Dream Deferred: Writing and Righting History

• In Event: Dreamscaping: Shifting the Narrative Through Black-Centered Storytelling

Abstract

Systemic failures and past harm have made it difficult for many in the Black community to dream (Davis, 2020). Decades of reports and articles document the legacy of racially disparate policies of education, health, housing, and economic outcomes for Black/African American people in San Francisco. In June 2020, City leadership announced they would reallocate a portion of law enforcement agencies’ budget to better support the African American community. Community members were invited to share their ideas and input on the funding. In addition to surveys emailed comments and community meetings, the process was informed by past reports and documents, in an effort to gather comprehensive feedback from the public.



Systemic failures and past harm have made it difficult for many in the Black community to dream (Davis, 2020). A report titled the Unfinished Agenda explored the impact of urban renewal efforts in San Francisco. The Unfinished Agenda outlines the harm caused by redevelopment on the Black community in San Francisco (Human Rights Commission,1993. The cruel treatment of African Americans in San Francisco and California predates the creation of the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency and the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation. In 1852, a Black writer for the San Francisco Elevator noted that Black women and men were limited from full participation in the opportunities available (Wilson Moore, 2012). Its believed Black Families left San Francisco in the 1850s due to discrimination. During this time, California was under pressure by Southern states to become a slave state; this worried many of the Black residents and prompted them to sell their property and leave the state.

San Francisco's Black community has seen no shortage of documentation, research, and convenings to understand and address these disparities over many decades. Black people are disproportionately impacted by inequities in the City and County of San Francisco, represented in criminal justice, health, income (Berube, 2018; McIntosh et al., 2020) and academic achievement gaps (Davis, 2020). In an attempt to repair the legacy of racially disparate policies on education, health, housing, and economic outcomes for Black/African American people in San Francisco the Dream Keeper Initiative was launched. The multipronged approach requires investing in new strategies and existing programs identified by the community as successful, that center Black voices and experiences. The program design was informed by community input from community meetings, surveys and past documents like the Unfinished Agenda. This paper reviews the history that led up to the creation of the Dream Keeper Initiative.

Author

• Sheryl Evans Davis, San Francisco Human Rights Commission
  Presenting Author