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Mayors Organized for Reparations and Equity (MORE) is a coalition of U.S.
mayors In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...
committed to paying
reparations Reparation(s) may refer to: Christianity * Reparation (theology), the theological concept of corrective response to God and the associated prayers for repairing the damages of sin * Restitution (theology), the Christian doctrine calling for re ...
to
African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
citizens of their cities. The association was announced on June 18, 2021, in commemoration of the first federally recognized
Juneteenth Juneteenth is a federal holiday in the United States, federal holiday in the United States. It is celebrated annually on June 19 to commemorate the End of slavery in the United States, ending of slavery in the United States. The holiday's n ...
holiday. Mayors from such large municipalities as
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
,
Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...
,
Sacramento Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the seat of Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers in Northern California's Sacramento Valley, Sacramento's 2020 p ...
, and
Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more t ...
are part of the coalition, as well as the mayor of the small town of
Tullahassee, Oklahoma Tullahassee is a town in Wagoner County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 106 in both the 2010 and the 2000 censuses. It was the location of Tullahassee Mission, an Indian boarding school that burned in 1880. Because their populati ...
, with a population of 83.


Mission

The program is aimed at supporting African American descendants of slavery.Martin, Jacob
"Mayor Lucas discusses national coalition for achieving reparations and when KC might see results,"
'' The Pitch'' (June 25, 2021).
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 Overview In the United States, racial inequality refers to the social inequality and advantages and disparities that affect different races. These can also be seen as a result of historic oppression, inequality of inheritance, or racism and ...
."11 U.S. Mayors Commit To Developing Pilot Projects For Reparations,"
''Associated Press'' (June 18, 2021)
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 The Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African-Americans Act, is an Act of Congress in the United States introduced in 1989 by Rep. John Conyers. The act aims to create a commission to examine the merits of introducing repa ...
(known as H. R. 40), originally introduced in 1989 by
U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...
John Conyers John James Conyers Jr. (May 16, 1929October 27, 2019) was an American politician of the Democratic Party who served as a U.S. representative from Michigan from 1965 to 2017. Conyers was the sixth-longest serving member of Congress and the lo ...
and currently sponsored by Rep.
Sheila Jackson Lee Sheila Jackson Lee ( Jackson; January 12, 1950 – July 19, 2024) was an American lawyer and politician who was the U.S. representative for , from 1995 until her death in 2024. The district includes most of central Houston. She was a member of ...
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.Alvarez, Alayna
"Denver's mayor is leading cities' push for reparations,"
'' Axios Denver'' (June 22, 2021).
Kansas City Mayor
Quinton Lucas Quinton Donald Lucas (born August 19, 1984) is an American politician elected in 2019 as the 55th mayor of Kansas City, Missouri. He is a member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, and is the city's third African-American ...
summed up MORE's mission this way: He pointed out that existing federal programs often don't succeed in targeting those most in need:


