2020 Board of Supervisors - ADOPTED Ayes: 10 - Fewer, Haney, Mandelman, Mar, Peskin, Preston, Ronen, Stefani, Walton and Yee Excused: 1 - Safai File No. 200149 I hereby certify that the foregoing Resolution was ADOPTED on 8/18/2020 by the Board of Supervisors of the City and County of San Francisco. Angela Calvillo Clerk of the Board Unsigned 08/28/2020 London N. Breed Mayor City and County of San Francisco Date Approved Page 1 Printed at 2:33 pm on 8/19/20 I hereby certify that the foregoing resolution, not being signed by the Mayor within the time limit as set forth in Section 3.103 of the Charter, or time waived pursuant to Board Rule 2.14.2, became effective without her approval in accordance with the provision of said Section 3.103 of the Charter or Board Rule 2.14.2. _______________________________ Angela Calvillo Clerk of the Board File No. 200149 08/28/2020 __________________________ Date