Opinion

Opinion: We Have a Plan. The Time to Act on Reparations is Now

Published

6 years ago

August 2, 2019

Finally. It only took 150 years, but at last a substantive, realistic, and responsible national plan for slavery reparations has been put forward.

Question is, will the purportedly liberal and benevolent San Francisco be a leader in this effort, or will it continue to enact policies that have forced an exodus of African American families, culture, and heritage from this city?

It is no longer time to seize the moment. The moment has been seized.

Last week, I attended the NAACP convention in Detroit, where we passed a viable measure that provides reparations to African Americans in the form of resources in the areas of housing, economic empowerment, funding for historically black colleges, and health care, including mental health. Rather than provide money to individuals, we felt the need for solutions that will ultimately end regressive systems created by a damaging history of enslavement and oppression.

It is a detrimental system that can be seen in plain view in San Francisco, a city that proclaims to fight for its vulnerable, but has instead pushed policies prompting black flight.

In droves, we moved here from the South during the 1940s to help build ships and other industrial-related goods for the WWII effort. After the war ended, we were passed over for what jobs remained from the massive industrial effort. Our neighborhoods were left in aimless economic desolation, with run-down housing and schools.

Rather than address the problems, city leaders worked to push them out of sight and mind. So-called “urban renewal” projects aiming to improve our neighborhoods encouraged gentrification and the closing of black businesses and cultural centers. While the African American population in San Francisco peaked at about 13.4 percent in 1970, by 2010 it was cut in half, even though the city grew. And our population continues to dwindle.

With a renewed national movement – and, most importantly, a substantive plan – in place to right the wrongs of a sordid historical injustice, San Francisco has an opportunity to be a leader in reversing its African American exodus.

In keeping with the NAACP resolution achieved in Detroit, here are some steps San Francisco can take to achieve successful reparations:

On education: A coalition of political, spiritual, and social betterment agencies must unite to identify and carry out collaborative, comprehensive remedial programs to help families catch up and move beyond abysmal low achievement.
On economic empowerment: A coalition of the city’s economic powers, including its high tech communities, must unite to identify and carry out solutions that ensure equal opportunity for African American workers and small businesses. That includes engaging with the San Francisco African American Chamber of Commerce to provide pathways for black contractors, entrepreneurs and technology gurus to receive a fair share of contracts and participation in our booming economy and tourism industry.
On housing: The city and county must strengthen its human rights commission to become a true watchdog ensuring African Americans can regain much-needed access to fair and affordable housing, particularly for those who have been, and are currently being, pushed out.
On heritage: The NAACP, faith community and allies are calling the city to do for the African American community what it did for the Asian community when it provided a space in the Civic Center for the Asian Art Museum. The city should also do the same for the Fillmore Heritage Center, ensuring the center becomes a watering hold for African American community members, a place to come together and celebrate their culture and history and to maintain the presence of the black community’s dwindling heritage in San Francisco.
On mental and physical health: We need to focus on providing comparative health systems to the African American community, in part through the San Francisco Department of Public Health and West Side Community Mental Health. Resources need to address black community members who are suffering from post-traumatic stress syndrome from violence, and from many other residual mental and physical effects that have resulted from a dark history of slavery and generations of discrimination. This has led to a long list of detrimental conditions, such as depression, asthma, diabetes and hypertension. The city’s highly funded and capable public and private health sectors must collaborate on programs promoting mental and physical treatment, wellness and nutrition, in order to cease the cycles that have negatively impacted multiple generations of African Americans.

The national conversation has begun. After the Detroit convention, it is apparent that it is not going away.

San Francisco is a city that prides itself on liberal ideologies that aim to empower and uplift the underserved. As aforementioned, we must put our money and political resources where our mouths are. The time to talk is over. The time to act is now.

Rev. Dr. Amos C. Brown

Posts by Rev. Dr. Amos C. Brown

Activism

2025 in Review: Seven Questions for Assemblymember Lori Wilson — Advocate for Equity, the Environment, and More

Her rise has also included several historic firsts: she is the only Black woman ever appointed to lead the influential Assembly Transportation Committee, and the first freshman legislator elected Chair of the California Legislative Black Caucus. She has also been a vocal advocate for vulnerable communities, becoming the first California legislator to publicly discuss being the parent of a transgender child — an act of visibility that has helped advanced representation at a time when political tensions related to social issues and culture have intensified.

