The Olympia City Council is considering a referral study and exploring reparations for the descendants of enslaved African people.
Olympia City Mayor Dontae Payne introduced the study on Tuesday, August 13.
Payne called for the city to draft a resolution urging the state legislature, the governor, Congress, and the Office of the President to create a task force or commission to study and implement reparations for the Black communities impacted by the legacy of slavery.
The resolution also calls for the recognition of the historical injustice of the U.S. government's failure to fulfill its promise of 40 acres and a mule to freed slaves, which the mayor said contributed to the lack of intergenerational wealth in the Black community.
Payne stated that the owners of enslaved people did receive reparations for the 'loss of property' when their enslaved persons were freed. He claimed that some of the descendants of those slave owners who are alive today are still benefiting from the intergenerational wealth that was inherited as a result of their ancestors' participation in the ownership of enslaved people.
"The United States government has a debt to pay. I believe that it is incumbent upon the municipalities and state governments to urge our federal government to do what was promised," the mayor said.
The council agreed to schedule a study session to further discuss the study and how the city's various initiatives can be integrated into the resolution. Additionally, Payne plans to continue stakeholder outreach with community members and organizations to gather input before considering the resolution.
Mayor Pro Tem Yen Huynh, co-sponsoring the study, said they did not want to call for a study on reparations that may not go anywhere. Instead, they wanted to do something meaningful and include "tangible things."
The referral study directs city staff to research possible city-scale actions related to reparations and continue exploring ways the city can support state and federal efforts to study and implement reparations.
Additionally, the study calls for the city to connect its existing Olympia Strong initiatives, plans, and partnerships to its reparations research and examine other cities' actions on this issue.
Councilmember Robert Vanderpool emphasized the importance of local action in paving the way for state and federal efforts.
"If we want the state and federal government to take it seriously, we have to see what we can do locally," Vanderpool said.
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AugieH
If reparations are ever paid, will Dontae be on the payee list?
Friday, August 16, 2024 Report this
Coug66
Please don't go there.
Friday, August 16, 2024 Report this
JulesJames
Why bother with a reason to give out “free” taxpayer money that is 160 years obsolete? Let’s just hand out cash to folks we want to vote our way and not make excuses for the corruption.
Friday, August 16, 2024 Report this
Honestyandrealityguy
Institutional knowledge. Remember that the first legal slave owner, Anthony Johnson was black. He went to court for the right to own another individual. The north did away with slavery after 10. When a white Republican freed the slaves, thousands of black families owned slaves. The natives owned tens of thousands of slaves. Over 300,000 whites gave their lives to end slavery. Should those white decendants get reparations? Institutional knowledge.
Saturday, August 17, 2024 Report this
Claire
Reparations for what? Being black? How about white folks? How about Asians? How about native Americans? Total bullshit.
Saturday, August 17, 2024 Report this
bonaro
This is a hard NO for me.
No person reading this today was ever a slave or slave owner. To hold ancestors responsible for past generations actions, which were legal and accepted in that time, is stupidity. Every culture on tis planet has owned slaves at one time, some still do. We have changed and abolished this practice. It's past time to move on.
When slave reparations were paid to former slave owners in 1862, that amount was equivalent to about $9k in 2023 dollars. How much generational wealth will you be passing on with that amount? Not to mention that these owners were losing property they had bought, housed and fed for many years. Not the case now, at all.
Saturday, August 17, 2024 Report this
hptrillium
I applaud the city council and the mayor for considering reparations for the descendants of slavery. It is a tough complicated issue but one that should be considered. Also there should be reparations for native Americans whose land was stolen from them. From the comments so far a lot of education of the community is also needed.
Saturday, August 17, 2024 Report this
Chappellg
I am shocked at all the negative comments. After 400 yrs of abusive and demeaning slavery whose owners, 95-99% of whom were most likely white, followed by nearly a century of Jim Crow laws, KKK, lynchings, crooked courts and redlining of home ownership, it is no wonder that so many black descendants are poor and continue to suffer the socioeconomic consequences of poverty and maltreatment Now we need to consider adding native Americans to the list of those deserving reparations.
