Tennessee's Shelby County Commission votes to approve reparations resolution

Memphis, Tennessee - Shelby County commissioners in Tennessee have voted to allocate resources to study and develop a reparations plan for Black Americans.

Black Lives Matter protesters rally following the police killing of Tyre Nichols in Memphis, Tennessee.
Black Lives Matter protesters rally following the police killing of Tyre Nichols in Memphis, Tennessee.  © SCOTT OLSON / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / GETTY IMAGES VIA AFP

The resolution calls for Shelby County to set aside $5 million to study and create "actionable items" to address racial disparities across five sectors: housing and homeownership, health care, the legal and carceral systems, employment, and wealth.

"It’s clear something has to be done. That’s all this resolution is trying to do is saying we have to address what’s happening in Shelby County in a different way," said County Commissioner Miska Clay Bibbs, according to the Memphis Commercial Appeal.

"My people are dying on the daily. That’s why I support this," she added.

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Shelby, Tennessee's largest county, encompasses Memphis, where Tyre Nichols was brutally beaten and killed by city police earlier this year.

Black commissioners reject the suggestion that reparations is "un-American"

Marchers demand reparations on the 100th anniversary of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre.
Marchers demand reparations on the 100th anniversary of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre.  © IMAGO / UIG

The vote for the reparations fund was divided along racial lines, with all eight Black county commissioners and all but one Democrat in support.

Commissioner Brandon Morrison, who voted to reject the proposal and is white, claimed it was "un-American in a lot of ways."

"When Black people say look, we want an opportunity to study the situation, to make some differences, to implement five pillars … then all the sudden it’s un-American," countered Commissioner Erika Sugarmon. "Don’t dare say I’m un-American because I support this."

"Five million won’t right the wrongs of the past. It's just not even possible" Clay Bibbs agreed. "All we’re saying is we want to take the opportunity to use this money to put in five different pillars to help what it looks like to be a person of color in Shelby County. That’s it."

Cover photo: SCOTT OLSON / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / GETTY IMAGES VIA AFP

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