AHRA Recommends Funding Reparations With Cannabis Tax Revenue

Report On The Meeting Of The Amherst Town Council, May 16, 2021

This is the second of three articles on the Town Council Meeting of May 16,2022

The meeting was held over Zoom and was recorded. No in-person attendance was allowed.

Present
All councilors were in attendance.

Staff: Paul Bockelman (Town Manager) and Athena O’Keeffe (Clerk of the Council)

The council meeting began with a moment of silence for the victims of the racist murders in a Buffalo supermarket on May 15 and the impending loss of reproductive freedom with the Supreme Court’s expected repeal of Roe vs. Wade and the organized demonstrations for women’s rights the day before. Councilor Anika Lopes (District 4) decried the brutalization of black and indigenous women’s bodies since the inception of the nation, and Pat DeAngelis (District 2) said, “The very next day [after the Bans off our Bodies demonstrations], a white supremacist shot 13 people, killing 10, with the word ‘nigger’ written on his gun.” DeAngelis read the names of the 10 victims in Buffalo.

Case Made To Use Cannabis Tax Revenue For Reparations
In addition to Councilor Michele Miller (District 1), who chairs the African Heritage Reparations Assembly (AHRA), three members of the committee attended the meeting: Alexis Reed, Heather Hala Lord, and Amilcar Shabazz. Jerome Crawford, Director of Legal Operations at Pleasantrees, a cannabis store based in Michigan with a store in Amherst, was unable to attend, but offered to write a letter of support.

A budget is a moral document that can be used to right past wrongs through life affirming and life sustaining acts, said Heather Hala Lord, a member of the African Heritage Reparations Assembly. She added, “Black bodies have been under assault in Amherst since its founding.” 

Miller submitted a memo to the council advocating for funding reparations to the African heritage community through the use of cannabis tax revenue. This is the major source of funding for the reparations program in Evanston, Illinois. She cited a letter submitted by former Councilor Alisa Brewer stating that the Select Board had always intended to use cannabis revenue to support social justice, but the change in government meant that the Town Manager and Town Council make the decisions on distribution of funds. The AHRA brought the proposal to the budget priorities hearing in November 2021, but did not receive a response to the request.

Miller pointed out that without a reliable revenue stream, it will be impossible to provide reparations. AHRA is currently working on guidelines and the most meaningful way to provide reparations to the African heritage community. They are also in the process of setting up a means of distributing funds through a home rule provision. Miller added that the killings in Buffalo over the weekend accentuated what the co-founder of Reparations4Amherst, Matthew Andrews, has said: “Black people don’t get a break. They are always being victimized in big and small ways.”

Shabazz said that Amherst was named as one of 29 communities in the state where cannabis has had a disproportionate impact, and that Black people in Amherst have suffered even more than White people here because of unequal enforcement of drug laws. Lord added that a budget is a moral document that can be used to right past wrongs through life affirming and life sustaining acts. She said, “Black bodies have been under assault in Amherst since its founding.”

Reed pointed out that even though marijuana use is roughly equal between Whites and Blacks, Blacks are arrested four times more nationally, even where marijuana is legal. Statistics are even worse in Hampshire County, where Black people are 18 times more likely to be arrested for marijuana violations. She said that the War on Drugs was really “a war against the people who use them.” She also noted that, since 73% of cannabis stores are owned by Whites, cannabis sales are increasing the wealth gap.

Councilor Discussion
Mandi Jo Hanneke (at large) noted that the budget for FY23 has already been submitted ,with the cannabis revenue included in the operating budget (but no money is included for reparations). If the roughly $150,000 were to be earmarked for reparations, the operating budget would need to be reduced by that amount. According to Hanneke,  the request seems premature because there is no plan for reparations at present,  and the town is already beginning reparative programs in CRESS and in the schools. Cathy Schoen (District 1) agreed that “cannabis funds fit well with CRESS, and tough choices need to be made due to limited funds.”

Shabazz replied that reparations are aimed at people of African heritage because of the discrimination they have experienced in this town. The CRESS program and the Department of Equity and Inclusion are for everyone in town. He said that reparations are for a specific community because of specific harms.

Miller asserted, “If we made these commitments, we have to find a way to fund them.” She said the AHRA is requesting a contribution from free cash for FY23, and that the council should decide how to use cannabis revenue in future budgets.

Public Voices Support For Funding Reparations With Cannabis Revenue
Mattea Kramer reported on her research on African Americans in Amherst. She found that Black drivers are disproportionately stopped and Black students receive unfair treatment in Amherst schools. She supports permanently using cannabis revenue for reparations. Peter Blood, a co-convener of the Interfaith Opportunities Network, also acknowledged the enormous harm done to Amherst’s African American residents and the need for a dedicated funding stream for reparations.

More support was voiced by Jeffrey Gold, co-chair of the Reparations Committee of the Jewish Community of Amherst, Matthew Andrews, Kathleen Anderson, and Ruth Hazzard. Mary Porcino gathered the support of 30 of her North Amherst neighbors for a petition supporting the use of cannabis tax revenues for reparations. And Ash Hartwell said that reparations are not in conflict with CRESS and the DEI.

Evan Naismith cautioned that the use of a specific race in the reparations proposal might invite extra scrutiny, citing a Supreme Court ruling written by Sandra Day O’Connor. He suggested reparations for all disadvantaged groups. However, the reparations program in Evanston, Illinois, which is a role model for reparations programs, is specifically targeted for the African American population of the city.

The council voted unanimously to refer the matter to the Finance Committee for a report back on July 18.