Mayors Organized for Reparations and Equity

Coalition of U.S. mayors committed to reparations

Mayors Organized for Reparations and Equity (MORE) is a coalition of U.S. mayors committed to paying reparations to African American citizens of their cities. The association was announced on June 18, 2021, in commemoration of the first federally recognized Juneteenth holiday. Mayors from such large municipalities as Los Angeles, Denver, Sacramento, and Kansas City are part of the coalition, as well as the mayor of the small town of Tullahassee, Oklahoma, with a population of 83.

Mission

The program is aimed at supporting African American descendants of slavery. MORE's mission is to establish small pilot reparations programs in the various member cities which then could serve as models for a proposed future federal program to reduce the racial wealth gap. Member mayors vowed to do this by forming local committees of Black leaders to guide their work. In addition, the group promised to support the Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African-Americans Act (known as H. R. 40), originally introduced in 1989 by U.S. Representative John Conyers and currently sponsored by Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas.

Most of the MORE members stressed that rather than direct payments to individuals, reparations would take the form of investments in communities, programs, and nonprofit organizations. Funding sources for the proposed city-led reparations programs were to be determined; MORE organizers estimate that a true national reparations program could cost $12 trillion.

Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas summed up MORE's mission this way:

"I think when you look at the historic underinvestment of the Black community in America, when you looked at the challenges that we placed upon many of our brothers and sisters, based upon, not just our past with slavery, but segregation, and redlining after that, it is essential that we find an opportunity to address and to right historical wrongs."

He pointed out that existing federal programs often don't succeed in targeting those most in need:

"There is a lot of federal money coming into the states right now, there's a lot of federal money coming into the cities. ... I don't want to see what happened with the PPP program where black-owned businesses, women-owned businesses were saying at the end of it, ... 'We didn't have the accounting help or professional services to actually get access to these loans.' I think as we are talking about trillions and federal spending coming into our cities, we need to make sure that we're targeting communities that need it the most."

History

Mayors Organized for Reparations and Equity was conceived by then-Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, in many ways a response to the Black Lives Matter protests of 2020.

MORE was announced on June 19, 2021, with a membership of 11 mayors: Garcetti of Los Angeles, California; Michael Hancock of Denver, Colorado; Jorge Elorza of Providence, Rhode Island; Steve Adler of Austin, Texas; Steve Schewel of Durham, North Carolina: Esther Manheimer of Asheville, North Carolina: Quinton Lucas of Kansas City; Darrell Steinberg of Sacramento, California; Melvin Carter of Saint Paul, Minnesota; and Keisha Currin of Tullahassee, Oklahoma.

Former Mayors Garcetti and Hancock were co-chairs of MORE, while Michael Tubbs, the former mayor of Stockton, California, was listed as an Emeritus Member. While the mayor of Stockton, Tubbs had led an earlier coalition of 25 mayors, dubbed Mayors for a Guaranteed Income, who had committed to creating guaranteed minimum income programs in their cities "to combat poverty and systemic racism." These programs were to be funded by a mix of public and private funds. In addition to Stockton, other cities in the Tubbs coalition included Los Angeles; Saint Paul; Pittsburgh; Oakland, California; Paterson, New Jersey; Hudson, New York; Mount Vernon, New York; Tacoma, Washington; and Long Beach, California.

Other antecedents to the MORE coalition included reparative actions and commitments by a handful of states and cities:

July 2020 — Asheville, North Carolina City Council "voted to approve reparations in the form of investments in areas of disparity for Black residents."
September 2020 — California established a reparations commission. This action prompted L.A. Mayor Garcetti to conceive of MORE.
January 2021 — Saint Paul, Minnesota, City Council voted 7–0 to create a reparations commission.
March 2021 — Evanston, Illinois became the first city in the United States to pay reparations to African American residents (or their descendants) who were victims of unfair housing practices. The Evanston city council 8 to 1 to approve the reparations, which consisted of a $25,000 payment to African American households that can be used as down payments on their homes, house payments, or for home repairs. This was the initial payment, with plans to distribute 10 million dollars in reparations payments to black residents over the next 10 years. Evanston planned to pay for the program partially through a tax on legal marijuana sales.
March 2021 — The San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted to create an African American Reparations Advisory Committee.
June 15, 2021 — The Detroit City Council voted to create a reparations commission.

Garcetti promised to "double or even triple" MORE's membership by the end of 2021; to date, only one other mayor, Damon Seils of Carrboro, North Carolina, had joined the coalition.

Later developments

In April 2022, MORE member Mayor Tishaura Jones of St. Louis signed a bill allowing voluntary donations to a reparations fund. The bill allows St. Louis residents to donate to the fund in their property tax or water and refuse collection bills. The reparations bill, sponsored by a city alderman, was vague on details about eligibility and the potential disbursements of the funds.

In August 2022, MORE member Mayor Jorge Elorza of Providence proposed a $10 million reparations spending plan for the city, using federal coronavirus relief funds.

In July 2023, Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas created a K.C. Commission on Reparations, with 13 members.

As of November 2023, four individual members of the coalition have left their offices as mayors of their respective cities. In addition, the MORE website no longer functions.

