Reparations Committee Says There ‘Wasn’t a Math Formula’ for How Much Black Residents Should Be Paid

A reparations committee in San Francisco explained how they arrived at the recommended amount Black residents could receive for discrimination.

Eric McDonnell, chair of the committee and the principal of Peacock Partnerships, a consulting firm based in the city, told The Washington Post, “There wasn’t a math formula.”

He added, “It was a journey for the committee towards what could represent a significant enough investment in families to put them on this path to economic well-being, growth and vitality that chattel slavery and all the policies that flowed from it destroyed.”

The Post noted the city’s African American Reparations Advisory Committee recently recommended Black residents who qualify should receive $5 million each.

The report published by the committee says the residents should receive the amount for “the public policies explicitly created to subjugate Black people in San Francisco by upholding and expanding the intent and legacy of chattel slavery,” per the Post.

The proposal reportedly does not say who should qualify.

However, if even close to the 50,000 Black residents living in San Francisco qualify, it would take up a large part of the annual budget for the city, as the Post reported.

“This is just a bunch of like-minded people who got in the room and came up with a number,” John Dennis, chairman of the San Francisco Republican Party, said.

He continued, “You’ll notice in that report, there was no justification for the number, no analysis provided. This was an opportunity to do some serious work and they blew it.”

Even William A. Darity Jr., an economist and advocate for reparations, told the Post the amount should be “realistic.”

He explained, “Calling for $5 million payout by a local government undercuts the credibility of the reparations effort.”