Council Member Tolliver Submits Chestertown Resolution Against Racism

During Monday’s Chestertown Town Council Ward Reports, Ward 2 Council Member Ellsworth Tolliver submitted a Chestertown Resolution Against Racism. The resolution will be considered for a discussion and vote during the Council’s next meeting, August 31.

The resolution follows last Monday’s unanimous vote by the council to approve to street murals, “Black Lives Matter” and “We Can’t Breathe” on High St. and College Avenue along with the tagline “Chestertown Unites Against Racism.”

The resolution is as follows:

Whereas Chestertown Maryland is a beautiful, colonial town built, in part, by the labors of enslaved people;

Whereas Chestertown Maryland has a documented history of overt and structural racism designed to prevent African Americans from equal access to housing, education, employment, theater, dining and voting;

Whereas Chestertown residents along with people from across the county, the state and the world have risen up to assert that Black Lives Matter here and everywhere;

Whereas Chestertown Maryland aspires to be a place of equality, understanding and inclusion in the creation of a more just and equitable future for all; and

Whereas every human being deserves to live with dignity, respect and opportunity in our community.

Now, therefore, be it Resolved that the Mayor and Council of Chestertown:

1. Deeply apologizes for slavery, the slave trade and the lives, the wealth and the freedoms that were stolen from enslaved people entering our port and our town.
2. Acknowledges and honors the positive contributions of African Americans in the creation and the endurance of Chestertown, Maryland.
3. Strongly affirms that all the citizens of Chestertown Maryland have equal rights– equal access to goods and services in our businesses, equal rights to be treated fairly by law enforcement and the criminal justice system, equal rights to start and maintain businesses, and equal access to housing and employment.
4.  Proclaims that racism is a Human Rights issue.
5. Commits to establishing a Human Rights Commission in Chestertown within sixty (60) days of this resolution. The Human Rights Commission will be empowered to investigate and resolve allegations of discrimination in employment, housing, by town agencies and by businesses. The commission will be comprised of at least fifty percent People of Color. The commission will issue an annual racial justice and equity report.