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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Office of Commissioner Angela Conley, Hennepin County Board of Commissioners
angela.conley@hennepin.us
612-348-7884
MINNEAPOLIS, MN — On December 2, the Hennepin County Board’s Administration, Operations and Budget Committee unanimously approved a resolution to establish a Reparative Justice Research Task Force, a bold and historic step toward addressing the county’s legacy of racial injustice. The measure, co-authored by Commissioners Angela Conley and Marion Greene, is expected to receive final approval at the full board meeting on December 11.
The task force will be charged with conducting a comprehensive historical analysis of Hennepin County’s role in racially discriminatory policies and practices, including housing covenants, exclusionary zoning, unequal access to public services, and more. It will focus on the enduring impacts of slavery, segregation, redlining, and systemic racism on Black and Indigenous communities.
“This is a necessary and courageous step toward acknowledging past harms and building a more equitable future,” said Commissioner Conley. “Reparative justice is about meaningful accountability and responsibility. It’s about repairing the harm caused by policies rooted in racism—and doing so with intention, research, and community voice.”
The task force will report to the county’s Race Equity Advisory Council (REAC) and will partner with academic institutions and community historians. Its work will inform community-driven recommendations in areas such as housing restitution, educational investment, economic development, and direct compensation.
The resolution directs the County Administrator to work with REAC to establish the task force’s membership and meeting schedule by December 31, 2026. Findings will be included in REAC’s annual report to the Board of Commissioners.
Commissioner Conley added, “This is not just about studying the past. It’s about actionable steps to repair harm and create a future where equity is not aspirational, but real.”
The Reparative Justice Research Task Force will be one of the first of its kind at the county level in the United States, joining a growing national movement of local governments exploring reparations and racial justice initiatives.
About Commissioner Angela Conley
Commissioner Angela Conley represents District 4 on the Hennepin County Board. She is the first African American elected to the board and a leading voice for racial equity, housing justice, and community empowerment.
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Discussion of Reparations is a way to guarantee far right voting success at national and state level for years to come
Oh, good grief. Can we please, please, PLEASE get a reasonable DFL caucus/convention/primary opponent for Conley? Someone who actually wants to participate in running a county and its operations? As opposed to inappropriately trying to solve all the state’s, country’s and world’s problems from a seat on the Henn. Co. Board? Please? I will work for your campaign. Seriously. We here in District 4 CAN NOT allow our seat to be awarded “by acclamation” to someone who has done so little to date, and who promises to do so much in the future that is divisive and ultimately useless.
You should add Jews to that list since there were covenants in many cities denying them the right to live there(Edina). Minneapolis wouldn’t allow Jewish doctors to practice in hospitals that’s why they built mount sinai. They seem to have overcome the antisemitism but it still happened and most likely they were impacted in many of the same ways.
Yep. Same redlining and covenants for Jews. And I personally know a retired OB/Gyn who was refused employment at Methodist Hospital in SLP, IIRC, because he was Jewish.
This logic could be applied to sexism, and other “isms”. I’ll take women, since I am one and therefore qualified to comment. The idea of holding present day people responsible for wrongs of their ancestors is a way of avoiding one’s own responsibility by blaming others, while fostering a victim mentality. The word “entitlement” based on one’s skin color or gender comes to mind. There are numerous wrongs in our history, and we should focus on non-discriminatary policies and practices and move forward instead of blaming and shaming,
First of all, Minnesota as a state never had slavery. Minnesota (I believe) was the first state to send armed volunteer soldiers in the Civil War. After reconstruction, it was the southern states of the union who put up one road block after another to impede the civil rights of any person of color.
All of this human ordeal occurred generations ago. No American citizen who is alive today has ever owned another human as a slave. That was made illegal over 100 years ago.
Adolf Hitler used this approach in the 1930’s, blaming the Jews for all of the problems the German people were facing after the armistice, creating a victim mentality among the population to create harsh feelings between people. I don’t think we should go down that road again.
I agree. That along with the fact that two of my grandparents didn’t arrive in the US until the 1890s. And one of my great grandparents is Lakota Sioux. And none of them ever became wealthy. It makes no sense that I should have to be responsible for reparations.
Probably unconstitutional as a race based preference.
Thanks for highlighting this story. Very little attention has been given to it.