Reparations expert says San Francisco's apology to Black residents 'doesn’t mean anything' without action

A reparations expert says that San Francisco’s apology to Black residents won’t mean anything if it is not backed with actions.

"Reparations are the redemptive act that makes the rhetoric of an apology meaningful," Reparations scholar Roy Brooks, a law professor at the University of San Diego, told USA Today. 

"You can’t just say you’re sorry and walk away," Brooks added, telling USA Today that "an apology alone was not sufficient."

Brooks edited the 1999 book "When Sorry Isn't Enough: The Controversy Over Apologies and Reparations for Human Injustice."

San Francisco voted Tuesday to formally apologize to Black residents after decades of "institutional racism."