San Francisco Set to Apologize to Black Residents for ‘Systemic Racism’
Noah Goldberg, Los Angeles Times, February 16, 2024
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors is set to officially apologize to Black residents for centuries of “systemic racism,” though large disagreements still exist over how the county will address past wrongs.
On Thursday, members of the board gathered to put forward a seven-page resolution that spells out and takes responsibility for the history of discrimination against Black San Franciscans through processes like red-lining and urban renewal.
The apology resolution is one action taken from a report written by the county’s African American Reparations Advisory Committee, which put forward more than 100 recommendations.
“As we continue this fight for reparations and this fight to right the wrongs of the past, this apology resolution is just another step to achieve that goal,” said Supervisor Shamann Walton, who was the author of the resolution.
Walton called the resolution “very concrete and not just symbolic.”
{snip}
Some in the crowd thought that was not enough.
Former Supervisor Amos Brown called on the board to go further.
“It’s time we not take steps. We morally ought to be taking leaps,” said the former legislator. “An apology is not enough. An apology is cotton candy rhetoric. What we need is concrete actions.”
