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15 <br /> Consequently, many Black veterans returning from the wars were unable to benefit from the GI <br /> Bills VA loans. Redlining, blockbusting, restrictive covenants, predatory contract sales practices <br /> all served to deprive Black people of building economic wealth, and kept neighborhoods racially <br /> segregated. Today, the average net worth of white families and black families continues to be <br /> disproportionate. <br /> The proposed Resolution in support of Reparations for Black/African Americans is seen as a <br /> way forward to address and give redress to the unfulfilled promises in the Constitution of the <br /> United States "that all men are created equal," and to the subsequent Amendments, including <br /> the 131"for the government to use its authority to remove all badges and incidents of slavery so <br /> that Black people can enjoy the full complements of rights of citizenship. <br /> Commissioner Dorosin said he is grateful this resolution is being brought forward. He <br /> said the 13t" amendment abolished slavery, but it also included an exception for those convicted <br /> of a crime, which has enslaved people of color in a different way. <br /> Commissioner Hamilton said this resolution is important to remind everyone of American <br /> history, and how it was built on the exploitation of people, particularly those of African descent. <br /> She said this exploitation has continued and is embedded in many institutions, leading to many <br /> disparities in outcomes. She said resolutions are words, and actions are just as important. <br /> Annette Moore, Human Rights and Relations Director, said she is honored to be <br /> employed by Orange County, and thanked the BOCC for bringing this issue to the table. She <br /> reviewed the Board's commitment to addressing racism, as well as the history of ongoing <br /> systemic racism throughout the country, which is in direct conflict with the 131" amendment. She <br /> said the 13t" amendment made a promise of reparations. She asked the BOCC to pass the <br /> resolution. <br /> Chair Price read the resolution below: <br /> RES-2020-073 <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 <br /> the Constitution thus abolishing slavery in the United States, stating: "Neither slavery nor <br /> involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly <br /> convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction"; and <br /> WHEREAS, the 13th Amendment, along with subsequent Constitutional Amendments, civil <br /> rights legislation and voting rights acts have sought to recognize and establish equality for <br /> people of the Black African diaspora who had been unjustly enslaved and oppressed prior to <br /> and since the 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 <br /> advancement, government grant and loan programs for farms and businesses, and equal rights <br /> and equal protections under the law; and <br />