The City of San Francisco is handing out $5,000 "equity" grants to small businesses that have been forced to remain closed as a result of government-mandated shutdowns.
Well, not all businesses - seeing as apparently, white people need not apply.
According to a press release from San Francisco Mayor London Breed earlier this month, the grants are being handed out as part of the city’s “Shared Spaces” program, which prioritizes “locally-owned, minority-owned businesses that advance the City’s equity goals, including women-owned businesses, immigrant-owned businesses, legacy businesses, and businesses in established cultural districts or that serve a largely minority clientele.”
Locally owned businesses that either hold or have applied for a Shared Spaces permit are eligible to receive up to $5,000 in reimbursement from the City, which will help businesses that have been forced to close outdoor operations as a result of the recent Stay at Home Order and prepare for an eventual reopening. Up to $1 million in funding comes from the Shared Spaces Equity Grants Program, which prioritizes minority-owned businesses and businesses that advance the City’s equity goals. … Priority for the Shared Spaces Equity Grants is given to locally-owned, minority-owned businesses that advance the City’s equity goals, including women-owned businesses, immigrant-owned businesses, legacy businesses, and businesses in established cultural districts or that serve a largely minority clientele.
Businesses that don't meet the city's "diversity" requirements can apply for another grant in the amount of $2,000 ($5,000 for business in "certain neighborhoods) from the city's "SF Shines for Reopening" program, which doesn't help businesses offset the cost of remaining shut down, but rather simply helps reimburse the cost of protective measures or outdoor equipment, according to reports.
But only businesses that have met the diversity criteria and have been granted a “Shared Spaces” permit by the city are eligible for the other grant - in other words, not businesses owned by white men patroned by white people, even if those businesses have been equally or even more devastated by the same city’s forced shutdowns and economic chokehold.
And that, my friends, is called racism.