ANN ARBOR, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – On February 16th, the Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners approved a new “Advisory Council on Reparations.” The county is in southeast Michigan and the county seat is Ann Arbor, home to the University of Michigan.

The Council is following a new trend of reparation committees and task forces forming all over the country including Providence, Rhode Island who plans to use $10M in American Rescue Plan (ARP) pandemic money to go towards a Providence Municipal Reparations Commission and Shelby County, Tennessee (which includes Memphis) who voted on Tuesday to spend $5 million to study a reparations program for the descendants of slaves. ARP money is also being considered as a means to fund this as well.

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The African American Reparations Advisory Committee in San Francisco California also wants to give $5 million to each “eligible” Black resident. And there are many more counties and cities who have reparations plans in the works.

An article from Jonathan Turley, an attorney, writer, commentator, and legal analyst, highlights a new plan where cities are hoping to use ARP money to fund their reparations programs. And it’s not just about free money to descendants of slaves – cities are also looking to change policies that have “denied Black Americans pathways to build generational wealth,” says Democratic Boston Mayor Michelle Wu.

There is also a new federal reparations bill introduced by Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) on January 24th. This legislation would “establish a commission to consider proposals for reparations for African American descendants of slavery. The legislation is the Senate companion to H.R. 40, introduced by Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX-18). The Commission will study the impact of slavery and the continuing discrimination against African Americans and will make recommendations on reparation proposals for the descendants of slaves.”

Bookers’ reparations bill is supported by many Democratic politicians, the ACLU, Amnesty International and 190 organizations including the NAACP, National Action Network, National Council of Churches, National Urban League, SEIU, the Episcopal Church, the National Coalition of Blacks for Reparations in America (NCOBRA) and more.

The NCOBRA defines reparations as “a process of repairing, healing, and restoring a people injured because of their group identity and in violation of their fundamental human rights by governments, corporations, institutions and families.” Shelby County, Tennessee is using this definition in their resolutions.

So will more federal money be going to communities to pay for slave reparations? Some places like Washtenaw County aren’t waiting to find out.

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To advance their efforts to study and repair “systemic and racial injustice,” the Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners in Michigan voted to advance their Washtenaw Reparations Plan.

Commissioner Caroline Sanders  (District 4), Vice Chair of the Board, says, “This Council will help us to study, systemically, just how harmful County policies and practices have been on Black residents in Washtenaw. They will help us come up with real, practical solutions, not just performative ones…to close the gaps we know exist here.”

The county, which has a Racial Equity Office and Racial Equity Officer, will look at housing and real estate, education K-12, education post-secondary, workforce development, economic development, workers rights, health, art, civil rights law, criminal legal system, food security, transit, the faith based community, and environmental justice in order to form their Washtenaw Reparations Plan.

Commissioner Justin Hodge (District 5), Chair of the Board, said, “It’s time…This Board has demonstrated its commitment to equity, and  this is a logical next step. It’s time for us to do what communities all over the country are doing. That means looking at the real toll of racism on Black people in our county, our complicity, and doing something about it. San Francisco has taken this bold step. Evanston, IL has taken it. Atlanta, Georgia, Los Angeles and Berkley, CA, St. Louis, MO, Asheville, NC. We have the authority and the desire to repair the systemic wrongs and I look forward to seeing the work that comes out of the Advisory Council on Reparations.”

The county says that the Washtenaw Reparations Plan “will aim to outline the specific ways that County policies have historically and continually harmed the lives of Black people. It will include specific actions to address redress in the sectors of homeownership and access to other quality affordable housing, increasing business ownership and career opportunities, strategies to grow financial equity and generational wealth, closing the gaps in health care, education, employment and pay, neighborhood safety and fairness within criminal justice.”

Ricky Jefferson, Former District 6 Commissioner, says, “The Council is designed to include a diverse group of leaders from their respective occupations to discover ways that can undo the negative impact of the County caused by systemic discriminatory policies. They will develop recommendations for the Board of Commissioners to deliberate and come to an agreement on how best to target strategic investments. They’ll help the Board craft policies centered on equity which can assist African American residents in receiving reparative, socio-economic justice.”