Activism

San Francisco Mid-Year Budget Cuts Leaves Office of Reparations in the Wind

In an October letter sent to department heads, Breed stated that the city is projected to face a $500 million deficit by the 2025-26 fiscal year. These budget cuts will ensure that the city can continue to invest in its top priorities. This means cutting proposed programs that have not yet started, including the Office of Reparations.

Published

1 year ago

December 15, 2023

Magaly Muñoz

San Francisco Mayor London Breed (official photo) and Rev. Amos Brown, member NAACP National Board of Directors.

By Magaly Muñoz

Earlier this month, San Francisco Mayor London Breed approved $75 million in mid-year budget cuts, which included $4 million that was intended for the first of its kind Office of Reparations.

The funds had originally been approved in a June Board of Supervisors meeting to establish the reparations office in city hall and fund it for two years but is now on the chopping block to conserve spending in the city is still dealing as it grapples with the severe impacts of the pandemic.

Breed has long been criticized for her stance on the issue of reparations coming from the local level, stating her belief that any payments to individuals should be handled at the federal level.

“The Mayor also does not believe that addressing the needs of the African American community requires adding more bureaucracy and a whole new office; this work can be done with existing staffing,” said Parisa Safarzadeh, the mayor’s press secretary, in an email to the Post.

Safarzadeh explained that Breed has and will continue to uplift marginalized communities with programs like the Dreamkeeper Initiative (DKI) to address inequities in the African American community and Opportunities for All, which provides all high school students in San Francisco with a paid internship.

Reverend Amos Brown, a member of the SF African American Reparations Advisory Committee (SFAARAC), expressed that while monetary compensation doesn’t have to be distributed locally, public policies should be enacted to address the racial gap and inequities of the Black community.

“They need to move forward with deliberate speed, working with the Black community to ensure that the low-hanging fruit is delivered regarding health care services, education, economic empowerment, jobs, and restorative justice programs for those coming out of this criminal justice system. That would give us reparations,” Brown said.

The SFAARAC was formed in December 2020 to research and develop recommendations for repairing the harm done to the Black community of San Francisco.

In July, they submitted their final report of recommendations to the mayor and Board of Supervisors. The report proposed a payout of $5 million to individuals who could prove direct ancestral ties to slavery and included other recommendations aimed at improving education, health, and economic development.

Efforts to implement reparations on a national level have largely been unsuccessful. However, advocates like Kamm Howard continue pushing for a committee’s establishment as we approach an election year.

He says that the Biden administration should issue an executive order establishing a reparations committee because it would show his commitment to uplifting Black people in America, as they are the largest voter group after white voters. He needs the Black vote to win another presidential election.

In 2022, Howard founded Reparations United to provide guidance and leadership to coalitions and activists involved in the reparations movement. He also led the revisions to the federal bill H.R. 40, which seeks to establish a commission to study and develop reparation proposals for African Americans.

Howard expressed that even if individuals today claim they aren’t racist or their ancestors didn’t own slaves, everyone has to contribute to the repairs that address the generational damage inflicted on Black and African Americans.

“Everyone who benefits from the status of America and the wealth of America, all has to contribute to the remedy of unjust actions by this country,” Howard said.

He says that local and state governments also owe it to their Black citizens to acknowledge the harm that their policies and laws have done to them. All states have the power to enact change and form committees, like California has attempted to do with their state Reparations Task Force, and should be supported at every level of government.

Brown said it should not take so long to put a plan in action to give some sort of restorative justice back to the community. He points out that the fight is about much more than allocating $4 million for a department for reparations, which is an insulting number to fight about when the rightful compensation owed to African Americans is many times greater.

“It’s time for San Francisco to lead the way and respect the humanity of Black people,” Brown said.

Magaly Muñoz

A graduate of Sacramento State University, Magaly Muñoz’s journalism experience includes working for the State Hornet, the university’s student-run newspaper and conducting research and producing projects for “All Things Considered” at National Public Radio. She also was a community reporter for El Timpano, serving Latino and Mayan communities, and contributed to the Sacramento Observer, the area’s African American newspaper.

