RESOLUTION CONDEMNING RACISIM AND PROMOTING RACE EQUITY

WHEREAS The City of Tybee Island (“the City”) recognizes the history of racism in our country and how it has led to racial
inequalities;
WHEREAS The City recognizes its part in historical racism, acknowledging that African slaves were quarantined, treated, and died
at the quarantine hospital on Lazaretto Creek; that Black Americans were banned from Tybee Island and its beaches
during segregation; that Black Americans petitioned the city to use the beach in 1952 and were denied; that, in 1960,
11 Black students led the first “wade-in” to protest Tybee’s Jim Crow polices and were arrested and convicted for their
actions; that the City did not recognize the MLK holiday until 2006; that Black college students have enjoyed Tybee
Island during the Orange Crush celebration since the 1980s and the event is part of Tybee’s history; and that the City
entered into a mediated agreement with the Department of Justice to formalize the City’s response to Orange Crush and
large events;
WHEREAS The City condemns the murders of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Rashard Brooks, Breonna Taylor, and other
unarmed people of color by rogue police officers and vigilantes;
WHEREAS The City recognizes that seemingly neutral policies and practices may contribute to racial inequality and wishes to
proactively and deliberately address systemic racism in its own policies and practices;
WHEREAS The City values Black lives and the lives of people of color and wishes to amplify their voices and history;
WHEREAS The City desires to build an inclusive, equitable community for all Tybee residents and visitors; and
WHEREAS The City supports our Tybee Island Police Department and commends its commitment to diversity, de-escalation, and
community involvement.
NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the City of Tybee commits to the following actions:
1. Memorialize the racial history of Tybee by placing comprehensive historical indicators at Lazaretto Creek, the site of the
historic wade-in, and in other places as may be appropriate;

2. Maintain a website dedicated to Tybee’s racial history and racial equity efforts;

3. Conduct a review of our arrest and sentencing data to identify racial disparities in those areas;
 4. Review and revise the policies of our police department to promote officer discretion and accountability, reduce use of force,
and advance a community policing model;

5. Task our City Manager with ensuring diverse and inclusive hiring for all departments and require implicit bias and race equity
training for all staff; and

6. Appoint a committee of volunteers to identify further steps the City can take to advance racial equality and reduce inequity on
our island. We specifically encourage this committee to work with the organizers of the Orange Crush celebration to formalize
and promote the event.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that June 19th shall be an annual city holiday in honor of Juneteenth, the day commemorating the end
of slavery in the United States, as it was the day, more than two years after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation and the end
of the Civil War, that the remaining slaves in Galveston, Texas, found out that they were free.

SO RESOLVED, THIS _______ DAY OF JUNE, 2020.