As part of a resolution that the City Council is considering, New York City intends to employ a diversity monitor tasked with addressing the pervasive segregation in the public school system.
A hearing on anti-racism legislation took place on Tuesday, with the goal of tackling current racial injustices and facing the city’s history of enslavement and racial segregation. The legislation creating the post, which would reside under the city’s Human Rights Commission, was the focus of the session.
The proposed laws also included a plan to remove monuments and other pieces of public art that honor slave owners, as well as a measure to mark the location of the city’s first slave market, a truth and reconciliation process that would let the public address the ongoing effects of slavery, and the appointment of a school monitor. Other legislation being considered would teach city employees against racism and assist in creating a freedom path to identify local Underground Railroad stops.
The session, which featured evidence from members of Mayor Eric Adams’ administration, revealed that the city government is gradually moving forward with a number of initiatives intended to address both historical and contemporary racial prejudice. These initiatives, along with related ones in New Jersey, California, and other states, contrast with those in other Republican-run states where elected officials have publicly rejected efforts to educate Black history.
