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South Carolina city formally apologizes to Black residents for its racist past

The Spartanburg City Council unanimously passed a resolution Monday apologizing for racism past and present, acknowledging systemic inequality, and calling for a more unified future.

The resolution, titled “Healing, Reconciling, and Unity. A Pathway to a More Equitable Spartanburg,” was met with a standing ovation from the crowd of socially distanced residents in attendance.

“We understand that not only does your color matter when it comes to your life expectancy, but even what side of town you live on in Spartanburg, and that has to change,” council member Jerome Rice Jr., who is Black, said during the meeting.

Rice said the resolution was the most “inspirational” and “emotional” effort he has been a part of in his 11 years on Spartanburg’s City Council. “Change has come, change will come.”

Brenda Lee Pryce, a 72-year-old former state representative, heard the words she’d been waiting to hear since an urban renewal effort saw her neighborhood demolished in the 1970s -- “I’m sorry,” the Spartanburg Herald-Journal reported.

Spartanburg’s Black community lost the most in the failed revitalization effort.

“I’m just overwhelmed,” she said.

She wanted to hear an apology but never thought she would, the Journal-Herald reported.

“This means everything to me,” she said.

The resolution is more than just words, council member Megan Smith said.

“This resolution is an attempt to acknowledge that this city has played a role … in perpetuating systemic racism,” she said, and there’s no moving forward if the city doesn’t own its mistakes. “When we acknowledge the role that we have played in creating that pain and express remorse, then we can begin to rebuild trust, then we can begin to heal.”

It’s an apology to those who have been hurt, who are being hurt, and a promise to do better, to seek trust and unity, Smith said.

“Tonight, this is for you, and for all who have come before you, who have felt sidelined, disenfranchised and discriminated against,” she said.

Cities in North Carolina have been confronting historical racism as well. Asheville made national headlines in July when it approved reparations for Black residents, in an attempt to help bridge the generational wealth gap between Black and white residents created by decades of systemic racism. Other North Carolina cities have begun considering similar efforts, McClatchy News reported.