The Hennepin County Board of Commissioners is considering a proposal to create a Reparations Research Task Force to document historical racial harms and recommend ways to address injustices against Black and Indigenous residents. The commissioners have approved advancing the proposal to a full vote on Dec. 11.
Stemming from recommendations by the county’s Race Equity Advisory Council (REAC), the proposal is part of broader efforts to confront structural inequities in the region.
“Reparations isn’t a word that should be scary,” said Hennepin County District 4 Commissioner Angela Conley during the Dec. 2 board meeting. “Reparations is something that municipalities and jurisdictions across the country are starting to name explicitly and do the work that it takes to repair harm in our communities.”
Under REAC’s recommendations, the committee would gather data to study the county’s role in criminal justice disparities, education inequity, transportation policies that displaced Black and Indigenous residents, and labor discrimination…