A county board in Texas unanimously endorsed the idea that African-Americans deserve reparations for slavery, but only because some board members didn't bother to read the resolution on which they voted.
Yes, the Dallas County Commissioners Court on Tuesday approved a resolution, drafted by the board's lone black member, John Wiley Price, that said African-Americans should be "satisfied with monetary and substantial reparations." Tucked at the end of a measure called the "Juneteenth Resolution," the line went unnoticed by some members who "admitted after their meeting Tuesday that they hadn't read the document before voting for it," according to The Dallas Morning News.
Price read the entire document aloud at the meeting. But that happens with every resolution, and the commissioners didn't seem to be listening with a critical ear. With no discussion, Price's resolution was approved by voice vote.
Then, about an hour later, the other commissioners complained that they hadn't been given copies of the resolution before they voted. It wasn't part of their meeting packet, they said. Nor was it posted on the county's website. [Dallas Morning News]
The resolution was non-binding, so it won't have any practical effect other than to serve as an unintentional PSA about the importance of critical reading.