The future of reparations is coming into question as many cities struggle to implement payouts amid budget and legal challenges.
As various cities continue to discuss how they can compensate black residents for the past, Cincinnati’s vice mayor is proposing policies, while the head of the city’s NAACP chapter addressed concerns over the term “reparations.”
“I think people get confused and caught up with the word ‘reparation,'” Cincinnati NAACP President David Whitehead said. “It’s restoring people that have been unfairly treated.”
Meanwhile, the city’s Vice Mayor Jan-Michele Lemon Kearney and Councilman Scotty Johnson cosponsored legislation that would help “low-to-moderate income residents” and “any individual or family member of an individual who was prevented from buying a home due to discriminatory practices,” according to the Cincinnati Enquirer.
Cincinnati’s City Council is advancing a so-called “Real Property Reparations” program— taxpayer funds for down payments, tax relief, and repairs in certain neighborhoods.
This is government-sanctioned division that punishes today’s hardworking families for history’s wrongs. pic.twitter.com/ouBzNQys3d
— Thomas Hern (@ThomasMHern) February 26, 2026
“Kearney and Johnson’s motion would direct the city to invest initially $5 million in the program using proceeds from the tax on recreational marijuana and from the city’s capital budget,’ the outlet added. “It doesn’t mention how much each individual applicant could receive from the program. Individuals benefiting from the reparation program could get assistance for downpayments, delinquent property taxes and emergency repairs, according to the motion.”
In other cities, such as Asheville, North Carolina, the path forward is not clear.
“We have a difficult landscape with this administration, unfortunately,” Mayor Esther Manheimer said in an interview in February. “But we’re committed to the community to carry out the recommendations of the Reparations Commission.”
As previously reported, San Francisco’s Democratic Mayor Daniel Lurie “signed a bill creating a reparations fund that could someday be used to pay $5 million each to qualified blacks for alleged injustices suffered as a result of slavery.”
San Fran mayor signs bill to create reparations fund that could pay $5M to qualifiers https://t.co/AbHMvyPALd via @BIZPACReview
— BPR based (@DumpstrFireNews) January 2, 2026
In Santa Clara, California, a meeting in January broached the subject.
“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,” County Supervisor Betty Duong said at the time.
But budget constraints have proved to be an obstacle to moving forward.
“We understand that we’re in a time of budget cuts,” Lavere Foster, the associate director of the African American Community Services Agency in San Jose, told San José Spotlight. “But the goal right now isn’t to ask for, say, a $10 million package.”
“The future of reparations in California appears to be precarious as well after Gov. Gavin Newsom rejected several bills to avoid legal issues and none of his potential successors appear to champion reparations in the gubernatorial race,” Fox News reported. “One of the candidates outright rejected the notion of direct cash payments, which is often associated with reparations efforts.”
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Originally from New York, Powers graduated from New York University and eventually made her way to sunny South Florida. Powers also contributes to BizPac Review.
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