Member mayors

The following is a listing of MORE member mayors:

Mayor	City	State	Party	Note
Eric Garcetti	Los Angeles	California	Democratic	Co-chair
Michael Hancock	Denver	Colorado	Democratic	Co-chair
Tishaura Jones	St. Louis	Missouri	Democratic	Member of MORE coalition board
Keisha Currin	Tullahassee	Oklahoma	Democratic
Jorge Elorza	Providence	Rhode Island	Democratic
Steve Adler	Austin	Texas	Democratic
Elaine O'Neal	Durham	North Carolina	Democratic	"Inherited" membership from previous Durham Mayor Steve Schewel
Esther Manheimer	Asheville	North Carolina	Democratic
Quinton Lucas	Kansas City	Missouri	Democratic	Member of MORE coalition board
Darrell Steinberg	Sacramento	California	Democratic
Melvin Carter	Saint Paul	Minnesota	Democratic
Damon Seils	Carrboro	North Carolina	Democratic	"Inherited" membership from previous Carrboro Mayor Lydia Lavelle
Michael Tubbs	Stockton	California	Democratic	Former Mayor of Stockton; Emeritus Member

Notes

Garcetti is no longer the Mayor of Los Angeles, having been succeeded by Karen Bass in December 2022.
Hancock is no longer the Mayor of Denver, having been succeeded by Mike Johnston in July 2023.
Elorza is no longer the Mayor of Providence, having been succeeded by Brett Smiley in January 2023.
Adler is no longer the Mayor of Austin, having been succeeded by Kirk Watson in January 2023.
Tubbs is no longer the Mayor of Stockton, having been succeeded by Kevin Lincoln in July 2021.

References

Cathey, Libby (June 17, 2021). "Biden signs bill making Juneteenth, marking the end of slavery, a federal holiday". ABC News. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
"Biden signs bill making Juneteenth, marking the end of slavery, a federal holiday". whitehouse.gov. The White House. June 17, 2021. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
^ Schoffstall, Joe (April 4, 2023). "Mayors' coalition has big plans to take reparations movement national: 'Moving that needle': Mayors Organized for Reparations and Equity has moved to showcase how a nationwide program could work". Fox News.
Eaton, Kristi. "Small, Historically Black Town in Oklahoma Joins a National Coalition Studying Reparations: Mayors Organized for Reparations and Equity includes representatives of some of the nation's largest cities. It also includes the mayor of Tullahassee, Oklahoma, which has a population of under 150," The Daily Yonder (October 13, 2021).
Tullahassee, Oklahoma Population 2022, World Population Review. Retrieved June 2, 2022.
^ Martin, Jacob. "Mayor Lucas discusses national coalition for achieving reparations and when KC might see results," The Pitch (June 25, 2021).
Herriges, Daniel. "Mayors Leading the Push for Reparations Programs," Strong Towns (July 1, 2021).
^ "11 U.S. Mayors Commit To Developing Pilot Projects For Reparations," Associated Press (June 18, 2021)
"Mission," Mayors Organized for Reparations and Equity website. Retrieved Nov. 8, 2022.
MORE Mayors. "We are proud to launch Mayors Organized for Reparations and Equity and will address racial inequality by...", Twitter (June 18, 2021).
Branigin, Anne (19 June 2019). "'An Idea Whose Time Has Come': Congress Hears the Case for Reparations on Juneteenth". The Root. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
Haxel, Chris. "Mayor Lucas Signs On To Test A Reparations Program For Black Kansas Citians," KCUR (June 21, 2021).
^ Heyward, Giulia. "Reparations for Black Residents Are Becoming a Local Issue as Well as a National One: While legislation in Washington remains stalled, state and local governments are breathing new life into the reparations movement," New York Times (Sept. 25, 2021).
^ Alvarez, Alayna. "Denver's mayor is leading cities' push for reparations," Axios Denver (June 22, 2021).
Metzger, Hannah. "Denver Mayor Hancock leading national reparations effort for African Americans," Denver Gazette (July 25, 2021).
^ Beam, Adam. "Mayors vow to launch guaranteed income programs across US," Associated Press (September 16, 2020).
"Asheville among tiny number of cities to back reparations," Associated Press (July 16, 2020).
Crowe, Cailin. "St. Paul, MN to form reparations commission," Smart Cities Dive (Jan. 15, 2021).
"Black residents to get reparations in Evanston, Illinois". BBC News. March 23, 2021.
"Illinois city 1st in US to offer Black residents reparations". AP NEWS. March 23, 2021.
"Illinois city approves first reparations program for Black residents". The Guardian. March 23, 2021.
"Evanston, Illinois, becomes first U.S. city to pay reparations to Black residents: The Chicago suburb's City Council voted 8-1 to distribute $400,000 to eligible black households," Associated Press (Mar. 23, 2021).
Bay City News. "SF Supervisors Approve First African American Reparations Committee," KNTV (May 5, 2021).
Afana, Dana."Detroit city council pushes ahead with reparations initiative," Detroit Free Press (June 15, 2021).
Schlinkmann, Mark. "St. Louis mayor signs bill allowing voluntary reparations donations as 'first step'," St. Louis Post-Dispatch (Apr. 2, 2022).
Schlinkmann, Mark. "St. Louis aldermanic panel advances reparations fund bill," St. Louis Post-Dispatch (Mar 2, 2022).
Marcelo, Philip. "Rhode Island mayor proposes $10M reparations spending plan," Associated Press (August 25, 2022).
Palmer, Tod (May 1, 2023). "KCMO Mayor Quinton Lucas appoints 13 members to Commission on Reparations". KSHB-TV.
^ "Our Coalition". Mayors Organized for Reparations and Equity. June 19, 2021. Archived from the original on Apr 15, 2022. Retrieved November 9, 2022.

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