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X%.11J 20 - 073
<br /> ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
<br /> RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF REPARATIONS FOR BLACK/AFRICAN AMERICANS
<br /> WHEREAS , on December 6 , 1865 , the United States Congress ratified the 13th Amendment to the
<br /> Constitution thus abolishing slavery in the United States , stating : "Neither slavery nor involuntary
<br /> servitude , except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted , shall
<br /> exist within the United States , or any place subject to their jurisdiction" , and
<br /> h subsequent Constitutional Amendments , civil rights
<br /> WHEREAS , the 13th Amendment, along wit
<br /> legislation and voting rights acts have sought to recognize and establish equality for people of the
<br /> Black African diaspora who had been unjustly enslaved and oppressed prior to and since the
<br /> founding of the United States of America; and
<br /> WHEREAS , Black/African Americans nevertheless have been segregated, marginalized ,
<br /> disenfranchised, wrongfully incarcerated and lynched through intentional policies and practices
<br /> including Jim Crow laws , racial terror and the exception clause in the 13th Amendment; and
<br /> WHEREAS , Black/African Americans have been denied equal access to education and skills
<br /> development, healthcare, housing, mortgages , neighborhoods , job opportunities and advancement,
<br /> government grant and loan programs for farms and businesses , and equal rights and equal protections
<br /> under the law; and
<br /> WHEREAS , since the desegregation of schools , Black/African American students still are denied
<br /> access to quality learning, are directed away from advanced courses , and face disciplinary actions
<br /> at a disproportionate rate from white counterparts ; and
<br /> WHEREAS , as evidenced in morbidity/mortality rates , Black/African Americans have worse health
<br /> outcomes due to the effects of systemic racism including poor access to quality healthcare and access to
<br /> health insurance, higher rates of poverty, increased likelihood of living in a polluted environment, more
<br /> stress and sometimes biased treatment by medical professionals ; and
<br /> WHEREAS , Black/African Americans have been and continue to be unjustly targeted, mistreated
<br /> and abused by law enforcement and the criminal justice system ; and
<br /> WHEREAS , systemic racism in America, which originated over 400 years ago and has evolved
<br /> and persists to the present day, has manifested itself as a specific trauma within Black/African
<br /> Americans and the Black experience, and has affected American society as a whole ;
<br /> NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED , that the Orange County Board of County
<br /> Commissioners , on behalf of the people of Orange County, affirms the dignity and humanity of all
<br /> people , regardless of race, ethnicity, national origin, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity,
<br /> gender expression, ability, religion or creed ; and
<br /> BE IT RESOLVED , that Orange County apologizes for its role in the enslavement of
<br /> Black/African American people, its enforcement of segregation, its promotion of prejudicial
<br /> policies , and its implementation of discriminatory and detrimental practices and procedures ; and
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