Coalition for Atonement and Repair: We will not co-sign a hollow resolution where the City’s Office of Law erases the truth and prioritizes institutions over people.
"Why We’re Withdrawing Support for City of Annapolis R-32-25:
“A Resolution concerning The Displaced Member Group of the Old Fourth Ward of Annapolis”
We wrote truth. The city rewrote it out.
What began as a demand for truth, repair, and accountability—rooted in the lived experiences of Black descendants of the Old Fourth Ward—has been twisted and rewritten, turning the City’s so-called ‘resolution’ into a betrayal of the very community it claims to honor. Let the record be clear:
Last fall, Mayor Buckley asked the Coalition for Atonement & Repair (CAR) to draft an apology on behalf of the City of Annapolis to the Old Fourth Ward. We responded with a resolution titled "Commitment to Repair: Apology to the Old Fourth Ward"—a document grounded in truth, history, and moral responsibility to those displaced, erased, and dishonored by urban renewal.
Instead of standing in integrity, the City chose politics over principle.
The City’s Office of Law repeatedly:
Stripped away the language of harm
Erased references to the Freedmen identity, which means “everyone else” is included
Sanitized the historical truth and continues to place the blame for the Urban Renewal on the County and State Only
The resolution has now been renamed “A Resolution Concerning the Displaced Member Group of the Old Fourth Ward of Annapolis.” It offers no real apology, no acknowledgment of wrongdoing, and no commitment to repair—only a hollow gesture designed to shield the City from liability and accountability.
This is not reparative justice, accountability, nor healing. It is HARM.
So, we are reclaiming our power.
We have formally requested that the bill sponsors, Aldermen Gay and Schandelmeier, withdraw this resolution. Despite their good intentions, we cannot co-sign a process that disrespects the Old Fourth Ward Displaced Member Group and their descendants. We will not allow the City to use the names of our elders, families, and ancestors to pass a false apology that protects institutions but does nothing for the people.
We’re deeply disappointed by the lack of political will from the Mayor, the City Council, and the City Attorney.
We thank Aldermen Gay and Schandelmeier for their full support of the original apology we submitted grounded in truth, harm, and reparative justice.
But what’s now before Council is not what we wrote. It’s not justice. It’s political performance.
The Mayor asked us to draft the apology, then allowed the City to erase our truth. This resolution does not speak for the descendants of the Old Fourth Ward.
We look forward to working with the newly seated Council in January to secure not just an apology but atonement and true reparative justice."
-Ahsun Powell
Chief Strategist/Facilitator
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