{"id":216771,"date":"2026-03-12T18:14:31","date_gmt":"2026-03-12T18:14:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/216771\/"},"modified":"2026-03-12T18:14:31","modified_gmt":"2026-03-12T18:14:31","slug":"how-san-francisco-quietly-launched-a-reparations-program","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/216771\/","title":{"rendered":"How San Francisco quietly launched a ‘reparations’ program"},"content":{"rendered":"

San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie has revived a controversial benefit program once lauded<\/a>\u00a0as a step toward \u201creparations\u201d for black San Franciscans.<\/p>\n

Known as the Dream Keeper Initiative<\/a>, the relaunched program<\/a> will grant $36 million<\/a>\u00a0to \u201ccommunity-serving organizations,\u201d including some that have offered \u201cAfri-centric<\/a>\u201d mental-health services, African ancestry DNA testing<\/a>, and free doulas<\/a> for \u201cAfrican American birthing people<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie speaks at the 2026 California Democratic Party State Convention. AP<\/p>\n

Former San Francisco Mayor London Breed speaking at a podium during the 9th Annual Chinatown Night Out. Anadolu Agency via Getty Images<\/p>\n

The Dream Keeper Initiative<\/a> was founded by former San Francisco Mayor London Breed in 2021, fulfilling her promise<\/a>\u00a0to redirect police funding to \u201cthe African American community\u201d in the aftermath\u00a0of George Floyd\u2019s 2020 death in Minneapolis, Minnesota.<\/p>\n

In February 2021, Breed announced that the city would divert $120 million<\/a>\u00a0from its law-enforcement budgets to fund the program, which would in turn funnel<\/a> the money to a web of left-wing nonprofits<\/a>. The Board of Supervisors president hailed the initiative<\/a> as the \u201cfirst step towards true reparations for the Black community here in San Francisco.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Despite its lofty ambitions, Dream Keeper was troubled from the outset.<\/p>\n

San Francisco poured $60 million per year into the program with little apparent oversight or quality control. Nonprofits took advantage, reportedly spending hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars<\/a> on black-tie galas and salary increases. Other funding reportedly disappeared into a web of shell companies<\/a>, raising fraud concerns.<\/p>\n

Daniel Lurie, the Levi Strauss-fortune heir who campaigned for mayor against Breed in 2024, criticized his opponent for the fiasco.<\/p>\n

A crowd gathered in favor of reparations rally outside San Francisco City Hall. AP<\/p>\n

A protest sign reading \u201cREPARATIONS Good for Black San Franciscans Good for All San Franciscans\u201d at a rally. AP<\/p>\n

\u201cLondon Breed handed a blank check to her closest allies with zero oversight,\u201d he said at the time<\/a>. \u201cHundreds of millions of dollars were mismanaged that could have been spent to solve the city\u2019s safety, drug, and economic recovery crisis. \u2026 As your mayor, I will bring a new era of proven, accountable leadership to City Hall.\u201d<\/p>\n

Under pressure, Breed said she was \u201cappalled<\/a>\u201d by the reports of misuse and froze all Dream Keeper funding. But the damage was done: Breed found herself ensnared by the perception of corruption<\/a>, and Lurie won the election.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Instead of abandoning Breed\u2019s scandal-ridden program, however, Lurie seems eager to revive it. <\/p>\n

In March 2025, the new mayor quietly relaunched<\/a>\u00a0the Dream Keeper program as part of the new \u201cRFP [request for proposals] 100\u201d initiative, and approved $36 million to, among other things, \u201cadvanc[e] equity<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rev. Amos Brown speaks at a podium as Supervisor Shamann Walton holds the \u201cCalifornia Task Force to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans, Final Report 2023\u201d report. AP<\/p>\n

Former San Francisco Mayor Breed speaking during local band Metallica\u2019s 40th-anniversary celebration. Getty Images<\/p>\n

The Lurie administration\u2019s list of RFP 100 recipients<\/a>, published last month, shows that the city is still committed to identity politics, with payouts for a \u201cculturally affirming wellness\u201d initiative, programming \u201crooted in a Black feminist healing framework,\u201d and other unconventional social-welfare initiatives.<\/p>\n

For example, the Lurie administration awarded $600,000 to SisterWeb, which gives free doula care to pregnant \u201cBlack women and birthing people<\/a>\u201d; $250,000 to Because Black is Still Beautiful<\/a>, which has offered massage therapy and African ancestry DNA testing to formerly incarcerated black women and a trans-identifying man; and $400,000 to Queer Women of Color Media Arts, which previously used Dream Keeper funds to support \u201cqueer and transgender Black filmmakers,\u201d<\/a>\u00a0including one who\u00a0followed two \u201cblack transmen<\/a> \u2026 through their first pregnancies.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lurie\u2019s office did not respond to multiple requests for comment.<\/p>\n

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Though the Lurie administration has been careful to create the appearance of a legally compliant program, promising that it would \u201cnot consider any demographic data<\/a>\u00a0about the racial, ethnic, gender, sexual orientation, or national orientation makeup\u201d of applicants\u2019 staff, leadership, and boards, the RFP 100 is arguably a form of soft reparations.<\/p>\n

The city\u2019s Human Rights Commission, which administers RFP 100<\/a>, released its funding guidelines for the program in 2025. The guidelines state that the city will assess applicants\u2019 \u201ccommitment to cultural responsiveness<\/a>, inclusivity, and equity\u201d and \u2014 while they require grantees to \u201cserve eligible participants regardless of race \u2026 or other characteristics\u201d \u2014 they also command grantees to \u201censure that outreach efforst include<\/a> \u2026 the Black community.\u201d (In a statement, HRC claimed that \u201cnonprofits which enter into grant agreements with the City to provide services are required to ensure services are open and available to all.\u201d)<\/p>\n

An aerial view of downtown San Francisco skyscrapers, with the bay and hills in the background. AP<\/p>\n

San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie speaks at the California Democratic Convention. REUTERS<\/p>\n

The grantees\u2019 racial commitments are even more explicit. To qualify for SisterWeb\u2019s doula services, an individual must \u201cidentify as Black\/African American<\/a>.\u201d (Below the list of requirements, the group claims that \u201cNo one is turned away on the basis of race or ethnicity\u201d; SisterWeb did not respond to our request for clarification.)<\/p>\n

The Trump administration might take note. <\/p>\n

Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon has been aggressively dismantling racially discriminatory programs<\/a>. As a former San Francisco resident<\/a>, she\u2019ll be intimately familiar with the euphemisms and shell games.\u00a0<\/p>\n

If Dhillon\u2019s office decides to take action, Mayor Lurie might have more problems than wasting public funds on doulas and drag queens: He could find himself in court for violating the Civil Rights Act.<\/p>\n

Christopher F. Rufo<\/a>\u00a0is a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, a contributing editor of City Journal, and the author of America\u2019s Cultural Revolution<\/a>. Haley Strack is an investigative reporter at City Journal.<\/p>\n

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