Title
Committing to racial healing through the exploration of reparations for American descendants of Chattel Slavery Living in Saint Paul.
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WHEREAS, the institution of slavery in the United States, beginning in 1619 and continuing through 1863, enriched American industries, commercial and financial corporations and transformed the newly established United States into an international economic power through the oppressive, dehumanizing and torturous system of enslaved Black labor; and
WHEREAS, after slavery ended in the US, the slaveowners were compensated for the loss of their slaves, but those who had been held in bondage were never compensated for their labor, despite the promise of “40 acres and a mule”; and
WHEREAS, although slavery was illegal in Minnesota, Dred Scott and Harriet Scott were in bondage at Fort Snelling as well as other African Americans who were used for enslaved labor by US Army officers, which was in violation of the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 and the Missouri Compromise of 1820; and
WHEREAS, in the aftermath of slavery, African American citizens of this country continued to face brutal discrimination, as evidenced by Jim Crow, forced segregation, mass atrocities in Tulsa and Rosewood, the lynching period and to this day, mass incarceration; and
WHEREAS, in Saint Paul, systemic discrimination was perpetrated through redlining and racial covenants, access to housing, environmental injustice and the removal of Saint Paul’s Rondo neighborhood - the center of Saint Paul’s African American business, residential, spiritual and cultural life - for the construction of Interstate 94; and
WHEREAS, the pervasiveness of structural institutionalized racism in Saint Paul and all of American society has led to overwhelming black-white disparities in every area of endeavor, from housing to education and employment, business investment, economic prosperity, health and wellness, including life expectancy and infant mortality; and
WHEREAS, according to the November 2020 edition of the New England Journal of Medicine, reparations are now widely considered to be the most effective means of breaking down the societal structure related to power, money and access to resources, and indeed may be the only solution that can be applied intergenerationally that “would be an investment in the future and in reducing disparities that have been intractable for generations”; and
WHEREAS, local and state governments throughout the US have demonstrated a commitment to address these disparities by creating programs to generate public and private sources of funding, including dedicating tax revenues from enterprises that have historically profited from targeting African American consumers and other forms of discrimination that have fueled black-white disparities; and
WHEREAS, the tragic killing of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officers has led to local, national and international reckoning of the immorality of the racial hierarchy that exists under our so-called democratic institutions, and the founding values of this nation, “that all people are equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness;
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the City Council of Saint Paul does affirm that there can be no further delay in engaging all of Saint Paul in a process of racial healing and righting these wrongs; and be it further
RESOLVED, that the City Council of Saint Paul, does herein apologize and commit to making amends for its participation in and sanctioning of institutional racism against the American descendants of chattel slavery; and be it further
RESOLVED, that the City Council of Saint Paul does herein apologize and commit to making amends for Dred Scott being held in bondage at Fort Snelling and its enforcement of institutional racism and its accompanying discriminatory practices; and be it further
RESOLVED, that the City Council of Saint Paul apologizes and commits to making amends for allowing the construction of Interstate 94 to destroy a vibrant Black community and successful Black businesses; and be it further
RESOLVED, that the City Council of Saint Paul calls on all organizations and institutions in Saint Paul that have advanced and benefited from racial inequity to join the city in these apologies and invites them to address racism within their own structures and programs and to work with the city to more comprehensively address systemic racism; and be it further
RESOLVED, that the City Council of Saint Paul calls on the State of Minnesota and our federal delegation to initiate policymaking and provide funding for reparations at the state and national level; and be it further
RESOLVED, that the Saint Paul City Council commits to use its authority to establish, within the next six months, a legislative advisory committee to work with the Administration to create the roles and responsibilities for a new city commission to be known as the Saint Paul Recovery Act Community Reparations Commission; and be it further
RESOLVED, the Saint Paul Recovery Act Community Reparations Commission shall be empowered to make short, medium and long term recommendations to specifically address the creation of generational wealth for the American Descendants of Chattel Slavery and to boost economic mobility and opportunity in the Black community; and be it further
RESOLVED, the Saint Paul Recovery Act Community Reparations Commission, as envisioned, will make significant progress toward repairing the damage caused by public and private systemic racism in the City of Saint Paul, and will issue a report for consideration by the city, which will focus on but not be limited to strategies to grow equity and generational wealth, closing the gaps in home ownership, health care, education, employment and pay, and fairness within criminal justice among the American descendants of chattel slavery.
