‘Wealth distribution officers’ harass San Francisco residents: ‘Do you care about black mothers?!’
San Francisco residents say they’re being cornered by street fundraisers who demand to know if they “care about black mothers” — and lash out with accusations of racism when they refuse to open their wallets.
The group, Hip Hop for the Future, recruits paid canvassers under the title “wealth redistribution officers” and has been accused online of using “race-baiting” tactics to pressure people into donating.
The group’s job posting for the role lists a pay rate of $22 per hour and offers a bizarre incentive: “Free gold grill after 3 months of service.”
City residents took to social media to say they were accosted by solicitors with questions such as, “Do you care about black mothers?” and “Do you care about black infant mortality?”
Residents described being publicly shamed after declining to donate.
One Reddit user wrote that after saying, “Sorry, I don’t have time to talk now,” a solicitor shot back: “Why is it white people never have time to talk to black people?”
Another poster said fundraisers “called my bf (who is Latino) and I racist for not stopping to talk to them. They followed us a block or so yelling at us.”
Others described encounters that left them rattled.
A woman posting about an incident on Fillmore said one solicitor “looked me in the eyes and made a gesture of a pregnant stomach and then as I ignored he said ‘do you get that a lot?’ I was 6 weeks postpartum and horrified!”
One Pacific Heights resident alleged a fundraiser began harassing his wife, who is Mexican, as they walked past.
“As I walked past he started harassing my wife (Mexican) for being with me (white), saying ‘You want to be with a WHITE man that won’t stop for a BLACK activist? You have fun with that white man.’”
Another user described being shouted at in bougie Hayes Valley: “Yea I get called a racist every time I pass these pricks in Hayes Valley.”
And one commenter summed up the pressure tactics this way: “If you don’t stop they’ll yell, ‘Oh you don’t care about black people!’”
On its website, Hip Hop for the Future says it was founded “in the wake of the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade” to respond to what it calls a “collapsing safety net and a crisis of hope in Black communities.”
The group says it relies on monthly donors — dubbed “Culture Keepers” — to fund events like D.R.I.P. Fest and its Flow Lounge open-mic series.
The organization is led by founder Khafre Jay, who describes himself as “a change-maker, a community organizer, a consultant who helps businesses incorporate Hip Hop into their programs, an artist, and the best father ever.”
One photo posted online shows Jay soliciting donations on a San Francisco sidewalk while wearing a shirt that reads “Distrupt the System” and holding a thermos with the words “White Tears” emblazoned on it. The thermos also includes an image depicting a man hunched over in despair.
On his website, Jay says he has “dedicated his life to fighting for socioeconomic justice and empowering his community through Hip Hop organizing,” adding that his efforts have “employed nearly 1,000 community members, educated over 35,000 K-12 youth, and directed more than $8 million into underserved communities.”
Jay says he is “pioneering the use of Hip Hop to reimagine public healthcare,” with the goal of increasing “Black life expectancy and bring[ing] transformative resources to marginalized populations.”
The Post has sought comment from Jay and Hip Hop for the Future.
