The Athens-Clarke County Mayor and Commission passed a resolution addressing racial inequities in the county during Tuesday night’s meeting. The measure, which was brought to the commission by the Athens Anti-Discrimination Movement, sought to reaffirm the county’s commitment to push for affordable housing by addressing discriminatory housing practices. It is also aimed at encouraging economic justice, by promoting job opportunities, equitable wages, and supporting minority-owned businesses. The third focus of the resolution is a renewed commitment to youth safety in Black and minority communities.
Co-founder and executive director of the AADM, Mokah-Jasmine Johnson discussed her desire for the Commission to act on the resolution at the meeting, “What I do expect is for you to follow through and keep your word,” she said, “No matter what you decide tonight, you voted to table the resolution addressing racial inequities for 60 days stating that we need something stronger like ordinances. Now 60 days later we're back at the drawing board and some of the community members are still divided. I want to go on record to state that this resolution was never meant to divide or to replace ordinances, it was intended to spark them - specifically in housing, youth safety, and economic equity for Black business owners.”
Several of those in attendance spoke in favor of the resolution.
“In my mind it in effect creates a report card that can be used in the future to evaluate what the commission and the county and the public has done or hasn't done to move forward towards greater racial equity in our county.,” said Athens resident Kathy Lynne Sanderson. “In my mind, for these reasons, I urge the commission to pass it.”
There was some opposition to the measure as well.
“If you want to do anything, don’t be focused on a resolution, don’t be focused on an ordinance, because you can not do race-based budgeting or identity-based budgeting,” according to resident Michael McLendon, “It’s not legal. What you need to focus on is what is the real problem that we need to solve and don't just leave it at these high level terms. You've got to focus on something that's realistic - that's actionable - that can be measured - and then you might have a chance of getting some leverage somewhere.”
The majority of commissioners supported the decision, including commissioner Patrick Davenport.
“If we follow the process we have in place, I think this resolution is good as is,” according to Davenport. “Of course it could always be better, and I look forward to hopefully, this body passing this resolution and moving forward with our ordinance down the road.”
However, the vote was not unanimous. Commissioner Stephanie Johnson said, “I would like to remind everyone what I ran on, which is people over politics, and I want to show you respect and give you what you asked for. I would like to make a substitute motion to vote no for the resolution.”
Both Commissioner Johnson and Commissioner Ovita Thornton voted against the resolution.
Note: This story was originally published on April 2, 2025. It was updated on April 4, 2025 to provide more details.