History

Mayors Organized for Reparations and Equity was conceived by then-
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
Mayor
Eric Garcetti Eric Michael Garcetti (born February 4, 1971) is an American politician and diplomat who served as the List of ambassadors of the United States to India, United States ambassador to India from 2023 to 2025. He was the 42nd mayor of Los Angeles f ...
, in many ways a response to the
Black Lives Matter Black Lives Matter (BLM) is a Decentralization, decentralized political and social movement that aims to highlight racism, discrimination and Racial inequality in the United States, racial inequality experienced by black people, and to pro ...
protests of 2020.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).
MORE was announced on June 19, 2021, with a membership of 11 mayors: Garcetti of Los Angeles, California; Michael Hancock of
Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...
, Colorado; Jorge Elorza of
Providence, Rhode Island Providence () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Rhode Island, most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. The county seat of Providence County, Rhode Island, Providence County, it is o ...
; Steve Adler of
Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...
;
Steve Schewel Stephen M. Schewel (born 1951) is an American politician, businessman, and academic. A Democratic Party (United States), Democrat, he is the former List of mayors of Durham, North Carolina, Mayor of Durham, North Carolina and formerly served on t ...
of
Durham, North Carolina Durham ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Durham County, North Carolina, Durham County. Small portions of the city limits extend into Orange County, North Carolina, Orange County and Wake County, North Carol ...
:
Esther Manheimer Esther Elizabeth Manheimer (born July 24, 1971) is an American politician and attorney. She has served as the mayor of Asheville, North Carolina, since 2013. Early life and education Manheimer was born on July 24, 1971, in the hamlet of Skyum ...
of
Asheville, North Carolina Asheville ( ) is a city in Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States. Located at the confluence of the French Broad River, French Broad and Swannanoa River, Swannanoa rivers, it is the county seat of Buncombe County. It is the most populou ...
:
Quinton Lucas Quinton Donald Lucas (born August 19, 1984) is an American politician elected in 2019 as the 55th mayor of Kansas City, Missouri. He is a member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, and is the city's third African-American ...
of
Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more t ...
;
Darrell Steinberg Darrell Steven Steinberg (born October 15, 1959) is an American politician and attorney who was the 56th mayor of Sacramento, California from 2016 to 2024. He was elected to be mayor on June 7, 2016 (avoiding a runoff). Before that, he was Calif ...
of
Sacramento, California Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat, seat of Sacramento County, California, Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento Rive ...
; Melvin Carter of
Saint Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (often abbreviated St. Paul) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County, Minnesota, Ramsey County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, ...
; and Keisha Currin of
Tullahassee, Oklahoma Tullahassee is a town in Wagoner County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 106 in both the 2010 and the 2000 censuses. It was the location of Tullahassee Mission, an Indian boarding school that burned in 1880. Because their populati ...
. Former Mayors Garcetti and Hancock were co-chairs of MORE, while
Michael Tubbs Michael Derrick Tubbs (born August 2, 1990) is an American politician who is currently serving as a special adviser for economic mobility and opportunity for Governor Gavin Newsom. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 79 ...
, the former mayor of
Stockton, California Stockton is a city in and the county seat of San Joaquin County, California, San Joaquin County in the Central Valley (California), Central Valley of the U.S. state of California. It is the most populous city in the county, the List of municipal ...
, 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 Guaranteed minimum income (GMI), also called minimum income (or mincome for short), is a social-welfare spending, welfare system that guarantees all citizens or families an income sufficient to live on, provided that certain eligibility conditions ...
programs in their cities "to combat poverty and systemic racism."Beam, Adam
"Mayors vow to launch guaranteed income programs across US,"
''Associated Press'' (September 16, 2020).
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 Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...
;
Oakland, California Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, California, Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major We ...
;
Paterson, New Jersey Paterson ( ) is the largest City (New Jersey), city in and the county seat of Passaic County, New Jersey, Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.Hudson, New York Hudson is a Administrative divisions of New York#City, city in and the county seat of Columbia County, New York, United States. At the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, it had a population of 5,894. On the east side of the Hudson River, f ...
;
Mount Vernon, New York Mount Vernon is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States. It is an inner suburb of New York City, immediately to the north of the Borough (New York City), borough of the Bronx. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Moun ...
;
Tacoma, Washington Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, southwest of Bellevue, Washington, Bellevue, northeast of the state capital, Olympia ...
; and
Long Beach, California Long Beach is a coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...
. Other antecedents to the MORE coalition included reparative actions and commitments by a handful of states and cities: * July 2020 —
Asheville, North Carolina Asheville ( ) is a city in Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States. Located at the confluence of the French Broad River, French Broad and Swannanoa River, Swannanoa rivers, it is the county seat of Buncombe County. It is the most populou ...
City Council "voted to approve reparations in the form of investments in areas of disparity for Black residents." * September 2020 — 
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
established a reparations commission. This action prompted L.A. Mayor Garcetti to conceive of MORE. * January 2021 —
Saint Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (often abbreviated St. Paul) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County, Minnesota, Ramsey County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, ...
, City Council voted 7–0 to create a reparations commission. * March 2021 —
Evanston, Illinois Evanston is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States, situated on the North Shore (Chicago), North Shore along Lake Michigan. A suburb of Chicago, Evanston is north of Chicago Loop, downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skok ...
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 The San Francisco Board of Supervisors is the board of supervisors, legislative body within the government of San Francisco, government of the San Francisco, City and County of San Francisco in the U.S. state of California. Government and polit ...
voted to create an African American Reparations Advisory Committee. * June 15, 2021 — The
Detroit City Council The Detroit City Council is the legislative body of Detroit, Michigan, United States. The full-time council is required to meet every business day for at least 10 months of the year, with at least eight of these meetings occurring at a locatio ...
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 Carrboro is a town in Orange County, North Carolina, Orange County in the U.S. state of North Carolina. The population was 21,295 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census.
, had joined the coalition.


