St. Paul joins handful of cities moving towards reparations for descendants of slaves
A resolution apologizes for the area s role in slavery and systemic racism and greenlights a commission to study reparations for descendants of slaves in St. Paul
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City of St. Paul
St. Paul has joined a handful of cities taking steps towards issuing reparations for descendants of slaves.
The City Council passed a resolution earlier this month to form a commission within the next six months to study how the process of issuing reparations might work.
The resolution also outlined and apologized for the City Council s participation in and sanctioning of institutional racism, citing the illegal holding of slaves at Fort Snelling and the construction of I-94 through the predominantly black Rondo neighborhood, as well as redlining, racial covenants, inequitable access to housing and environmental injustice.
Memorial Episcopal Church of Baltimore, Maryland. | Facebook/Memorial Episcopal Church
An Episcopal church in Maryland has announced that it will be donating $500,000 to reparations and social justice organizations over the next five years.
Memorial Episcopal Church of Baltimore released a statement on Monday announcing that the funds would go into the Guy T. Hollyday Memorial Justice and Reparations Initiative.
The initiative’s namesake, Hollyday, was an activist who campaigned on behalf of issues including civil rights, environmentalism, and the LGBT movement.
The funds will go to various organizations that focus on housing inequality, education, civic involvement, and environmental issues.
According to the statement, the decision to fund these organizations as reparations derived from the knowledge that the church had a history of being supported by slave-owners.
Churches embracing reparations
NEW YORK The Episcopal Diocese of Texas acknowledges that its first bishop in 1859 was a slaveholder. An Episcopal church in New York City erects a plaque noting the building s creation in 1810 was made possible by wealth resulting from slavery.
And the Minnesota Council of Churches cites a host of injustices from mid-19th century atrocities against Native Americans to police killings of Black people in launching a first-of-its kind truth and reparations initiative engaging its 25 member denominations.
These efforts reflect a widespread surge of interest among many U.S. religious groups in the area of reparations, particularly among long-established Protestant churches that were active in the era of slavery. Many are initiating or considering how to make amends through financial investments and long-term programs benefiting African Americans.
Reparations after Rosewood Massacre a model, descendants say
Floridaâs measures to repair the harm done in the majority-Black enclave of Rosewood have begun to be noticed.
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In this May 4, 2004, photo, living survivor of the 1923 violence in Rosewood, Fla., Robie Allenetta Mortin, is comforted by Florida Rep. Ed Jennings Jr. after he unveiled the Rosewood, Florida Historical marker at a dedication ceremony. [ DOUG FINGER | AP ]
By ADELLE M. BANKS, Religion News Service
Published Dec. 24, 2020
Updated Dec. 24, 2020
As each new year approaches, Ebony Pickett looks back to the dark history of the massacre that began in the little-known majority-Black enclave in Rosewood, Fla., on Jan. 1, 1923.