The Orange County Board of Commissioners met Monday night to pass a resolution on reparations, elect new members to the board and listen to public response over the proposed Buc-ee’s gas station on Interstate 85.
Reparations for African Americans
The BOCC passed a resolution by a vote of 6-1 in support of reparations for African Americans, Black people and descendants of slaves in the Orange County community. Commissioner Earl McKee voted against the resolution, citing uncertainty in the costs of the resolution and its amendments.
The resolution states Orange County apologizes for its role in the enslavement of Black and African American people and commits the BOCC to work toward the elimination of racial bias, individual racism and structural racism.
“This is the anniversary of the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment, which abolished slavery in the United States," Price said at the meeting. "Here we are, decades later, still dealing with the repercussions of slavery."
The resolution also calls on North Carolina to take a more active role in enacting policies to begin the reparation process and the federal government to implement policies that eliminate the racial wealth gap, establish a program to provide a universal basic income and increase the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour or higher.
“A resolution like this is really important to remind us of American history and how it was built on the exploitation of people, especially African American people and people of African descent," commissioner Jean Hamilton said at the meeting.
The resolution helps fulfill the Orange County Social Justice goals of fostering a community that rejects oppression and inequality and enables full civic participation. Read the full resolution.
Newly elected and re-elected commissioners
