Tonight, the Fayetteville City Council is set to vote on a reparations resolution for African Americans. Councilmember DeAndre Jones introduced the measure and drafted it with the help of community activist Lowell Taylor. The resolution is to train leaders to repair harm done to African Americans in Fayetteville.
Taylor, who is the host of KUAF-produced podcast “The R Word” about reparations, racial justice, and the church, said this resolution is a continuation of efforts the city council agreed to adopt in 2020.
“There was a resolution that was brought before council. It was unanimously approved, 8-0, and in that resolution we as a community admitted that racism is a problem,” he said. “We called it a public health emergency and we committed to take action. There was actually some verbiage in the resolution that suggested we would ‘name reverse and repair harm done to African-Americans in Fayetteville’ and then there were 16 commitments that were made. Commitment number four was to write a racial equity action plan…here we are in 2024 and some of those commitments have not been followed through.”
Taylor said the proposed training would be with Evanston, Illinois-based First Repair, which works with city governments and other groups working to establish local reparations legislation across the U.S.
“We’re suggesting that we gather for a virtual training in the second quarter of 2025, a live training in Fayetteville in the third quarter, and a live training in Evanston in the fourth quarter,” Taylor said. “This resolution gives us an opportunity to learn how to prepare ourselves to write a racial equity action plan: First, we’d ask the question, what’s the harm that’s been done to African-Americans in our community? We think about our past together and then we look to the future and ask ourselves in light of that harm, how might we collectively repair and hopefully heal?”
The resolution asks for two city employees to attend the trainings for the total cost of $6,000. Taylor said First Repair has agreed to waive program fees, and the money would only go toward transportation and lodging for participants.
“The city has a general budget north of $75 million for 2025,” he said. “So we’re asking for like pennies on pennies on pennies. So the question is not, is the money available? Do we have it? We got it. It’s $6,000… I think the question is, do we want to do it? And if we do, the money is not the problem.”
Taylor said while he has not heard direct opposition from any council members, he knows the issue of reparations is controversial.
“Reparations is a curse word,” he said. “It’s not popular, especially among white Americans.”
A poll from the Pew Research Center found that about 30% of white Americans support reparations while some 70% are opposed.
“This resolution is not the only way to do racial justice or even to repair,” Taylor said. “But I think it does beg the question, if we say no to this, what will we say yes to?”
The Fayetteville City Council meets the first and third Tuesday of the month, beginning at 5:30 p.m. Agendas and meeting minutes are available on the city’s website.
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