Later developments

In April 2022, MORE member Mayor Tishaura Jones of
St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...
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 A property tax (whose rate is expressed as a percentage or per mille, also called ''millage'') is an ad valorem tax on the value of a property.In the OECD classification scheme, tax on property includes "taxes on immovable property or Wealth t ...
or water and refuse collection bills. The reparations bill, sponsored by a city
alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law with similar officials existing in the Netherlands (wethouder) and Belgium (schepen). The term may be titular, denotin ...
, was vague on details about eligibility and the potential disbursements of the funds. In August 2022, MORE member Mayor Jorge Elorza of
Providence Providence often refers to: * Providentia, the divine personification of foresight in ancient Roman religion * Divine providence, divinely ordained events and outcomes in some religions * Providence, Rhode Island, the capital of Rhode Island in the ...
proposed a $10 million reparations spending plan for the city, using federal coronavirus relief funds. In July 2023, Kansas City Mayor
Quinton Lucas Quinton Donald Lucas (born August 19, 1984) is an American politician elected in 2019 as the 55th mayor of Kansas City, Missouri. He is a member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, and is the city's third African-American ...
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:


See also

*
Movement for Black Lives The Movement for Black Lives (M4BL) is a coalition of more than fifty groups representing the interests of Black communities across the United States that was formed in December 2014. Members include the Black Lives Matter Network, the Nationa ...
* National Coalition of Blacks for Reparations in America


Further reading

* Beltrán, Bianca
"Advocate of reparations for slavery talks about forms it could take in Kansas City: KC mayor joins leaders across the country in exploring opportunities for reparations,"
''
KMBC KMBC-TV (channel 9) is a television station in Kansas City, Missouri, United States, affiliated with American Broadcasting Company, ABC. It is owned by Hearst Television alongside The CW, CW affiliate KCWE (channel 29). The two stations share s ...
'' (June 21, 2021). * Derosier, Alex
"What would reparations for slavery look like in Minnesota and the US? St. Paul's push to explore reparations for descendants of Black slaves and victims of discriminatory housing practices represents a newer type of push on the issue,"
''
Duluth News Tribune The ''Duluth News Tribune'' (known locally as ''The Tribune'' or ''DNT'') is a newspaper based in Duluth, Minnesota. While circulation is heaviest in the Twin Ports metropolitan area, delivery extends into northeastern Minnesota, northwestern Wis ...
'' (April 15, 2022). * Logan, Erin B
"L.A. creates advisory commission to study reparations pilot program for some Black Angelenos,"
''Los Angeles Times'' (June 18, 2021). * Marohn, Charles
"The Local Case for Reparations,"
''Strong Towns'' (September 21, 2020). * Newsome, Melba
"When Reparations Meet Bureaucracy: Asheville's historic reparations resolution made national news in 2020, helping spark a wave of similar city-level initiatives across the country. But mounting delays show that while winning a vote may be hard, moving through a hesitant and halting bureaucracy can be an even more difficult challenge,"
''The Assembly'' (Oct. 7, 2021).


Notes


References


External links


MORE website, archived on Juneteenth 2021
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mayors Organized for Reparations and Equity Government-related professional associations in the United States Organizations established in 2021 Reparations for slavery in the United States Slavery-related organizations