Published

3 days ago

December 29, 2025

Oakland Post

Assemblymember Lori D. Wilson (D-Suisun City). File photo.

By Edward Henderson, California Black Media

Assemblymember Lori D. Wilson (D-Suisun City) joined the California Legislature in 2022 after making history as Solano County’s first Black female mayor, bringing with her a track record of fiscal discipline, community investment, and inclusive leadership.

She represents the state’s 11th Assembly District, which spans Solano County and portions of Contra Costa and Sacramento Counties.

California Black Media spoke with Wilson about her successes and disappointments this year and her outlook for 2026.

What stands out as your most important achievement this year?

Getting SB 237 passed in the Assembly. I had the opportunity to co-lead a diverse workgroup of colleagues, spanning a wide range of ideological perspectives on environmental issues.

How did your leadership contribute to improving the lives of Black Californians this year?

The Black Caucus concentrated on the Road to Repair package and prioritized passing a crucial bill that remained incomplete during my time as chair, which establishes a process for identifying descendants of enslaved people for benefit eligibility.

What frustrated you the most this year?

The lack of progress made on getting Prop 4 funds allocated to socially disadvantaged farmers. This delay has real consequences. These farmers have been waiting for essential support that was promised. Watching the process stall, despite the clear need and clear intent of the voters, has been deeply frustrating and reinforces how much work remains to make our systems more responsive and equitable.

What inspired you the most this year?

The resilience of Californians persists despite the unprecedented attacks from the federal government. Watching people stay engaged, hopeful, and determined reminded me why this work matters and why we must continue to protect the rights of every community in our state.

What is one lesson you learned this year that will inform your decision-making next year?

As a legislator, I have the authority to demand answers to my questions — and accept nothing less. That clarity has strengthened my approach to oversight and accountability.

In one word, what is the biggest challenge Black Californians are facing currently?

Affordability and access to quality educational opportunities.

What is the goal you want to achieve most in 2026?

Advance my legislative agenda despite a complex budget environment. The needs across our communities are real, and even in a tight fiscal year, I’m committed to moving forward policies that strengthen safety, expand opportunity, and improve quality of life for the people I represent.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Activism

2025 in Review: Seven Questions for Assemblymember Tina McKinnor, Champion of Reparations, Housing and Workers’ Rights

In 2025, McKinnor pushed forward legislation on renters’ protections, re-entry programs, reparations legislation, and efforts to support Inglewood Unified School District. She spoke with California Black Media about the past year and her work. Here are her responses.

Published

3 days ago

December 29, 2025

Oakland Post

Assemblymember Tina McKinnor (D-Inglewood). File photo.

By Joe W. Bowers Jr., California Black Media

Assemblymember Tina McKinnor (D-Inglewood) represents

California’s 61st Assembly District.

As a member of the California Legislative Black Caucus (CLBC),

McKinnor was elected in 2022. She chairs the Los Angeles County Legislative Delegation and leads the Assembly Public Employment and Retirement Committee. McKinnor also served as a civic engagement director, managed political campaigns, and worked as chief of staff for former Assemblymembers Steven Bradford and Autumn Burke.

Looking back on 2025, what do you see as your biggest win?

Assembly Bill (AB) 628. If rent is $3,000, people should at least have a stove and a refrigerator. It’s ridiculous that people were renting without basic appliances.

I’m also proud that I was able to secure $8.4 million in the state budget for people coming home from incarceration. That includes the Homecoming Project, the menopause program for incarcerated women, and the Justice Leaders Program.

How did your leadership help make life better for Black Californians this year?

After the Eaton Fire, I pushed to get the same kind of support for affected areas that wealthier regions get after disasters.

I also did a lot of work building political power— establishing the Black Legacy PAC and California for All of Us PAC so we could support Black candidates and educate voters. We also called voters to make sure they understood Prop 50.