Muñoz is one of 40 early career journalists who are part of the California Local News Fellowship program, a state-funded initiative designed to strengthen local news reporting in California, with a focus on underserved communities.

The fellowship program places journalism fellows throughout the state in two-year, full-time reporting positions.

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Magaly Muñoz

A graduate of Sacramento State University, Magaly Muñoz’s journalism experience includes working for the State Hornet, the university’s student-run newspaper and conducting research and producing projects for “All Things Considered” at National Public Radio. She also was a community reporter for El Timpano, serving Latino and Mayan communities, and contributed to the Sacramento Observer, the area’s African American newspaper. Muñoz is one of 40 early career journalists who are part of the California Local News Fellowship program, a state-funded initiative designed to strengthen local news reporting in California, with a focus on underserved communities. The fellowship program places journalism fellows throughout the state in two-year, full-time reporting positions.

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Activism

California Holds the Line on DEI as Trump Administration Threatens School Funding

The conflict began on Feb. 14, when Craig Trainor, acting assistant secretary for civil rights at the U.S. Department of Education (DOE), issued a “Dear Colleague” letter warning that DEI-related programs in public schools could violate federal civil rights law. The letter, which cited Title VI of the Civil Rights Act and the 2023 Supreme Court ruling in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, which ended race-conscious admissions, ordered schools to eliminate race-based considerations in areas such as admissions, scholarships, hiring, discipline, and student programming.

Published

1 minute ago

April 28, 2025

Oakland Post

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By Joe W. Bowers Jr
California Black Media

California education leaders are pushing back against the Trump administration’s directive to dismantle diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs in its K-12 public schools — despite threats to take away billions in federal funding.

The conflict began on Feb. 14, when Craig Trainor, acting assistant secretary for civil rights at the U.S. Department of Education (DOE), issued a “Dear Colleague” letter warning that DEI-related programs in public schools could violate federal civil rights law. The letter, which cited Title VI of the Civil Rights Act and the 2023 Supreme Court ruling in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, which ended race-conscious admissions, ordered schools to eliminate race-based considerations in areas such as admissions, scholarships, hiring, discipline, and student programming.

According to Trainor, “DEI programs discriminate against one group of Americans to favor another.”

On April 3, the DOE escalated the pressure, sending a follow-up letter to states demanding that every local educational agency (LEA) certify — within 10 business days — that they were not using federal funds to support “illegal DEI.” The certification requirement, tied to continued federal aid, raised the stakes for California, which receives more than $16 billion annually in federal education funding.

So far, California has refused to comply with the DOE order.

“There is nothing in state or federal law that outlaws the broad concepts of ‘diversity,’ ‘equity,’ or ‘inclusion,’” wrote David Schapira, California’s Chief Deputy Superintendent of Public Instruction, in an April 4 letter to superintendents and charter school administrators. Schapira noted that all of California’s more than 1,000 traditional public school districts submit Title VI compliance assurances annually and are subject to regular oversight by the state and the federal government.

In a formal response to the DOE on April 11, the California Department of Education, the State Board of Education, and State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond collectively rejected the certification demand, calling it vague, legally unsupported, and procedurally improper.

“California and its nearly 2,000 LEAs (including traditional public schools and charter schools) have already provided the requisite guarantee that its programs and services are, and will be, in compliance with Title VI and its implementing regulation,” the letter says.

Thurmond added in a statement, “Today, California affirmed existing and continued compliance with federal laws while we stay the course to move the needle for all students. As our responses to the United States Department of Education state and as the plain text of state and federal laws affirm, there is nothing unlawful about broad core values such as diversity, equity and inclusion. I am proud of our students, educators and school communities who continue to focus on teaching and learning, despite federal actions intended to distract and disrupt.”

California officials say that the federal government cannot change existing civil rights enforcement standards without going through formal rule-making procedures, which require public notice and comment.

