LA council members present racial equity motions, including land redistribution

Some members of the Los Angeles City Council signed onto motions Friday that would address racial equity in the city, including one that would redistribute underutilized or surplus land to historically marginalized groups.

The motion, presented by council members Mike Bonin, Nithya Raman and Marqueece Harris-Dawson, cites the importance of land rematriation and reparations as being “at the core of racial justice and restorative healing effort.” The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors this year approved transferring ownership of Bruce’s Beach back to the Bruce family after it was condemned by the Manhattan Beach Board of Trustees from a Black family nearly a century ago, which was widely seen as racially motivated.

The council members also cited the “powerful and catalytic moment that is visibly exposing our fraught racial divide” following the leaked 2021 conversation between three council members and a top county labor official that included racist comments and attempts to manipulate redistricting.

In another motion, council members Bonin, Harris-Dawson, Heather Hutt and Monica Rodriguez sought to create a Truth and Reconciliation Committee that would convene over the course of at least a year to “explore and document racialized, ethnic or political violence specific to a Los Angeles context to inform healing and reconciliation.” The committee would present recommendations for council action 30 days after the end of its term.

A third motion presented by Bonin, Raman, Rodriguez and Harris-Dawson called for a “Disparity Study” that would encourage the participation of businesses owned by minorities, women and veterans in the city’s procurement and contracting process.

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