APPROVED AS TO FORM AND LEGALITY
________________________
CITY ATTORNEY’S OFFICE
OAKLAND CITY COUNCIL
RESOLUTION NO. ______________ C.M.S.
INTRODUCED BY COUNCILMEMBER TREVA REID
RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF H.R.7354 WHICH SEEKS TO ESTABLISH AN
INTERAGENCY TASK FORCE TO EXAMINE THE CONDITIONS AND
EXPERIENCES OF BLACK WOMEN AND GIRLS IN EDUCATION,
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, HEALTHCARE, LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT,
HOUSING, JUSTICE AND CIVIL RIGHTS, TO PROMOTE COMMUNITY-
BASED METHODS FOR MITIGATING AND ADDRESSING HARM AND
ENSURING ACCOUNTABILITY, AND TO STUDY SOCIETAL EFFECTS ON
BLACK WOMEN AND GIRLS, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
WHEREAS, the City of Oakland has taken serious steps to align with the advancement of racial equity, including the following actions:
WHEREAS, in 2024, the Oakland City Council adopted resolution 90067 CMS, sponsored by Councilmember Treva Reid, recognizing January 2024 as National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month in the City Of Oakland; and
WHEREAS, in 2024, the Oakland City Council adopted resolution 90321 CMS, sponsored by Councilmember Treva Reid, in support of Assembly Bill 1403, which seeks to establish the California American Freedmen Affairs Agency to implement recommendations from the Task Force on Reparations for African Americans; and
WHEREAS, in 2024, the Oakland City Council unanimously adopted resolution 90323 CMS, sponsored by Councilmember Treva Reid, in support of ACA 8 (Wilson, D., now Proposition 6) which would prohibit slavery in any form, including forced labor compelled by the use or threat of physical or legal coercion; and
WHEREAS, in 2023, the Oakland City Council unanimously adopted resolution 89747 CMS, sponsored by Councilmember Reid, in support of California Senate Bill 673 (Bradford), establishing an "Ebony Alert" to help locate missing Black youth and Black women and to provide law enforcement agencies with additional tools to disseminate timely and accurate information to the public and the media, thereby increasing the chances of safely recovering missing Black youth and women. Signed into law in October 2023, California became the first state to create an alert notification system to address the crisis of missing Black children and young Black women between the ages of 12 and 25; and
2 WHEREAS, in 2022, the Oakland City Council adopted resolution 89249 CMS, co- sponsored by Councilmember Treva Reid, declaring racism a public health crisis and reaffirming the city’s commitment to advancing racial equity; and
WHEREAS, Democratic Representatives Robin Kelly (Ill.), Yvette Clarke (N.Y.) and Bonnie Watson Coleman (N.J.) — co-chairs of the Caucus on Black Women and Girls — joined Representative Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) in reintroducing the Protect Black Women and Girls Act in February 2024, more than two years after it was first introduced; and
WHEREAS, H. R. 7354, seeks establish an Interagency Task Force to examine the conditions and experiences of Black women and girls in education, economic development, healthcare, labor and employment, housing, justice and civil rights, to promote community-based methods for mitigating and addressing harm and ensuring accountability, and to study societal effects on Black women and girls, and for other purposes; and
WHEREAS, Black women are 3 times more likely than White women to die from pregnancy-related causes, despite 80% of pregnancy-related deaths being preventable; and1
WHEREAS, another study showed that Black women only earned 63 cents for every dollar that White men earn; and2
WHEREAS, Black women and girls are disproportionately incarcerated at rates much higher than White women and are 1.6 times more likely to be incarcerated, with Black girls being incarcerated 3.5 times the rate of White girls; and3
WHEREAS, the United States Commission on Civil Rights (USCCR) has an obligation to collect data and advise Congress on the creation of new legislation to protect all Americans from discrimination based on color, race, religion, sex, age, disability, or national origin, or in the administration of justice; and
1 https://www.cdc.gov/womens-health/features/maternal-
mortality.html#:~:text=Black%20women%20are%20three%20times,structural%20racism%2C% 20and%20implicit%20bias.
