San Francisco Newspaper Endorses Reparations for Black Californians

A San Francisco newspaper argued there was “no doubt” California owed Black Californians compensation after the statewide reparations task force released its final recommendations last week.

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The San Francisco Chronicle Editorial Board agreed a debt was owed, arguing “Yes, California owes Black residents reparations,” in a Thursday article. The paper dismissed critics of the costly proposal as the state faces a $32 billion budget deficit.

“Anyone who bothers to read the task force’s report, however, will see in its expansive documentation of racism and discrimination targeting Black Californians, the obvious imperative for remediation. To argue otherwise is cheap sophistry,” they complained.

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“California’s legacy of racism doesn’t fall solely on the shoulders of a few evil corporations or a handful of despotic politicians or isolated hate groups. Rather, basic civil rights were put to a public fiat and ordinary residents of California overwhelmingly chose to use the power of the ballot box to make racism and segregation the law of the land. In doing so they undeniably affirmed and took ownership of decades of racist policies that preceded the Prop. 14 vote — and of the harm those policies caused,” the board wrote.

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Even if many current state residents didn’t live under policy, it’s still their job to fix the problem, the board added.

“But when you buy a house with a rotting foundation, it is yours to fix. Those of us who call California home have inherited its debts and its credits,” the editorial said.

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