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Date: 3/17/2022
AMHERST – The Amherst Town Council is continuing efforts for social equity as they look to a home-rule petition through the state Legislature to allow and create a reparations initiative for Black residents.
In a 12-0 vote from councilors during their March 7 meeting, the Town Council will work with its legislative delegation, including state Rep. Mindy Domb and state Sen. Jo Comerford in filing special legislation so money and other benefits can be given out to people of African heritage. The effort is aimed at ending structural racism and achieving racial equity in Amherst.
“This is a tool for distributing benefits for when the time comes,” said District 1 Councilor Michele Miller, who has worked close with the African Heritage Reparations Assembly (AHRA) and other social equity groups in town. “Working with this group for the past six months has been one of the most humbling and rewarding experiences in my life.”
Miller added the idea for the legislation is to define reparations as a public purpose. This was suggested by town counsel at KP Law, who recommended three paths to successfully create a reparations initiative. The public purpose path is the only way to benefit a special minority population according to KP Law’s recommendations.
Miller wrote in a memo to the Town Council that drafting a home-rule petition is “perhaps the most direct process, and that which, in my opinion, is most protective of the town and the work it wants to do.”
Prior to the vote, members of the AHRA spoke to the Town Council to serve as a reminder to councilors of the resolution adopted by the previous town council. The resolution made clear the town would be making efforts to be focused on the racial equity gap that exists in the community and how white supremacy causes physiological harm.
Assembly member Alexis Reed told the Town Council that sharing space without sharing power is tokenization, and half of the town’s Black population is living under the poverty line. Reed has lived in Amherst her entire life.
“Anti-Blackness permeates every aspect of a Black person’s life starting from the moment they take their very first breath to the moment they take their very last,” Reed said. She added some examples of her own experiences where she has seen social injustice first hand as a child growing up in town.
Reed explained a situation where she was in an African-American literature class at Amherst Regional High School in 2009 when a majority of white students and a white teacher were using the n-word when reading certain literature for class. When Reed and other Black students spoke up and suggested learning would not be compromised by avoiding the use of the racial slur, the teacher put a vote up for the class to decide.
Reed shared this personal story to share while the intent of having an African American literature class was important, the discomfort of Black students was put to the side.
“The harm is consistent and persistent, it’s often unintended, but I hope that we are really committed to unpacking that,” added assembly member Hala Lord.
The Town Council created their resolution in December 2020, affirming the town’s commitment to ending structural racism and achieve racial equity for Black residents. The affirmation also acknowledged a report from the Reparations for Amherst group that documented harms that have occurred in town, from racist and bad faith deed covenants to incidents in the public schools.
Last June, the Town Council voted to establish a reparation fund and to create the AHRA and $206,000 has been put into the fund since it was established.
Amherst has modeled their reparations after Evanston, IL, which this year is offering qualified households to receive up to $25,000 for down payments or home repairs. The Evanston model and early success has given the town a measuring stick in making reparations a reality for Black community members.
“It’s essential that the town prioritize activities that will ensure reparation benefits can legally be distributed and provide the most possible agency and flexibility with respect to reparative initiatives chosen by the African-American/Black community,” Miller’s memo wrote.
The other options for reparations will also be looked at but focus is on establishing the home-rule petition as the other options could lead to more people than intended receiving reparation dollars. One option would be funding a community development corporation to provide and develop affordable housing for low- and moderate-income families while the other option is contributing to a nonprofit organization that aids targeted communities. Neither of these allow for only Black people to receive the assistance which is the main goal of establishing a reparations fund.