HomeMy WebLinkAboutResolutions - 2020.07.02 - 33399REPORT (MISC. #20218) July 2, 2020
BY, Commissioner Penny Luebs, Chairperson, Health, Safety and Human Services Committee
IN RE: MR #20218 —BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS— STANDS IN UNITY WITH THOSE
DEMANDING JUSTICE FOR GEORGE FLOYD AND MEANINGFUL CHANGE TO ADDRESS
STRUCTURAL INEQUALITY AND SYSTEMIC RACISM
To the Oakland County Board of Commissioners
Chairperson, Ladies and Gentlemen:
The Health, Safety and Human Services Committee, having reviewed the above -referenced resolution on
June 30, 2020, reports with the recommendation that the resolution be adopted.
Chairperson, on behalf of the Health, Safety and Human Services Committee, I move the acceptance of
the foregoing report.
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CommissionerPenny Luebs, District #16
ChairpersonNealth, Safety and Human
Services Committee
HEALTH, SAFETY AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE VOTE:
Motion carried unanimously on a roll call vote with Miller absent.
MISCELLANEOUS RESOLUTION #20218
BY: Commissioners Marcia Gershenson, District #13; Gwen Markham, District #9; Janet Jackson, District
#21; William Miller, District #14; Kristen Nelson, District #5; Robert Hoffman, District #2; Helaine Zack,
District#18; Penny Luebs, District#16
IN RE: BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS — STANDS IN UNITY WITH THOSE DEMANDING JUSTICE FOR
GEORGE FLOYD AND MEANINGFUL CHANGE TO ADDRESS STRUCTURAL INEQUALITY AND
SYSTEMIC RACISM
To the Oakland County Board of Commissioners
Chairperson, Ladies and Gentlemen:
WHEREAS the Declaration of Independence defined the United States of America as a democracy based
on the unalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, and government by the consent of the
people; and the 14th Amendment instilled equality of the races into the US Constitution; and
WHEREAS all people are equal, with certain inalienable rights including the right to equal protection under
the law; and
WHEREAS recent events on the national stage demand that people and communities of conscience speak
out in defense of, and reaffirm their commitment to, these most basic values; and
WHEREAS our nation was built on an economy based on the enslavement of Africans and Black
Americans, and has yet to heal the scars left by the hypocrisy, brutality, and psychological trauma of that
abhorrent institution; and
WHEREAS the racism used to justify and reinforce that perverse system remains a pervasive presence
across American culture and permeates our governmental, economic and educational institutions; and
WHEREAS the murder of George Floyd is only the most recent horrific example of the breathtaking injustice
which persists due to our continued failure to address systemic racism in our country; and
WHEREAS black, brown and indigenous people face police violence, prosecution and incarceration in
disproportionate numbers; and
WHEREAS in the 21st Century, there are people in America who continue to live In fear of losing their lives
at the hands of law enforcement or members of white supremacist groups; and
WHEREAS across the nation and in our own county, African Americans and many other people of color
must persevere daily against the barriers and indignities put upon them by systemic bias and racism; and
WHEREAS we all have a duty to speak out for the civil rights of all our brothers and sisters; and
WHEREAS demanding justice is not an altruistic or sympathetic act, but rather a moral imperative which
serves to defend the freedom of all, for as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. stated "Injustice anywhere is a threat
to justice everywhere.
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Oakland County Board of Commissioners stands in unity
with the millions of individuals and conscientious organizations across the nations demanding justice for
George Floyd and meaningful action to address structural inequality and systemic racism.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Oakland County Board of Commissioners supports and encourages
those lifting their voices in peaceful protest.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Oakland County Board of Commissioners pledges itself to growing
stronger by being proactive in seeking to heal the racial scars we have inherited and taking action toward
real systemic change.
Chairperson, I move adoption of the foregoing resolution.
Commissioner MWrcia Gershenson
District #13
C Janet
District #21
17
Commissioner,Gwen' Markham
District #9
Commissioner William Miller
District #14
Commissioner Kristen Nelson
District #5
Commissioner in Z� ack
District #18
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Commissioner Rob�Hoffman
T,rict#2L""
Commisslner Penny Lu bs
District #16
Resolution #20218
June 25, 2020
The Chairperson referred the resolution to the Health, Safety and Human Services Committee. There were
no objections.
Resolution #20218
July 2, 2020
Moved by Jackson seconded by Weipert the resolutions on the amended Consent Agenda be adopted
(with accompanying reports being accepted).
AYES: Hoffman, Jackson, Kochenderfer, Kowall, Kuhn, Long, Luebs, Markham, McGillivray,
Middleton, Miller, Nelson, Powell, Quarles, Spisz, Taub, Weipert, Woodward, Zack,
Gershenson. (20)
NAYS: None. (0)
A sufficient majority having voted in favor, the resolutions on the amended Consent Agenda were adopted
(with accompanying reports being accepted).
I HEREBYAPPROVE THIS RESOLUTION
CHIEF DEPUTY COUNTY EXECUTIVE
ACTING PURSUANT TO MCL 45.559A (7)
STATE OF MICHIGAN)
COUNTY OF OAKLAND)
I, Lisa Brown, Clerk of the County of Oakland, do hereby certify that the foregoing resolution is a true and
accurate copy of a resolution adopted by the Oakland County Board of Commissioners on July 2, 2020,
with the original record thereof now remaining in my office.
In Testimony Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the seal of the Circuit Court at Pontiac,
Michigan this 2nd day of July, 2020. '✓�'i'
Lisa Br�akland Count