The more specific the solutions, the more convincing you are! It's not enough to say "we need to treat everyone with equality" - HOW are we going to go about doing that?? List specific things we could be doing differently!

Questions to ask yourself while drafting to help you put together your arguments:

• How has slavery (and its fall-out) shaped the state of Oregon and the demographics of Portland?

• How has slavery (and its fall-out) shaped the societal elements (the economy, our educational system, governmental systems, how we view ourselves as a country, etc. etc.)?

• Say a white family never had ancestors who owned slaves…what are ways they still might have profited from slavery (and its fall out) over the generations?

• Say an African American family moved here 30 years ago and never had ancestors who were enslaved…what are ways they still might have had to deal with the fall out from slavery today?

In case you're curious how other countries have dealt with inequalities in their pasts, here is a list of countries that have instituted reparations of some kind to try to make up for past ills:

1. South Africa

2. Chile

3. Morocco

4. Germany

5. Canada

6. Cambodia