Centering Justice. Delivering Repair.
Alameda County Reparations Commission
For centuries, Black residents of Alameda County have endured economic exclusion, housing discrimination, educational inequities, criminal injustice, and systemic harm that continues to ripple across generations. The Alameda County Reparations Commission exists to end this cycle. We are not here to debate whether harm occurred — we are here to define how it will be repaired.
By leveraging research, lived experience, and global reparations frameworks, our work delivers real, measurable steps toward repair, healing, and transformation — right here in Alameda County.
Vision
An Alameda County where African Americans and all county residents can thrive.
Our Mission and Scope
Striving for Restorative Justice
The scope and purpose of the Commission is to create a draft action plan based on its research that will make significant and lasting progress towards repairing public and private systematic discrimination.
The Commission will also maintain communication with local municipalities focused on reparations to have coinciding efforts, and if possible, collaborate jointly. The Commission will provide bi-monthly updates to the Board of Supervisors Ad Hoc Committee on Reparations. The draft action plan will include short-term, medium-term, and long-term recommendations.
The Board of Supervisors Ad Hoc Committee on Reparations consists of no more than two members of the Board of Supervisors, who will oversee the formation of the Reparations Commission, listening sessions and receive reports on the creation of the draft action plan from the Commission. The initial appointments to the Reparations Commission will be completed by the Board of Supervisors no later than July 1, 2023.
The Commission will present a draft action plan to the Board of Supervisors Ad Hoc Committee no later than July 1, 2024, for final approval by the full Board of Supervisors.
AUTHORITY: Board action taken on 3/28/23 (item 53).
What We Do
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Gather research to document systemic harm inflicted on Black residents.
- Elevate community voices through listening sessions, surveys and town halls.
- Outline and recommend trauma-informed harm reports following global standards and existing national work product.
- Explore and suggest policy, financial, and legal outlines for recommendations for repair.
- Engage cities, unincorpated communities and municipalities for countywide impact.
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Ensure transparent oversight and public accountability.
Listening Sessions
Upcoming:
Past:
Milestones of Progress
Explore the pivotal moments that have shaped our journey towards reparative justice.
2025
Listening Sessions and Funding
Alameda County Reparations Commission:
- Hosts pilot listening session at Allen Temple Baptist Church Oakland, CA
- Russell City Redress Fund launched with $1.1M from Alameda County and the City of Hayward
- Board of Supervisors approves $500k to fund the work of the Reparations Commission
- Hosts first official listening session at First Baptist Church of Russell City Hayward, CA
2023
Alameda County Reparations Commission
Board of Supervisors establishes:
- Ad Hoc Committee
- 15 member Reparations Commission is established to create an action plan addressing inequities faced by African Americans in Alameda County
2023
Alameda County Apology to Russell City
On June 13, 2023 Board of Supervisors:
- Approves a resolution to formally recognize and apologize for the County of Alameda’s role in the seizure and destruction of Russell City during the 1950s and 1960s and the harm caused to impacted individuals, families, and their descendants
2020
Resolution No. R-2020-412
Alameda County Board of Supervisors adopts resolution to:
- Apologize and express remorse for slavery, segregation, and discrimination against African Americans
- Pledge to develop an action plan to address the legislative, social, and economic inequities faced by African Americans
Russell City Redress Fund
Russell City was a majority Black and Latino community in unincorporated Hayward located in Alameda County. Russell City was home to families, businesses, churches, and a famed blues scene. Despite pleas from residents, government officials refused to provide basic services for the community. In the early 1960s, officials labeled it “blight,” seized the property, destroyed the neighborhood, displaced roughly 1,400 people, and built an industrial park for businesses without fair compensation to the residents.
Momentum for repair is continuing to build: in 2025 the City of Hayward and Alameda County announced the launch of the Russell City Redress Fund—with contributions from the city of Hayward, Alameda County Supervisors Elisa Márquez, Nate Miley, and other Supervisors. The fund launched with contributions totaling $1.1M with plans to grow it. Former residents and elders are the priority for compensation, with criteria potentially expanding as funds increase. Leaders aim to begin disbursements within 60–90 days.
In the News
Newsom Vetoes Stall California’s Reparations Push for Black Descendants
Guy Marzorati October 13, 2025 Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a handful of bills advancing the cause of reparations for Black Californians on Monday, dealing the latest blow to a first-of-its-kind movement to atone for state-inflicted harms from slavery to the present day....
Newsom approves agency to administer slavery reparations
By Emily Hallas October 10, 2025 10:54 pm Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) signed a bill into law on Friday, launching a process for California to administer reparations for descendants of slaves. The governor gave the final green light to Senate Bill 518, which establishes a...
California Is Considering Returning Stolen Land. Here’s How It Played Out In Germany
Annelise Finney Sep 23, 2025 Updated 9:25 am PT Francesca Thomas, a Hayward native and great-granddaughter of Leona Alves, owner of Ideal Dining, a restaurant and nightclub in Russell City, holds a photograph of her great-grandmother and a copy of her testimony near...
Reparations for wrongfully evicted Russell City residents – NBC Bay Area
Kiley Russell | Bay City News July 22, 2025 The Alameda County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday voted to create a roughly $1 million "redress fund" to bring some amount of justice to the former residents of Russell City, a once-thriving African American and Latino...
Alameda County Moves Ahead With Reparations Plan for Displaced Russell City Residents KQED
Samantha Lim July 22, 2025 Márquez acknowledged the role county officials played in the destruction of the community, adding that the funds are a recognition of the pain they inflicted on former residents and the suffering that continues to the present day. In 2021,...
City of Hayward and Alameda County Ad Hoc Committee on Reparations announce creation of redress fund for former Russell City residents City of Hayward – Official website
Author on Source July 10, 2025 The City of Hayward and Alameda County Supervisors Elisa Márquez and Nate Miley jointly announced plans to establish a $900,000 redress fund to make amends to former Russell City residents who had property seized during the 1960s. During...