People need to understand this: there are only 12 Black legislators in the Capitol. Folks act like we can just walk in and pass reparations, but that’s not how it works.

What frustrated you most this year?

The governor did not have the political will to sign these bills: AB 57 and AB 62. They both passed overwhelmingly in the Assembly and the Senate. We did the work. The only person who didn’t have the political will to sign them was the governor.

The public needs to ask the governor why he didn’t sign the bills. We can’t keep letting people off the hook. He has to answer.

I also introduced AB 51 — the bill to eliminate interest payments on Inglewood Unified School District’s long-standing state loan — held in the Appropriations Committee. That was frustrating,

What inspired you most in 2025?

The civil rights trip to Alabama was life changing. We visited the Legacy Museum and the National Memorial for Peace and Justice. We took members of the Black, Latino, Jewish, and API caucuses with us. It changed all of us.

People aren’t always against us — they just don’t know our history.

What’s one lesson from 2025 that will shape how you approach decisions next year?

The legislative trip to Norway taught me that collaboration matters. Government, labor, and industry sit down together there. They don’t make villains. Everybody doesn’t get everything they want, but they solve problems.

What’s the biggest challenge facing Black Californians in one word?

Inequity. It shows up in housing, wealth, stress – all these things.

What’s the number one goal you want to accomplish in 2026?

Bringing back AB 57 and AB 62, and securing money for the Inglewood Unified loan interest forgiveness.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Advice

BOOK REVIEW: Let Me Be Real With You

At first look, this book might seem like just any other self-help offering. It’s inspirational for casual reader and business reader, both, just like most books in this genre. Dig a little deeper, though, and you’ll spot what makes “Let Me Be Real With You” stand out.

Published

4 days ago

December 29, 2025

Oakland Post

Book cover of Let Me Be Real With You and author Arshay Cooper. Courtesy of HarperOne.

By Terri Schlichenmeyer

Author: Arshay Cooper, Copyright: c.2025, Publisher: HarperOne, SRP: $26.00, Page Count: 40 Pages

The hole you’re in is a deep one.

You can see the clouds above, and they look like a storm; you sense the wind, and it’s cold. It’s dark down there, and lonesome, too. You feel like you were born there — but how do you get out of the deep hole you’re in? You read the new book “Let Me Be Real With You” by Arshay Cooper. You find a hand-up and bring someone with you.

In the months after his first book was published, Cooper received a lot of requests to speak to youth about his life growing up on the West Side of Chicago, his struggles, and his many accomplishments. He was poor, bullied, and belittled, but he knew that if he could escape those things, he would succeed. He focused on doing what was best, and right. He looked for mentors and strove to understand when opportunities presented themselves.

Still, his early life left him with trauma. Here, he shows how it’s overcome-able.

We must always have hope, Cooper says, but hope is “merely the catalyst for action. The hope we receive must transform into the hope we give.”

Learn to tell your own story, as honestly as you know it. Be open to suggestions, and don’t dismiss them without great thought. Know that masculinity doesn’t equal stoicism; we are hard-wired to need other people, and sharing “pain and relatability can dissipate shame and foster empathy in powerful ways.”

Remember that trauma is intergenerational, and it can be passed down from parent to child. Let your mentors see your potential. Get therapy, if you need it; there’s no shame in it, and it will help, if you learn to trust it. Enjoy the outdoors when you can. Learn self-control. Give back to your community. Respect your financial wellness. Embrace your intelligence. Pick your friends and relationships wisely. “Do it afraid.”

And finally, remember that “You were born to soar to great heights and rule the sky.”

You just needed someone to tell you that.

With a willingness to discuss the struggles he tackled in the past, Cooper writes with a solidly honest voice that’s exceptionally believable, and not one bit dramatic. You won’t find unnecessarily embellished stories or tall tales here, either; Cooper instead uses his real experiences to help readers understand that there are few things that are truly insurmountable. He then explains how one’s past can shape one’s future, and how today’s actions can change the future of the world.

“Let Me Be Real With You” is full of motivation, and instruction that’s do-able for adults and teens. If you need that, or if you’ve vowed to do better this coming year, it might help make you whole.