Olympia urges government on reparations for descendants of enslaved people

(The Center Square) – The City of Olympia will soon begin drafting a resolution that would urge the state and federal government to explore reparations for descendents of enslaved African people.

The potential resolution would also encourage other Washington municipalities to join the City of Olympia in making similar requests to state and federal governments. 

The referral was proposed by Olympia Mayor Dontae Payne, who said the U.S. government has a debt to pay and wants local governments to urge for action at the federal level.

“Many of us are probably familiar with the story of freed African enslaved people being promised 40 acres and a mule,” Payne said in a city council meeting on Tuesday. “That never happened from the United States government and what that has resulted in is the lack of intergenerational wealth collectively for Black americans.”

Reparations could come in the form of cash payments, but also housing for descendents of enslaved African people.

Olympia City Councilmember Robert Vanderpool said that the city needs to prove that reparations are possible on a local level to make a stronger argument that the work can be done on a state and federal level.

“If we want the state and federal government to take it seriously, we have to see what we can do locally,” Olympia City Councilmember Robert Vanderpool said. “We have to be able to make the argument that despite significantly less resources than what state and federal governments have, that we are willing to do the things that we can within our powers.”

The approved referral directs city staff to research possible city-scale actions to support efforts to petition the state and federal governments to study this issue and implement findings.

There is no set date for this resolution to be brought forward. The approved referral prefers for it to be completed prior to the start of the 2025 state legislative session.