Leon commissioners agree to issue apology for racism in county's past

Leon County commissioners will issue an apology for the county's history of slavery.

At the county's annual retreat on Monday, commissioners unanimously agreed to the apology coming out this year, Tallahassee and Leon County's joint bicentennial. The resolution was a last-minute addition to the meeting agenda for Tuesday.

Commissioners Rick Minor and Brian Welch shared their support for the resolution to “acknowledge some of the bad things in those 200 years.”

"As we’re looking at some of the great strides of our community, there’s progress, but there has not been an apology," said Commissioner Bill Proctor, who introduced the resolution, after the meeting. "We’ve done a lot to bring people together but we’ve never said ‘I'm sorry.’ "

Proctor's call for an apology comes as Tallahassee's First Presbyterian Church unveiled a plaque on Sunday apologizing for that church's history of racism. And he noted how Congress has issued several resolutions throughout the years issuing apologies for the enslavement of African American people.

Also, in 2021, a historical marker was placed in Cascades Park to commemorate the county's four known lynching victims: Pierce Taylor, Mick Morris, Richard Hawkins and Ernest Ponder.

The commission also is exploring the purchase of federal land to build affordable housing as a way to tackle the homelessness crisis, possibly reducing the property tax, and it unveiled more news about ongoing bicentennial celebrations.

Here's more on the other topics covered Monday:

Tackling homelessness

Commissioner Nick Maddox said he thinks the commission should look into buying federal land for affordable housing.

"I think we have to look at all options and look at all innovations that we have current and future when it comes to considering how we're going to deal with" homelessness, Maddox said. Maddox is also the CEO of Family Promise of the Big Bend.

He proposed an initiative to the county's strategic plan which would "evaluate future opportunities to acquire eligible federal lands for the provision of affordable housing and public services."

Homelessness in the Big Bend significantly increased in 2023, mirroring statewide and national trends that point to the greater issue at the forefront of the country's mind.

Last year, 801 people were found to be homeless, according to the Big Bend Continuum of Care's Point In Time count. This is roughly a 22% increase from 2022, which recorded 659 people experiencing homelessness.

While agreeing that homelessness was a pressing issue, Commissioner Christian Caban said that he could not get behind the proposed wording. Caban represents District 2 which is the southwest part of the county.

"I think before we look to develop federal land or potentially look at a forest I think there's plenty of opportunities to look at city land, even in house county land," Caban said. "I think we should exhaust all options in town before we're looking at exerting this option."

After back and forth on the item and laying out specific language, the initiative would receive a unanimous vote with the addition of an extra line stating, "to exclude those lands that are conserved by the federal government."

Budget items

The national inflation rate inflation rate was 3.2% in October 2023, and Proctor brought up how the effects of these rising costs are make it harder for locals when they go to the grocery store or the gas station.

He proposed two items for staff to look into to be brought back at a later date, specifically budget discussion items, which make them separate from initiatives added to the strategic plan.

He wants to look into lowering housing taxes and exploring a 90-split in healthcare contribution for county employees.

Unlocking our history

Director of Tourism Kerri Post, alongside the bicentennial steering committee, debuted its new “history kiosk” alongside several upcoming projects.

The interactive kiosk, which will be housed at the Leon County Courthouse and then moved to buildings across the county, allows guests to see Tallahassee through the years. It also includes information for past county commissioners, photos, and more.

Last year, the county commission approved $313,000 to be distributed among tourism grant categories. From that approved funding, around $70,000 remained which has been out towards the bicentennial.

“We’re proposing a second cycle of grant funding to allow us to extend our outreach and get further penetration across the community,” Post said.

There are also plans to decorate the community with new county welcome signs, some to be strewn along I-10, and banners to be placed on the Leon County Courthouse and the county libraries.

The committee even revealed merchandise for the year-long celebration. Some of these items include car magnets, special edition library cards and themed bookmarks at the libraries.

These new initiatives join hundreds of other events which have been posted to the bicentennial’s website, tallahasseeleoncounty200.com.

Champions' Celebration

At the last county commission meeting of 2023, the commissioners expressed an interest in hosting a “champions' celebration” to recognize the several athletic achievements that came out of Florida A&M and Florida State last fall.

Florida A&M and FSU football teams clinched division championships on the same day, and the Seminole women's soccer team is fresh off of winning its fourth national title. The FSU women's volleyball team also was named ACC co-champions after a dominant season.

Post said that the Department of Tourism reached out to the community and the universities to gauge the want for a celebration to which she said there has been "no express interest."

The county still wants to move ahead with a celebration to potentially be held during the university's spring games and they will move ahead in making a proclamation honoring the teams.

Arianna Otero is the City Solutions Reporter for the Tallahassee Democrat. Contact her via email at AOtero@tallahassee.com or on Twitter/X: @ari_v_otero.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Leon commissioners to issue apology for history of racism in county