Title
Resolution to Study a Reparations Program in Ann Arbor to Remediate Historical Injustices and Discrimination Against its Black Residents
Staff
Reviewed by: Atleen Kaur, City Attorney
Body
Whereas, Municipal reparations refer to actions taken by a city government to formally acknowledge, address, and remediate historical injustices and discrimination through direct financial restitution, policy reforms, community investments, and public acknowledgments;
Whereas, The City of Ann Arbor wishes to explore establishing municipal reparations for its Black citizens to remediate historical injustices and discrimination flowing from the practice of slavery in the United States;
Whereas, Black residents of the City of Ann Arbor may be direct descendants of slaves brought to the United States;
Whereas, Uncompensated slave labor was common throughout the colonies and many of the early states, and such uncompensated labor was a major cause for the rise of the United States as a strong and wealthy nation;
Whereas, Michigan became a state in 1837 and the first Constitution of Michigan banned slavery, but Black citizens were still subject to injustices and discrimination such as denial of the right to vote and segregation;
Whereas, Before the federal prohibition of racially restrictive covenants, systemic housing discrimination prevented Black families nationwide, and in the City of Ann Arbor, from accessing equal housing opportunities;
Whereas, Local Fair Housing laws were established two decades after the federal prohibition against racially restrictive covenants;
Whereas, Municipal reparations to remediate historical injustices and discrimination that are supported by historical documentation and experiences constitutes a compelling governmental interest;
Whereas, The pervasive extent and nature of the injustices resulting from slavery and segregation require reparations to take many forms, including but not limited to, efforts to ensure that Black citizens...
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