2 https://iwpr.org/black-women-earn-less-than-white-men-in-every-state-will-not-reach-pay- equity-with-white-men-until-2144-according-to-a-new-iwpr-fact- sheet/#:~:text=Nationally%2C%20Black%20women%20earned%2063.7,on%20the%20dollar% 20in%20Hawaii.
3 https://watsoncoleman.house.gov/cbwgcaucus/issues/black-women-and-girls-in-the- criminal-justice-
system#:~:text=Black%20girls%20are%20three%2Dand,for%20running%20away%20are%20gi rls.
https://www.sentencingproject.org/fact-sheet/incarcerated-women-and-girls/ 3 WHEREAS, not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of the Act, the Attorney General, in consultation with the Secretary of Health and Human Services, shall establish an Interagency Task Force on Black women and girls to carry out the purposes and duties described therein, in compliance with requirements and restrictions under law, as applicable, including those prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race and sex; and the Task Force shall consist of members appointed as follows:
(1) The head of each of the following agencies shall appoint at least one officer or employee, but no more than two, from a relevant office of the following: (A) The Department of Health and Human Services, (B) The Department of Education, (C) The Department of Labor, (D) The National Institutes of Health, (E) The Department of Justice, (F) The Department of Housing and Urban Development; and
(2) The Attorney General shall appoint the following: (A) One officer or employee of a defender organization described in section 3006A(g)(2) of title 18, United States Code and (B) Two representatives of community-based organizations that have expertise working on culturally specific issues unique to the needs of Black women and girls; and
WHEREAS, the purpose of the Task Force is to examine the conditions and experiences of Black women and girls, to identify and assess the efficacy of policies and programs of Federal, State, and local governments designed to improve outcomes for Black women and girls, and to make recommendations to improve such policies and programs; and
WHEREAS, the duties of the Task Force are as follows: the Task Force shall identify and recommend programs, policies, and incentives for adoption by Federal, State, or local governments with respect to: education, economic development, healthcare, labor and employment, housing, justice and civil rights, and
WHEREAS, not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the United States Commission on Civil Rights shall conduct a comprehensive study and collect data with respect to the effects on Black women and girls [on the aforementioned subject matter areas]; and not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the United States Commission on Civil Rights shall submit to Congress, the President, and make publicly available online, a report outlining the Commission’s activities and findings; and
WHEREAS, co-sponsors of this bill include: Representative Joyce Beatty (D-OH-3), Representative Maxine Waters (D-CA-43), Representative Jasmine Crockett (D-TX-30), Representative Barbara Lee (D-CA-12), Representative Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-CA-37), Representative Lucy McBath (D-GA-7), Representative Ayanna Pressley (D-MA-7), Representative Ilhan Omar (D-MN-5) and Representative Cori Bush (D-MO-1) to name a few; and
WHEREAS, in the same spirit as the purpose and intention outlined in H.R. 7354, the U.S.
House of Representatives passed the Commission on the Social Status of Black Men and Boys Act (S.2163/H.R. 1636) in 2020, introduced by Congresswoman Wilson, establishing a 19-member commission to examine the social disparities disproportionately affecting Black males in America; and
4 WHEREAS, the Protect Black Women and Girls Act (H.R. 7354) seeks to address the systemic challenges faced by Black women and girls across critical sectors such as education, healthcare, economic development, housing, and civil rights by establishing an interagency task force to promote accountability, develop community-based solutions, and mitigate harm, making this legislation a vital step in advancing racial and gender equity nationwide; now, therefore, be it,
RESOLVED: That the Oakland City Council supports the Protect Black Women and Girls Act’s (H.R. 7354) passage in the 118th Congress, emphasizing the broad and transformative impact of this legislation while reaffirming Oakland’s commitment to advancing racial and gender justice.
IN COUNCIL, OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA,
PASSED BY THE FOLLOWING VOTE:
AYES - -FIFE, GALLO, JENKINS, KALB, KAPLAN, RAMACHANDRAN, REID, AND
PRESIDENT FORTUNATO BAS
NOES –
ABSENT –
ABSTENTION –
ATTEST: ________________________________________
ASHA REED
City Clerk and Clerk of the Council of the
City of Oakland, California
3376616v1/SW