November 12th 2023.
The City of Atlanta is taking a creative approach to reparations, as Georgia law prohibits the city from making cash payments to individuals. On November 6th, the Atlanta City Council included an item on its agenda to create a task force to explore reparations.
Leading the effort is Michael Julian Bond, the son of famed Civil Rights leader Julian Bond. He believes that the possibilities are endless. “We’re creatures of the state,” he says, “so we’re limited in our power and authority. But there have been wrongs that have been committed and are well documented.”
The task force, known as the “City of Atlanta Reparations Study Commission,” will investigate the city’s historical involvement in discrimination against African American residents and offer suggestions for suitable reparations. It coincides with efforts from Fulton County to determine recommendations for reparations, as well as a program in Evanstown, Illinois, to give Black residents access to better housing.
Merchuria Williams, who moved to Atlanta in 1965 to attend Spelman College, spoke during a public council meeting in October. “People of African descent who are citizens in this city are due restitution for wrongs done and opportunities blocked,” she said.
Dr. Cynthia Spence, a reparations expert and professor at Spelman College, further explains that reparations can take many forms other than cash payments. “Those outcomes have included things like reducing property taxes, providing monetary payments to Black individuals to help with housing, and educational access,” she says. “Universities have been involved in this reparations work.”
Michael Julian Bond emphasizes that the committee can study the effects of discrimination and make their recommendation. He suggests down payment assistance, incentive programs for small businesses, or any number of things that have disproportionately affected Black people in Atlanta. “This isn’t a new idea,” he says, “it can happen, it’s been done before and it was actually a promise that was made that was not delivered upon.”
The reparations discussion is long overdue, and the City of Atlanta is taking important steps to provide reparations to its citizens. Dr. Cynthia Spence concludes, “It’s very complex, but the complexity should not prevent us from actually moving forward because we can all agree that harm was done.” The task force looks to make their recommendations to the City of Atlanta by October 2024.
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