Alameda County Supervisors Advance $900,000 Russell City Reparations Fund

Alameda County is poised to approve a significant $900,000 reparations fund aimed at providing relief to families forcibly displaced from the historic Russell City. The initiative, championed by Supervisors Elisa Marquez and Nate Miley, marks a tangible step towards addressing the injustices faced by the predominantly Black and Latino community decades ago. The proposed fund is intended to offer direct payments to living former residents as part of a broader reparative justice effort.

Russell City, established in 1853 and located near present-day Hayward, was a vibrant, unincorporated community that became a haven for Black and Latino families due to discriminatory housing policies elsewhere. Despite residents' efforts to secure basic services, Alameda County declared the area a "blight" in the late 1950s. By 1964, the town was annexed by Hayward, and its 1,400 residents were displaced through eminent domain, with homes often bulldozed or burned to make way for an industrial park.

The newly proposed Russell City Redress Fund totals $900,000, with contributions from multiple sources. Supervisor Marquez has pledged $400,000 from her district funds, while Supervisor Miley committed $250,000 from his district. The City of Hayward has also allocated $250,000 to the fund, demonstrating a collaborative effort to address this historical wrong.

This financial commitment follows formal apologies issued by the City of Hayward in 2021 and Alameda County in 2023 for their roles in the community's destruction. Supervisor Elisa Márquez emphasized the urgency and significance of this action, stating, "It is absolutely a payment. This is funding that will go to the individuals that lived in Russell City. That is the point of the redress payment." The move is seen as progressing "beyond the written word and toward tangible action," as noted by Supervisor Marquez on social media.

While the fund represents a crucial step, county officials are still finalizing the eligibility requirements and the exact payment amounts for recipients. The focus remains on providing relief to the aging population of former Russell City residents, many of whom are in their 70s and 80s. The proposal is scheduled for approval by the Board of Supervisors, with supporters hoping it will set a precedent for similar reparative justice initiatives.