Other states are taking a similar approach. In a letter to the DOE, Daniel Morton-Bentley, deputy commissioner and counsel for the New York State Education Department, wrote, “We understand that the current administration seeks to censor anything it deems ‘diversity, equity & inclusion.’ But there are no federal or State laws prohibiting the principles of DEI.”

Oakland Post

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Asm. Corey Jackson Proposes Safe Parking for Homeless College Students Sleeping in Cars

Assemblymember Corey Jackson (D-Moreno Valley), a member of the California Legislative Black Caucus (CLBC), is the author of AB 90, which would require community colleges and California State University campuses to create overnight parking programs where students can sleep safely in their vehicles. With one in four community college students in California experiencing homelessness in the past year, Jackson says the state must act urgently.

Published

18 minutes ago

April 28, 2025

Oakland Post

Assemblymember Corey Jackson. File photo.

By Bo Tefu
California Black Media

As California’s housing crisis continues to impact students, new legislation, Assembly Bill (AB) 90, promises to allow college students without stable housing to sleep in their cars on campus, offering a stark but practical solution aimed at immediate relief.

“This just deals with the harsh realities that we find ourselves in,” he said at a recent hearing.

The bill passed its first committee vote and is gaining attention as housing affordability remains a top concern across the state. California rents are more than 30% above the national average, and long waitlists for student housing have left thousands in limbo. CSU reported more than 4,000 students on its housing waitlist last year.

Supporters stress that the bill is not a long-term solution, but a humane step toward helping students who have no other place to go. A successful pilot program at Long Beach City College has already shown that safe, supervised overnight parking can work, giving students access to restrooms, Wi-Fi, and a secure environment.

However, the CSU and community college systems oppose the bill, citing funding concerns. Critics also worry about safety and oversight. But Jackson and student advocates argue the crisis demands bold action.

“If we know students are already sleeping in their cars, why not help them do it safely?” said Ivan Hernandez, president of the Student Senate for California Community Colleges.

Oakland Post

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Newsom Fights Back as AmeriCorps Shutdown Threatens Vital Services in Black Communities

“When wildfires devastated L.A. earlier this year, it was AmeriCorps members out there helping families recover,” Gov. Newsom said when he announced the lawsuit on April 17. “And now the federal government wants to pull the plug? We’re not having it.”

Published

2 hours ago

April 28, 2025

Oakland Post

California for All College Corps.

By Bo Tefu
California Black Media

Gov. Gavin Newsom is suing the federal government over its decision to dismantle AmeriCorps, a move that puts essential frontline services in Black and Brown communities across California at risk, the Governor’s office said.

From tutoring students and mentoring foster youth to disaster recovery and community rebuilding, AmeriCorps has been a backbone of support for many communities across California.

“When wildfires devastated L.A. earlier this year, it was AmeriCorps members out there helping families recover,” Newsom said when he announced the lawsuit on April 17. “And now the federal government wants to pull the plug? We’re not having it.”

The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) under the Trump administration is behind the rollback, which Newsom calls “a middle finger to volunteers.”

Meanwhile, Newsom’s office announced that the state is expanding the California Service Corps, the nation’s largest state-run service program.

AmeriCorps has provided pathways for thousands of young people to gain job experience, give back, and uplift underserved neighborhoods. Last year alone, over 6,000 members across the state logged 4.4 million hours, tutoring more than 73,000 students, planting trees, supporting foster youth, and helping fire-impacted families.

The California Service Corps includes four paid branches: the #CaliforniansForAll College Corps, Youth Service Corps, California Climate Action Corps, and AmeriCorps California. Together, they’re larger than the Peace Corps and are working on everything from academic recovery to climate justice.

“DOGE’s actions aren’t about making government work better. They are about making communities weaker,” said GO-Serve Director Josh Fryday.

“These actions will dismantle vital lifelines in communities across California. AmeriCorps members are out in the field teaching children to read, supporting seniors and helping families recover after disasters. AmeriCorps is not bureaucracy; it’s boots on the ground,” he said.