EXPLORATORY COMMITTEE ON REPARATIONS

The Washtenaw County Racial Equity Office has convened a committee of subject matter experts and industry leaders to explore the possibility of economic and social reparations to those in Washtenaw County who experience the on-going, compounded, negative, impact of the institution of American slavery. 

The project is expected to span the course of two years. The first year will be spent researching the impact of compounded harm caused by systemic racism in the county and what other municipalities across the country are doing. 

The committee is exploring the ways in which Washtenaw County can make measurable, strategic investments and craft policy that may undo some of the compounded harm caused by the long-term effects of American slavery. 

The committee will spend the second year developing a set of recommendations to bring before the Board of Commissioners for consideration. The committee is made up of leaders from several sectors including economic development, housing, education and academia, health care, local government, non-profit, law enforcement and arts and culture.

The committee meets monthly and is expected to present partial findings to the Board of Commissioners at the conclusion of year-one of the project. 


LEARN MORE ABOUT REPARATIONS

Harvard Medical School Study: Reparations for Black American descendants of persons enslaved in the U.S. and their potential impact on SARS-CoV-2 transmission

COVID-19’s Impact on Ypsilanti’s Residents of Color

Podcast: A City's Step Towards Reparations

Listen to how the city of Evanston, Illinois became one of the first in the U.S. to pass and implement a reparations policy.

The Case for Reparations

Ta-Nehesi Coates' now infamous article makes a strong case.

Why We Need Reparations for Black Americans

The Brookings Institute provides a general overview through a historic and policy-based lens.

U.N. Rights Chief: "Reparations Needed for People Facing Racism"

From the AP- "The U.N. human rights chief, in a landmark report launched after the killing of George Floyd in the United States, is urging countries worldwide to do more to help end discrimination, violence and systemic racism against people of African descent and “make amends” to them — including through reparations."