If we treated defeated whites and Japanese after WWII as we did people of color in America we would’ve kept them under our thumbs & never rebuilt their nations. Instead of affluent allies, we would’ve had huge numbers of resentful and defeated enemies.
And of course there are exceptions. Some BIPOC people have risen above the history, and some whites have been mistreated and have fallen into generations of socioeconomic depredation, but a much smaller percentage of the total population.
Saturday, August 17, 2024 Report this
HappyOlympian
Everyone who supports this is free to give their own money to anyone they want. Completely absurd suggesting anyone owes anything for crimes committed elsewhere several generations ago. I am guessing everyone knows there was no slavery here? Is our mayor familiar with the history of our state and this city? Mayor, we elected you to work on the problems that impact our daily lives and commerce. Please focus your efforts, we are a small city with a high poverty rate and many serious needs.
Saturday, August 17, 2024 Report this
RedskinPatriot
The party that instituted segregation in the Federal workforce, the party that "relocated" Japanese descendants in 1942, the party that, "... began passing and implementing legal restrictions such as the poll tax, literacy tests and “grandfather” clauses, effectively disenfranchising much of the new African-American electorate. In addition, the Southern states passed a series of “Jim Crow” laws, which regulated most areas of private and public life". The KKK (Senator Byrd himself and Biden) argued against policies suggest as busing and civil-rights act.
The Democratic party has an ugly history - they should pay first and foremost (not that I believe anyone should - this is a ridiculous notion). In fact, I'm not sure why anyone would be a democrat if they actually studied the history of the party (but, that is a different argument).
Saturday, August 17, 2024 Report this
wolfmanner
Total BS. Vote these Marxists out.
Saturday, August 17, 2024 Report this
WA_Mojo
Dontae - the DEI hire
Saturday, August 17, 2024 Report this
Southsoundguy
Everyone who supports this needs to be run out of town. Seriously, get them out.
Saturday, August 17, 2024 Report this
tattooednumbers
Remember that community survey where over 70% of Olympian’s expressed dissatisfaction in the direction the City was going?!
I’m guessing that this latest move by Mayor & Council would feed into that 70%+ — the City continues to push past and ignore that survey and Mayor is now pushing his own agenda with the power the voters have given him instead of focusing on important hyper-local needs of the City.
Extremism — even in the face of what you think “feels good”, is still extremism and causes a community to become divided and battling against each other. No one wins.
Saturday, August 17, 2024 Report this
Scott_Tompkins
A friend’s father used to say, “Don’t go borrowing other people’s problems; you’ve got enough of your own.” The mayor and city council should focus on the most pressing issues facing Olympians. This isn’t one of those issues.
Saturday, August 17, 2024 Report this
OlyGuy
This city never ceases to amaze me. Let's use city funds, time, and energy on an issue that would need to be studied nationwide and realistically has zero chance of ever being something approved by Congress, let alone all of the challenges that would go to the Supreme Court. The city apparently doesn't have any pressing issues we should focus on that would help the residents of the city. I guess we solved the homeless issue that is only growing, no matter how much money we throw at the failed "housing first" policies.
Saturday, August 17, 2024 Report this
Snevets
I applaud this action and in agreement with hptrillium. The level of ignorance & insensitivity in the comments is beyond understanding.
Saturday, August 17, 2024 Report this
HappyOlympian
suggesting those opposed just need more education amazingly arrogant. Again, feel free to donate money all you like and prove you actually believe what you say. People of higher ethical standards do that all the time - they give to charity, churches, food banks, etc. but do not pass laws requiring that others do the same.
Saturday, August 17, 2024 Report this
JnNwmn
Looks like a hot topic. Let's throw in minimum wage for agricultural workers too.
