Decatur approves reparations task force, apologizes to Black residents

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The Decatur Courthouse.

DECATUR, Ga. - The city of Decatur has taken a big step toward reparations for African-American residents who suffered historical discrimination in the area.

At a meeting on Monday, the Decatur City Commission unanimously adopted a resolution to create the Decatur Reparations Task Force to begin compiling records and develop policy recommendations.

The backstory:

Last year, city leaders unanimously approved a contract with the Beacon Hill Black Alliance for Human Rights for reparations research work, which officials said helped to "uncover the legacy of racial harm in the City of Decatur."

In the time since the contact was authorized, officials say the group has held community gatherings and listening sessions to hear directly from residents of the Beacon Hill community.

In the new resolution, the city pointed to the area's history of slavery, segregation, redlining, and property seizures.

The resolution also pointed to Confederate monuments formerly located near the DeKalb County Courthouse and other parts of the city.

What we know:

In the next 60 days, the city commission will appoint 11 members recommended by the Beacon Hill Black Alliance for Human Rights to take part in the task force. These members will include historians, legal experts, youth representatives, and more.

The group will then compile records of Black land and property loss, examine economic displacement and legalized discrimination, and interview descendants affected by the city's policies.

While doing the research, the task force will also begin developing recommendations on how to address the harm and "propose city-sponsored memorialization projects, economic equity tools, and investment strategies, and support community-based initiatives to address the racial disparities," the resolution says.

What they're saying:

As part of the resolution, the city formally acknowledged its history.

"The City of Decatur formally acknowledges its past role in the systemic oppression of people of African descent through enslavement, human trafficking, convict-labor, discriminatory zoning and development, underinvestment in African American communities, school segregation, racially biased policing, the destruction of African American-owned property, businesses, and institutions and the displacement and erasure of the Beacon Hill community, people and culture," the resolution reads.

 City officials also apologized for its role in enslaving, trafficking, and oppressing Black residents.

"The City extends a full and public apology to the Black residents of Decatur—past and present— and their descendants, for its role in perpetuating discrimination, oppression, subjugation and the resulting harms, profiting from policies rooted in the system of white supremacy."

Dig deeper:

Decatur is not the only part of metro Atlanta examining reparations for some descendants of enslaved people.

In Fulton County, a Reparations Task Force has been working since the Fulton County Board of Commissioners approved a measure in 2023. That task force has temporarily paused meetings while members work on a report about the impact of slavery and Jim Crow laws on residents, but officials say meetings are expected to resume some time in 2025.

What's next:

The task force will hold its first meeting within 60 days after seven to nine members of the group are confirmed.

It will then issue reports annually with the final report coming within three years.