Texas county unwittingly votes in favour of reparations for African Americans

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June 19, 2014

By the Associate Press

Leaders in a North Texas county passed a resolution this week supporting reparations to African Americans for slavery – without even realizing they had done so.

02 Feb 1960, Greensboro, North Carolina, USA --- Four African American college students sit in protest at a whites-only lunch counter during the second day of peaceful protest at a Woolworth's in Greensboro, North Carolina. From left: Joseph McNeil, Franklin McCain, Billy Smith, and Clarence Henderson. --- Image by © Jack Moebes/CORBIS — Feb. 2, 1960, Greensboro, North Carolina, USA — Four African American college students sit in protest at a whites-only lunch counter during the second day of peaceful protest at a Woolworth’s in Greensboro, North Carolina. From left: Joseph McNeil, Franklin McCain, Billy Smith, and Clarence Henderson. — Image by © Jack Moebes/CORBIS

Dallas county commissioners unanimously passed a Juneteenth resolution on Tuesday that appeared to be another routine proclamation, commemorating the end of slavery in the United States. But the resolution went further by including a list of injustices, and then stating in the final paragraph that blacks’ suffering should be “satisfied with monetary and substantial reparations”.

Commissioners admitted afterward they hadn’t read the resolution before voting, according to The Dallas Morning News. About an hour after their vote, commissioners complained they hadn’t received copies of the resolution beforehand.

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