Title
Establishing the Saint Paul City Council Legislative Advisory Committee on Reparations.
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WHEREAS, the Saint Paul City Council adopted Resolution 21-77 on January 13, 2021 committing to racial healing through the exploration of reparations for American descendants of Chattel Slavery Living in Saint Paul; and
WHEREAS, Resolution 21-77 specifically
- apologized and committed to making amends for –
- its participation in and sanctioning of institutional racism against the American descendants of chattel slavery
- Dred Scott being held in bondage at Fort Snelling and its enforcement of institutional racism and its accompanying discriminatory practices
- allowing the construction of Interstate 94 to destroy a vibrant Black community and successful Black businesses
- called on other to take action, including –
- all organizations and institutions in Saint Paul that have advanced and benefited from racial inequity to join the city in these apologies and invites them to address racism within their own structures and programs and to work with the city to more comprehensively address systemic racism
- the State of Minnesota and our federal delegation to initiate policymaking and provide funding for reparations at the state and national level
- committed to establish a Legislative Advisory Committee –
- to use its authority to establish, within the next six months, a legislative advisory committee to work with the Administration to create the roles and responsibilities for a new city commission to be known as the Saint Paul Recovery Act Community Reparations Commission
- described the role of the Saint Paul Recovery Act Community Reparations Commission which
- shall be empowered to make short, medium and long-term recommendations to specifically address the creation of generational wealth for the American Descendants of Chattel Slavery and to boost economic mobility and opportunity in the Black community
- will make significant progress toward repairing the damage caused by public and private systemic racism in the City of Saint Paul, and
- will issue a report for consideration by the city, which will focus on but not be limited to strategies to grow equity and generational wealth, closing the gaps in home ownership, health care, education, employment and pay, and fairness within criminal justice among the American descendants of chattel slavery
WHEREAS, under Section 3.01.8 of the City Charter, the Council has the authority to establish a legislative advisory committee for no longer than one year to bring forward policy and legislative recommendations for Council consideration on reparations; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, the Saint Paul City Council establishes the Saint Paul Reparations Legislative Advisory Committee effective June 19, 2021 - also known as Juneteenth, the day which honors the end to slavery in the United States and is considered the longest-running African American holiday; and be it further
RESOLVED, the Saint Paul City Council appoints Veronica Burt, Trahern Crews and Yohuru Williams as conveners of the Reparations Legislative Advisory Committee; and be it further
RESOLVED, the Saint Paul City Council appoints Theresa Cunningham, Lynette Harris, Amber Jones, Benjamin Mchie, Nick Muhammad, Jessica Nickrand, Jose Perez, Khulia Pringle, Vic Rosenthal and Jerry Thomas as members of the Reparations Legislative Advisory Committee; and be it further
RESOLVED, the Saint Paul City Council determines it is in the public interest to provide a nominal stipend to support to these community advisors who bring valuable perspectives and whose presence builds public trust, ensures transparency and accountability; and be it further
RESOLVED, the Saint Paul City Council establishes a $50 stipend per meeting for the advisory committee conveners and members which is intended to help defray expenses associated with providing service to the committee for their time and effort spent participating; and be it further
RESOLVED, the Saint Paul City Council will provide professional and clerical staff support to the work of the Reparations Legislative Advisory Committee; and be it further
RESOLVED, the Saint Paul City Council charges the committee with developing the policy proposals and enabling legislative proposals for the establishment of the Saint Paul Recovery Act Community Reparations Commission - whose mission it will be to recommend actions to address the creation of generational wealth for the American Descendants of Chattel Slavery and boost economic mobility and opportunity in the Black community; and be in finally
RESOLVED, the Saint Paul City Council requests a written report from the Reparations Legislative Advisory Committee no later than Friday June 10, 2022, which shall be presented to the City Council Wednesday June 15, 2022 at 10AM and the Reparations Legislative Advisory Committee disbanded thereafter.
