The city of Palm Springs, California, recently agreed to pay $5.9 million in reparations to black and Latino families decades after a neighborhood was destroyed in the 1960s to build commercial buildings in the city.
According to The Associated Press, the Palm Springs City Council unanimously approved the reparations earlier this month.
The New York Times reported that the one-mile area of Section 14 of Palm Springs, which was owned by the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians, was destroyed between 1965 and 1967. According to the outlet, prior to the development of commercial buildings in the area, Section 14 held 230 dwellings that were primarily rented by black and Latino families.
Six decades after the neighborhood’s destruction, Palm Springs is paying $5.9 million to former residents of the area. According to The Associated Press, the Palm Springs City Council also approved $10 million for a first-time homebuyer assistance program and $10 million for a community land trust and the construction of a monument in honor of Section 14. The New York Times reported that former residents of the neighborhood and their descendants are expected to be the first residents to benefit from the financial assistance package.
READ MORE: 2024 presidential candidate supports reparations
According to KESQ, the city’s agreement to construct a Section 14 monument will include a “racial healing center driven by the former residents of Section 14.”
“The City Council is deeply gratified that the former residents of Section 14 have agreed to accept what we believe is a fair and just settlement offer,” Palm Springs Mayor Jeffrey Bernstein said in a statement obtained by KESQ. “The City Council has always respected the historical significance of Section 14, and with this resolution of the claim … we are taking bold and important action that will create lasting benefits for our entire community, while providing programs that prioritize support for the former residents of Section 14.”
Following the city’s decision to offer reparations, 86-year-old Margarita Genera, a member of the Palm Springs Section 14 Survivors group, which pushed for the city to provide financial compensation over the former demolition of Section 14 housing, told The New York Times, “We have been fighting for a long time to tell our story.”
