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San Francisco’s Black population peaked in 1970, at just over 13% of the city’s total population. Since then, it’s been in steady decline. In 2021, the city was just 5.7% Black. Many attribute this to the fallout of urban renewal, which James Lance Taylor, a professor of political science at the University of San Francisco who also sits on the city’s African American reparations advisory committee, described as “the single greatest injury inflicted on Black San Franciscans”.

Now, the city is trying to make amends. Jasper, now 75, is one of those doing the work.

At the time of urban renewal, the city offered displaced families access to subsidized affordable housing options, but for a variety of reasons, these benefits were rarely cashed in, and many people chose to leave the city altogether. This past year, Jasper became part of a city-supported team of private investigators tracking these families down to let them know the offer still stands.

Jasper says she hopes this work, which comes as San Francisco also weighs reparations for Black residents, will offer some closure to a community that has suffered decades of intergenerational trauma and poverty as a result of urban renewal - as well as some economic relief for people struggling to find stability in one of the US’s most expensive housing markets.

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https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/sep/09/san-francisco-public-housing-detectives-renewal