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AFTER A SUCCESSFUL PUSH by community organizers, Santa Clara County officials have agreed to explore a reparations policy that could compensate Black residents for historic human rights violations and systemic racism.
It’s still unclear when that will ultimately happen.
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County Supervisors Sylvia Arenas and Betty Duong last month approved a discussion on a reparations policy to go before the full Board of Supervisors during a Jan. 22 Children, Seniors and Families Committee meeting. Yet the agendas for three subsequent board meetings have omitted the topic — and officials haven’t said when the discussion will be heard.
A county spokesperson declined to comment.
Lavere Foster, the associate director of the African American Community Services Agency in San Jose, has been waiting for the item to appear on the agenda. He’s tempering his concern amid a major county budget crisis threatening essential social safety net services. Supervisors this year will grapple with a $470 million budget deficit that’s expected to include program cuts and layoffs.
“We understand that we’re in a time of budget cuts,” Foster told San José Spotlight. “But the goal right now isn’t to ask for, say, a $10 million package.”
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Economists and advocates have long called attention to Silicon Valley’s “Black exodus,” where housing costs and employment disparities have pushed Black people to the economic margins. Black people make up less than 3% of the county’s 1.9 million population.
Foster said it’s important to get the county and community advocates together to work out a shared vision for how exactly a reparations policy would be implemented.
“If we get to March and it’s still not on the agenda, then I’d be really concerned,” Foster said.
What form would reparations take?
Reparations are viewed as compensation for the historic harms suffered by Black people as a result of slavery and discrimination through government policies. The nuts and bolts of a reparations policy could range from individual checks to loan forgiveness programs to first-time homebuyer assistance, Foster said.
A committee under the Santa Clara County Human Rights Commission last month recommended creating a local task force to study models for reparations. California has established its own reparations task force, which in a 2022 report identified San Jose as a hotbed of historic violence against Black residents and business owners. The state report specifically called San Jose out for its historic denial of liquor licenses to Black-owned taverns, discrimination against Black athletes and wide homeownership gaps between white and Black residents.
“Our vision for this would be for people in the Black community to benefit from this, but not necessarily strictly in dollar amounts,” Foster said. “More so as a way to accumulate generational wealth. Whether that’s a package around housing assistance, getting certain loans paid off or cash, we’re hoping to see the county study something that is actionable, that we can then follow up on.”
“Our vision for this would be for people in the Black community to benefit from this, but not necessarily strictly in dollar amounts. More so as a way to accumulate generational wealth. …”
Lavere Foster, African American Community Services Agency
“Our vision for this would be for people in the Black community to benefit from this, but not necessarily strictly in dollar amounts. More so as a way to accumulate generational wealth. …”
Lavere Foster, African American Community Services Agency
At the Jan. 22 committee meeting, Arenas and Duong voiced support for the idea of reparations.
“Santa Clara County has a responsibility to confront the harm that has been caused by government systems and policies — including impacts on African Americans here in San Jose and across our region,” Duong said at the meeting. “I look forward to continuing to work with you so we can turn this commitment into meaningful outcomes.”
Arenas’ stance hasn’t changed.
“While the impact of discrimination and inequity cannot be measured, we must hold ourselves to restorative justice and reparative efforts that rectify that history and build a more just future for African American families,” Arenas told San José Spotlight.
Contact Brandon Pho at brandon@sanjosespotlight.com or @brandonphooo on X.
This story originally appeared in San Jose Spotlight.
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