St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter said that he will pay reparations to Black residents of St. Paul and not just talk about doing it. Carter was one of the founding members who helped to launch the group, Mayors Organized for Reparations and Equity (MORE).
The group’s “aim is to set an example for the federal government on how a nationwide program could work.” Mayor Carter is one of eleven mayors nationwide who have pledged to do so.
Today, alongside mayors from communities across our nation, we launched Mayors Organized for Reparations and Equity. I’m proud to serve as a founding member with fellow leaders who are united in our commitment to this vital work. Learn more at https://t.co/jBmmwMr0Mb
— Mayor Melvin Carter (@MayorCarter) June 18, 2021
The website for the MORE organization reads, “Racial inequality in America was cemented and institutionalized for generations when restitution was denied to survivors of chattel slavery and human bondage – with their descendants stripped of the uniquely American promise of self-empowerment through legally-enforced oppression, segregation, and discrimination officially sanctioned in both the public and private sectors.”
While the St. Paul City Council passed a resolution in January that approved the creation of a Slavery Reparations Committee, not much has been done to advance the cause yet. As reported by The Minnesota Sun, “the main goal of the committee is to ‘make significant progress toward repairing the damage caused by public and private systemic racism in the City of Saint Paul.’”
According to KSTP, the mayors haven’t released any details regarding how this program will be implemented, how much it will cost, or who it will benefit. The individual cities will be expected to figure out those details on their own, with each city having a commission comprised of different local Black-led organizations to advise the mayors on how the programs should be implemented.
The MORE website states that all mayors who join agree to develop three initiatives. One of those says that the city will: “When funding is identified, and in consultation with the committee/commission, lead development and implementation of a pilot reparations program targeted at a cohort of Black residents. Though these local programs would vary in style and scope and be considered very modest in the context of the $12 trillion in federal spending that is estimated to be required to close the Black/White wealth gap, they would serve as high-profile demonstrations for how the country can more quickly move from conversation to action on reparations for Black Americans.”
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Hayley Tschetter is a reporter with The Minnesota Sun | Star News Network and The College Fix. She graduated with a degree in Communications from the University of Northwestern-St. Paul. Send news tips to [email protected].
