HomeMy WebLinkAboutPress Release 12-14-2022 Henry Davis, JR Statement on Reparation
Henry Davis, JR.
2nd District Council Member
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227 W. Jefferson Blvd. Rm. 441 Office: (574) 235-5983 FAX: (574) 235-9173
County-City Building South Bend, IN Voicemail: (574) 235-5983 TDD: (574) 235-5567
46601- 1830 Email:.HDAVIS@SOUTHBENDIN.GOV
FROM: COUNCILMEMBER HENRY DAVIS JR.
SUBJECT: COUNCILMEMBER DAVIS JR. STATEMENT
DATE: MONDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2022
CONTACT: COUNCILMEMBER HENRY DAVIS, JR.,
HDAVIS@SOUTHBENDIN.GOV, 574-300-5241
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Councilman Henry Davis Jr., Activists and Community Members Calling for Reparations
December 14, 2022 - Councilman Henry Davis Jr. filed a resolution this morning calling for reparatory
justice for African-Americans.
“In the City of South Bend, we have a long, documented history of redlining, racial segregation, and
divestment from Black and working-class communities, and now is the time to change the city’s course,”
said Councilman Henry Davis Jr., representing South Bend’s 2nd District. “The upcoming ‘Undersign the
Redline’ event only confirms what many in our community have been saying: ‘We’re systematically locked
out; opportunities are scarce; and we need a kind of bold leadership in government that values and invests
in Black people, Black children, Black futures, and other historically marginalized peoples.”
Councilman Davis began working on this resolution with activists and community members back in early
April when members of Black Lives Matter South Bend requested a legislative response to their Black
History Month event on the need for reparations in South Bend, an event co-sponsored by the Accomplice
Project at the University of Notre Dame.
“South Bend’s Black community faces tremendous challenges related to clean, safe and affordable housing,
wealth and income inequality, education, mental and reproductive health, and environmental justice,” said
Jorden Giger, Co-Founder of Black Lives Matter South Bend. “Despite the massive influx of nearly $60
million dollars in federal American Rescue Plan (ARP) funding poured into city coffers, the city has failed
to produce a comprehensive affordable housing plan for vulnerable communities. Black people in South
Bend have been patient long enough; for over 150 years.”
This resolution comes before South Bend Common Council members, the administration and the
community at large in the spirit of collaboration and reparatory justice. While a resolution is non-legally
binding, it can effectively promote conversation about healing and repair. The passage of this resolution
will connect the City of South Bend to other communities across the country, and the world, that are
working to create reparations programs for redress.
Councilman Davis and community members will hold a press conference calling for council support for
this resolution on Thursday, December 15th at 1 PM outside of the Charles Black Center, where toxic
dumping took place for decades.
Councilman Henry Davis Jr., 2nd District, City of South Bend