Palm Springs Reparations Package for Former Residents
The city of Palm Springs, California, is set to contemplate a nearly $27 million reparations initiative aimed at former residents of a neighborhood primarily inhabited by Black and Latino families, which was dismantled over fifty years ago. This area, known as Section 14, was razed in the 1960s to facilitate commercial development.
Former residents of Section 14 have accepted the city’s final cash offer totaling $5.9 million. In addition to this, the broader reparations package encompasses housing and economic development programs valued at up to another $21 million. The Palm Springs City Council is scheduled to vote on this settlement offer and the associated initiatives during a public meeting on Thursday.
“We have been fighting for a long time to tell our story,” expressed Margarita Genera, an 86-year-old former resident who grew up in the neighborhood alongside her parents and two siblings. Her sentiments echo the long-standing struggle for recognition and reparations faced by many in her community.
If the settlement receives approval, Palm Springs would join a select group of municipalities in the United States that have successfully negotiated a reparations deal. Notably, Evanston, Illinois, became the first city to offer reparations in 2021, providing housing grants to eligible residents, although this program is currently under legal scrutiny.
Additionally, other cities, including New York City and Tulsa, Oklahoma, have recently established commissions tasked with studying and formulating plans for potential reparations programs.
Historically, African Americans and Mexicans were integral to the fabric of Section 14, constructing and renting homes on leased land within this one-square-mile area located near downtown Palm Springs. This tract was owned by the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians and represented one of the few locations where minorities could reside due to pervasive discriminatory housing practices.
Newspaper articles and various archival documents have chronicled the deteriorating living conditions within the neighborhood, shedding light on the struggles faced by its residents over the years.
