HomeMy WebLinkAboutRES-2020-073 Resolution in Support of Reparations for Black-African Americans X%.11J 20 - 073
ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF REPARATIONS FOR BLACK/AFRICAN AMERICANS
WHEREAS , on December 6 , 1865 , the United States Congress ratified the 13th Amendment to the
Constitution thus abolishing slavery in the United States , stating : "Neither slavery nor involuntary
servitude , except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted , shall
exist within the United States , or any place subject to their jurisdiction" , and
h subsequent Constitutional Amendments , civil rights
WHEREAS , the 13th Amendment, along wit
legislation and voting rights acts have sought to recognize and establish equality for people of the
Black African diaspora who had been unjustly enslaved and oppressed prior to and since the
founding of the United States of America; and
WHEREAS , Black/African Americans nevertheless have been segregated, marginalized ,
disenfranchised, wrongfully incarcerated and lynched through intentional policies and practices
including Jim Crow laws , racial terror and the exception clause in the 13th Amendment; and
WHEREAS , Black/African Americans have been denied equal access to education and skills
development, healthcare, housing, mortgages , neighborhoods , job opportunities and advancement,
government grant and loan programs for farms and businesses , and equal rights and equal protections
under the law; and
WHEREAS , since the desegregation of schools , Black/African American students still are denied
access to quality learning, are directed away from advanced courses , and face disciplinary actions
at a disproportionate rate from white counterparts ; and
WHEREAS , as evidenced in morbidity/mortality rates , Black/African Americans have worse health
outcomes due to the effects of systemic racism including poor access to quality healthcare and access to
health insurance, higher rates of poverty, increased likelihood of living in a polluted environment, more
stress and sometimes biased treatment by medical professionals ; and
WHEREAS , Black/African Americans have been and continue to be unjustly targeted, mistreated
and abused by law enforcement and the criminal justice system ; and
WHEREAS , systemic racism in America, which originated over 400 years ago and has evolved
and persists to the present day, has manifested itself as a specific trauma within Black/African
Americans and the Black experience, and has affected American society as a whole ;
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED , that the Orange County Board of County
Commissioners , on behalf of the people of Orange County, affirms the dignity and humanity of all
people , regardless of race, ethnicity, national origin, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity,
gender expression, ability, religion or creed ; and
BE IT RESOLVED , that Orange County apologizes for its role in the enslavement of
Black/African American people, its enforcement of segregation, its promotion of prejudicial
policies , and its implementation of discriminatory and detrimental practices and procedures ; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED , that the Orange County Board of Commissioners calls on
the federal government to work toward the immediate enactment of the following policies and
bills :
a . A program to provide reparations to the descendants of enslaved Africans
sufficient to eliminate the racial wealth gap ;
b . A program to provide a universal basic income to all citizens sufficient to meet each
person ' s basic needs ;
c . A program to provide a_ guaranteed federal or federally-funded living-wage job to all
citizens ;
d . An increase in the federal minimum wage to $ 15 /hr . or higher, with regular increases
to account for increases in cost of living and inflation;
e . A program to provide universal health care ;
f. H . R. 40 , a bill to establish a federal Commission to Study and Develop Reparations
for Black/African Americans .
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED , that the Orange County Board of County Commissioners hereby
is committed to working toward the elimination of racial bias and is racism, the dismantling
of institutional racism and the eradication of structural racism; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED , that the Orange County Board of County Commissioners will
support and augment the work of the One Orange Government Alliance on Race & Equity [ GARE]
Team; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED , that the Orange County Board of County Commissioners will
proceed to collaborate with schools boards, county departments , governmental agencies , private
entities and financial institutions with the express purpose of investing in our Black/African
American students and their families, investing in Black- owned farms and businesses, investing in
Black/African American workers and investing in communities of color as first steps in providing
long overdue reparations for the centuries of suffering, loss , anguish, injustice and trauma inflicted
upon Black/African American women, men and children; and
BE IT MOREOVER RESOLVED , that the Orange County Board of County Commissioners shall
forward this resolution to the Governor of North Carolina, the North Carolina General Assembly,
the Orange County Delegation to the US House of Representatives, and the North Carolina
Members of the United States Senate .
Signed this 7th day of December 2020 .
Renee Price, Chair
17 Sz Orange County Board of Commissioners