The Reparatory Justice Commission was empaneled by the South Bend Common Council on September 28, 2023, to study aspects of reparatory justice for the harms and injustices experienced by African Americans and other Black people of African descent, as individuals and as a group. These harms have been physical, economic, psychological, and emotional, and continue to burden Black people in the present. They span generations and for some, represent lost opportunities and potentials that can never be regained. We recognize that the federal and state governments bear great responsibility and must be held to account. However, these harms were also experienced locally, through local action and inaction, and these local entities must also be held to account.

Among the areas on which the Commission will focus its attention are the economic system, housing, education, policing and the criminal legal system, and healthcare, including attention to mental health needs. Through research, public testimonials, and input from scholars and other experts, the Commission will work to identify as much as possible the root causes of harms to African Americans and their effects in the present. It will make recommendations for the repair of those harms and propose remedies to ensure that they are not repeated in the future. These may be harms or injustices perpetrated by explicit city policy or indirectly through structures or institutions under municipal authority. Inevitably, these will also include harms and injustices that were perpetrated by private and other non-governmental entities over which the municipality may have no authority, but which nonetheless demand redress.

The Commission has set 18 months as a timeframe in which to carry out its duties. It will hold public forums to gather stories and statements from those who have directly experienced harms, as well as examine the historical record to trace the causes of current disparities rooted in past racial inequities. There will be regular assessments and ongoing feedback from community participants. The Commission is committed to its work being transparent and inclusive. Public input is not only desired but necessary for the legitimacy of its recommendations to have effect.