Subject: Black New Deal Report From: Councilmember Fife Recommendation: Receive An Informational Report On The Black New Deal Racial Impact Study Developed By Dr. Brandi Summers

The Black New Deal Report, requested by Councilmember Fife and prepared by Dr. Brandi Summers (BluSummers, LLC), is an informational report assessing the cumulative impact of racist and discriminatory municipal policies on Oakland's Black community. The study, funded by a $150,000 contract, highlights that Oakland has lost nearly 25% of its Black population since 2010, with African Americans comprising an astonishing 70% of the homeless population.

Key Findings: Historical policies like redlining, eminent domain, and urban renewal led to significant displacement, wealth extraction, and disproportionate health impacts (e.g., asthma rates in formerly redlined areas). Survey and focus group data reveal widespread dissatisfaction with housing affordability, educational inequities, financial discrimination against Black businesses, and a profound lack of trust in law enforcement, with 60% of police stops involving Black residents.

Major Recommendations:

• Invest in distressed neighborhoods: A $3.2 million 2-year pilot for home rehabilitation grants, property tax relief, and rent control with tax abatements.
• Long-Term Residents (LTR) Bill: A $25 million 3-year pilot providing benefits for education, business purchases, and homeownership for long-term Black residents, especially those experiencing poverty or homelessness.
• Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC-Oakland): A $3.21 million program creating living-wage public sector jobs and apprenticeships for formerly incarcerated, long-term unemployed, and fixed-income residents.
• Anti-speculator laws: Implement anti-flipping taxes, land value taxation, and limits on property tax liens, alongside rental market regulations.
• Community reparations plan: A $25.5 million 3-year investment for monetary funds to residents displaced by urban renewal and freeway construction (e.g., 600 families by Cypress Viaduct).
• Expand Community Land Trusts (CLTs): A $5 million 2-year pilot to fund CLTs and land banks to acquire properties for permanently affordable housing (30% AMI or below).

Other recommendations include engaging in participatory budgeting and maintaining current arts funding with administrative improvements.

This report proposes multi-million dollar investments and significant policy changes aimed at reversing decades of racial injustice. Residents could see more affordable housing options, new job opportunities (especially for those with barriers to employment), and financial support for education and business ownership. It also seeks to strengthen tenant protections and address historical harms through reparations, potentially improving health outcomes and public safety in historically marginalized Black neighborhoods.

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