The Economy Drug Store, a staple in Frenchtown, has been in Alexis Roberts-McMillan's family since she could remember.
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"It's been my playground, my business, my Sunday afternoon whatever, my job in the summer," she said.
Today, the view from her front window is changing as student housing developments overlook the area.
"Frenchtown is no longer the Frenchtown I grew up with, and I have to realize that,” Roberts-McMillan said.
She said that looking for capital to help her keep up with the modernization is becoming a struggle.
"My optimism tells me, okay, uncover every toadstool, look behind every leaf,” Roberts-McMillan said. “I know that my parents had to scratch and strain to do whatever it was that they could do, and so far as not being able to walk into a bank and shake the hand of the banker and know that they would be given a certain amount of money, I've never tried that because I know that that's what they were not able to do.”
That struggle is what the proposed charter amendment aimed at addressing historic harms seeks to examine.
But critics like David West argue that it is just reparations under another name, contrary to what its original proposer says.
"They're doing all sorts of mental gymnastics to avoid calling it that. To avoid making it seem like it's related at all to DEI. Let's face it, it is," West said.
West believes this would reopen wounds on topics like slavery.
"This doesn't belong in our charter at all,” West said.
“Number one, no one living today was a direct beneficiary or someone who was directly harmed by slavery. It was a horrible institution. There is no arguing that.”
Commissioner Brian Welch argues that the amendment jeopardizes the investments the county has already made to benefit the entire community.
According to county staff, more than $30 million has been invested in human service programs, healthcare, housing, and economic development over the past five years.
But Roberts-McMillan believes the charter could benefit the entire community.
"I think that it would be enhancing what is there, and what the community is capable of doing," Roberts-McMillan said.
County staff is currently redrafting the amendment amid fears it could violate diversity, equity, and inclusion laws.
Once finished, Leon County commissioners will review the draft and determine how to move forward.
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