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HomeMy WebLinkAboutBill No. 22-61 A Resolution Calling for Reparatory Justice BILL NO. 22-61 DEC 1 4 2022 � I DAWN M.JONES RESOLUTION NO. 4996-22 CITY CLERK. SOUTH BEND, IN A RESOLUTION OF THE COMMON COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SOUTH BEND, INDIANA, CALLING FOR REPARATORY JUSTICE WHEREAS, the South Bend Common Council acknowledges that the 1851 Indiana State Constitution expressly outlawed African Americans from residing in the State of Indiana; and WHEREAS, the South Bend Common Council acknowledges that the 1851 Indiana State Constitution, Article 13, Section 1 reads: "No negro or mulatto shall come into or settle in the State, after the adoption of this Constitution"; and WHEREAS,the South Bend Common Council acknowledges that one of the earliest African American families to reside in the City did so illegally when, in 1858, Farrow and Rebecca Powell permanently settled; and WHEREAS, the South Bend Common Council acknowledges that in the early 20th Century, African Americans escaping racial violence in the Jim Crow South migrated to the City in search of jobs as laborers, domestic workers, factory workers, service workers, among other fields; and WHEREAS,the South Bend Common Council acknowledges that African American migrants built resilient communities in a racially segregated City of South Bend despite terrible challenges; and WHEREAS,the South Bend Common Council acknowledges that according to The Chicago Tribune in 1923, the Ku Klux Klan drove an estimated 1,000 African American residents from South Bend with threats of violence; and WHEREAS,the South Bend Common Council acknowledges from the 1930s until the 1950s, the City and local companies disposed of wasted hazardous materials in the LaSalle Park Neighborhood, one of the few communities where African Americans could live due to racial discrimination in housing and employment; and WHEREAS,the South Bend Common Council acknowledges that harmful toxins such as asbestos, plating and paint wastes, solvents and oils, and arsenic-contaminated foundry sand have been disposed of in this community; and WHEREAS,the South Bend Common Council acknowledges that Beck's Lake and surrounding residential areas in the LaSalle Park Neighborhood were listed on the United States Environmental Protection Agency's National Priorities List(NPL), which lists"sites of national priority among the known releases or threatened releases of hazardous substances,pollutants, or contaminants throughout the United States and its territories"; and WHEREAS,the South Bend Common Council acknowledges that in Westside communities where African Americans and other disadvantaged groups are concentrated, there exists hazardous lead contamination in a neglected and aged housing stock; and WHEREAS,the South Bend Common Council acknowledges that the history of racist redlining practices and divestment from Black communities has led to the loss of roughly a billion dollars in property value from South Bend relative to what existed in 1930, according to a financial analysis by Urban3—a private consulting firm specializing in land value economics, property tax analysis and community design—conducted at the request of the City of South Bend; and WHEREAS,the South Bend Common Council acknowledges that the COVID-19 Pandemic further unearthed significant racial disparities in the City that are rooted in a history of racism; and WHEREAS,the South Bend Common Council recognizes that this history of racist torture,physical, mental, economic and environmental abuse and coercion was tolerated by local, state, and federal law; and WHEREAS,the trauma and damage caused by these heinous acts continue to deleteriously affect African Americans and other people of color in the City of South Bend; and WHEREAS, the trauma and damage caused by these heinous acts will continue to cause egregious harm to those affected unless the City of South Bend and other municipal bodies enact reparatory justice to mitigate the harm; and WHEREAS,the South Bend Common Council acknowledges that the City has a history of complicity in racist practices; and WHEREAS,the South Bend Common Council recognizes that today it faces an opportunity to make historic and"once-in-a-generation"investments in affected communities as unprecedented levels of federal funding have come to the City; and WHEREAS,the City of South Bend must officially acknowledge the harm that occurred in the City and resolve to never allow such acts to go undeterred,unpunished, and unaddressed ever again. NOW, THEREFORE,BE IS RESOLVED, by the Common Council of the City of South Bend, Indiana, as follows: Section I.The Common Council hereby issues a formal apology to the LaSalle Park Neighborhood, African Americans, and other affected individuals and communities on behalf of the City of South Bend for the violations and harm incurred by these practices. Section II. The Common Council hereby recommends a Truth and Reconciliation Commission made up of representatives and members of affected communities be established to be responsible for advising the City on how to make financial reparations to impacted communities. Section III. The Common Council hereby encourages the City to target investment into institutions and programs that provide affordable housing,psychological counseling, health care services, and vocational training to impacted communities, their family members and others affected by aforementioned practices. Section IV. The Common Council hereby calls on the South Bend Community School Corporation to work with the City around reparatory justice efforts for impacted communities and to incorporate into its curriculum a history lesson about the experiences of African Americans in South Bend and their efforts to hold those at fault accountable and to seek reparatory justice for affected communities. Section V.The Common Council hereby commits to supporting the creation of public memorials that memorialize African American history in the City. Section VI. The Common Council hereby calls on the City to develop a detailed plan to set aside a significant portion of federal American Rescue Plan and Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act dollars to fund institutions and programs designated by impacted communities that provide affordable housing, psychological counseling, health care services, and vocational training to impacted communities,their family members and others affected by said practices. Section VII This resolution shall become effective upon the date of passage. Dated this 9th day of January 2023. Approved this 9th Day January 2023 Sharon McBride, President, South Bend Common Council Attest: Dawn M. Jones, City Clerk Presented by me, the undersigned Clerk of the City of South Bend, to the Mayor of the City of South Bend, Indiana on the day of January 2023 at_o'clock . m. Dawn M. Jones, City Clerk Office of the City Clerk Approved and Signed by me, on the day of January 2023, at_o'clock . m. James Mueller, Mayor City of South Bend r1(, r. , , 'ark's ri`fice KC 14 7022 1 DAWN M.JONES CITY CLERK,SOUTH BEND,IN