RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF COLLEGE PARK RENOUNCING SYSTEMIC RACISM AND DECLARING SUPPORT OF BLACK LIVES

WHEREAS, the Mayor and Council acknowledge that certain public policies have created wide disparities of well-being and opportunity among Black people in College Park and throughout the United States; and

WHEREAS, many of these policies and actions have led to systemic racism in our community and country; and

WHEREAS, the enormous consequence of systemic racism in our community and across the country is that opportunities for employment, housing, safety, wealth, education, health, and other conditions of life quality have been denied or diminished for Black people; and

WHEREAS, Black people are rightly outraged by this country’s devaluation of Black life and humanity; and

WHEREAS, Black people have been targeted, profiled, injured and murdered by law enforcement throughout this country at inexplicable rates; and

WHEREAS, the City of College Parks is comprised of 15% Black residents; and

WHEREAS, past practice and policy of the City of College Park have systemically disadvantaged black residents and the historically black community of Lakeland; and

WHEREAS, these residents deserve justice, fair treatment, and recognition of their valuable contributions to our community without fear.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the City of College Park must explicitly, directly, consciously, and painstakingly seek out and confront systemic racism; and it is further

RESOLVED, that the Mayor and Council acknowledge and apologize for our city’s past history of oppression, particularly with regards to the Lakeland community, and actively seek opportunities for accountability and truth-telling about past injustice, and aggressively seek opportunities for restorative justice; and it is further

RESOLVED, that the City of College Park will examine our history and all current policies and programs for evidence of disparate impact based on race and ethnicity; and it is further

RESOLVED, that we will determine if any of our actions, deliberate or unintended, create barriers to equal participation and opportunity for Black people in our community; and it is further

RESOLVED that the Mayor and Council will actively involve and learn from Black people so that we can collectively create policies and practices eliminating barriers to participation, equality, and opportunity; it is further

RESOLVED that the Mayor and Council believe that Black Lives Matter.

ADOPTED by the Mayor and City Council of the City of College Park, Maryland, at a regular meeting on June 9, 2020, and effective immediately.