Saturday, August 17, 2024 Report this
FordPrefect
The irony runs deep. Pay reparations for slavery by going further into debt and expecting our children to carry the burden. More than half of the people in this town will agree to it because they don’t want to be accused of being insensitive, ignorant or uneducated. These same “enlightened” nitwits will keep tapping on their phones blissfully, perhaps deliberately, unaware that there’s a 12 year old artisanal miner in the DRC digging up the stuff that goes inside.
Sunday, August 18, 2024 Report this
rhenda
The astonishing arrogance of a black man sitting on historically Native American land demanding money for his people has me flabbergasted. Nevermind that reparations should be paid by the people who profited from slavery. Nevermind that this is a federal responsibility. Nevermind that our city budget could not provide anything meaningful to repair the generations of injustice. Ignoring Native Americans and including them as people who should be paying the bill is revolting. This white woman knows better. Why doesn't Dante Payne?
Sunday, August 18, 2024 Report this
bonaro
The Egyptians had slaves 5000 years ago...lets tear down all the pyramids...idiot
Monday, August 19, 2024 Report this
Olywelcomesall
I support Mayor Payne’s proposal for a resolution asking Congress to create a Reparations Commission for descendants of the formerly enslaved. Our federal government has a debt to pay for the labor stolen from millions of enslaved people from 1619 to 1865. That justification extends to many more millions severely oppressed for the next century and a half – whether through racist segregation laws or informal discrimination authorities did nothing to stop. Reparations paid directly to individuals or establishing other forms of compensation should be established so that descendants of formerly enslaved can create generational sustained wealth for their families.
Monday, August 19, 2024 Report this
FordPrefect
So where does that money come from if not from the taxpayers’ pockets, increasing the debt, or inflating the currency? How do you create generational, sustained wealth with a reparations payment? How much do you think should be paid in reparations?
Everyone has an opportunity to succeed in the United States. Nobody in this country is a slave, nor were their parents, nor were their grandparents. I am not a slave owner and shouldn’t have my future and our children’s future hobbled by identity politics. There is no oppressors v. the oppressed, black v. white, native v. colonist, or red v. blue…. we are all in this ship together and it’s taking on water. Stop looking for someone to bail you out and get to work. Life is hard.
Monday, August 19, 2024 Report this
Yeti1981
In feudal Europe it was common practice to hold sons responsible for their father's debts. If we pursue this issue, we do so at the risk of sewing more division and inevidibly leaving many folks out who are certainly struggling, but don't quite fit the mold.
Monday, August 19, 2024 Report this
metalFish
We all could practice some self-compassion and understanding that our perspectives are a filter by which we are perceiving this world. Can we be honest with ourselves and tune-in to the fear that we have about the reconciliation with the errors and cruelty of the past? That, when we are accountable to our responsibilities to one another as HUMANS we all benefit. Ask yourself if you are scared of a 'Black' world, as if this is even a serious potential. 'We should all be grateful that [the oppressed] want equality and not revenge.'
Monday, August 19, 2024 Report this
Cobbnaustic
NOPE
Monday, August 19, 2024 Report this
Cobbnaustic
How ya like who you voted for now Oly..
Monday, August 19, 2024 Report this
FordPrefect
Dearest metalFish,
Ignoring your vapid platitudes of internal reflection and accusations of racism for a moment… Would you care to explain what your idea of a reconciliation would look like? How much would it cost? Who would foot the bill? Should the reparations only be covered by white taxpayers? Do you want equality of opportunity or equality of outcome? Is a white baby born today still liable for slavery, colonialism, etc.? How much should the baby have to pay to even the field? And what about their future children? Does the mere fact that I’m a white man imply that I should politely wait at the back of the line for employment, food, public services, tax-breaks, etc.? If yes, define the word “racism” in your own words.
Go ahead, I’m listening…
Monday, August 19, 2024 Report this
Chappellg
If read carefully, I believe the resolution asks the state and federal government to study the concept of reparations. Nobody is asking Olympians to foot the bill but instead the city council is asking that the issue be studied. So all the objectors are afraid of a study which is not an involuntary tax. ! What other imagined demons are you afraid of?
Friday, August 23, 2024 Report this