The Department of Justice (DOJ) has warned a North Carolina county to back off its years-long push to award reparations to decedents of slaves.
“Although you have not formally adopted the recommendations, public reporting suggests that you intend to do so,” Harmeet Dhillon, assistant attorney general to the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, wrote in a letter to the Buncombe County, N.C., Board of Commissioners last week. “To the extent these recommendations are formally adopted, you are now on notice that my office stands ready to investigate and enforce violations of federal civils rights laws to the fullest extent possible.”
Buncombe County and the city of Asheville have been mulling a reparations plan for Black residents since 2020. The Community Reparations Commission final proposal is scheduled to be presented to the Asheville City Council on Tuesday, but Dhillon’s letter was addressed to the county board.
Ashville Mayor Esther Manheimer (D) and the County Board of Commissioners’ office didn’t immediately respond to The Hill’s requests for comment.
Recommendations outlined in the report include plans for “establishing a Black wealth-building fund, creating community land trusts, expanding access to culturally responsive healthcare, reimagining school curricula to reflect Black history and transforming public safety systems.”
The DOJ said in its letter that it had reviewed “38 recommendations in five focus areas — criminal justice, economic development, education, health and wellness, and housing” within the draft plan.
“After our initial review, we are deeply concerned that many of the recommendations, if implemented would violate federal civil rights laws,” Dhillon wrote.
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