I’ve been wondering about how effective reparations might be structured, and it appears that a city in North Carolina has decided to charge ahead and do what it can:
In an extraordinary move, the Asheville City Council has apologized for the North Carolina city’s historic role in slavery, discrimination and denial of basic liberties to Black residents and voted to provide reparations to them and their descendants.
The 7-0 vote came the night of July 14. …
The unanimously passed resolution does not mandate direct payments. Instead it will make investments in areas where Black residents face disparities.
“The resulting budgetary and programmatic priorities may include but not be limited to increasing minority home ownership and access to other affordable housing, increasing minority business ownership and career opportunities, strategies to grow equity and generational wealth, closing the gaps in health care, education, employment and pay, neighborhood safety and fairness within criminal justice,” the resolution reads. [USA Today]
I think reparations will have to come from both the highest levels and the lowest levels, and Asheville is leading the way in the latter category. Why the lowest? Because some areas have ongoing dissimilar outcomes, racially speaking, that must addressed locally. For example, I hope the issue of property taxes reparations is assessed – but that can only be properly performed locally, because the corrections may have differing sources.
I’ll be fascinated to see how we continue to treat this most important of issues – and who sets up a mighty howl when they begin to realize that taxes must go up, not only to cover the costs of making it through the pandemic, but for these reparations for the very unjust way the black community has been treated in the United States.
I’ve lived in a safe Democratic district these days, and have only once seen a Republican challenger come through to chat. I’m hoping to see one this year, and when they say they’re for lower taxes, I’ll just say, “Why?”
