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Alameda County and Hayward create Russell City Redress Fund, board approves $650,000 seed
Summary
The Alameda County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a $650,000 contribution to a Russell City Redress Fund in partnership with the City of Hayward, seeding an effort to provide direct redress and an action plan for descendants of the community displaced in the 1960s.
The Alameda County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a $650,000 contribution to a Russell City Redress Fund on a motion by Supervisor Alisa Marquez and seconded by Supervisor Nate Miley.
The fund, a city-county partnership with the City of Hayward, will seed payments and reparative programming for people and descendants displaced in Russell City when the area was bulldozed in the 1960s. Supervisor Marquez, who described Russell City as “a multiracial, multiethnic community of over 1,400 residents” and called its destruction “an atrocity that cannot be undone,” moved the measure and read into the record the names of many former residents and descendants the fund aims to reach.
Why it matters: the redress fund follows a formal apology and years of community work and is intended to be “a concrete step toward repair, healing and justice,” Marquez said. The board and public speakers emphasized that the amount does not equate to full compensation for generational loss but provides an administrative mechanism to identify living residents and establish eligibility criteria.
Key details: Marquez's motion specified a $650,000 contribution composed of $400,000 from District 2 and $250,000 from District 4 EV2036 funds. Supervisor Miley and Marquez also moved a related action to allocate $500,000 in resources to support the county's Reparations Commission's work program (listening sessions, consultant support and data collection). Miley and Marquez committed $125,000 each toward that $500,000 and directed the county administrator to locate the remaining quarter-million.
Public input and administration: Deborah Gore, chair of the Reparations Commission, urged the board to fund the commission's work so it can complete an action plan of short-, medium- and long-term steps. Angela Andrews, a Hayward City Council member, and former residents and descendants also spoke in support, describing the fund as “a start” and urging more contributions from philanthropic and private sources.
Procedural outcome: Both item 47.1 (the $650,000 redress fund contribution) and item 47.2 (the $500,000 funding commitment for the Reparations Commission's work) passed on unanimous roll-call votes with Supervisors Marquez, Miley, Fortunato Bass and President Halbert voting aye; Supervisor Tam was excused.
What comes next: Supervisors said the library will administer the disbursement process in partnership with the Reparations Commission and county offices; the commission will develop eligibility criteria and listening sessions to inform distribution. Officials said a website and further outreach would be launched in the coming weeks to identify eligible residents and descendants.
Ending: Board members and public speakers framed the funding as part of a longer process of repair and urged continued community engagement as the commission prepares its action plan.
