The St. Louis Reparations Commission detailed centuries of racial injustice in the city, urging investment in Black communities to address long-standing economic and social disparities, in a 124-page report released on Thursday. The commission recommended measures such as direct cash payments, zero-interest loans, and entrepreneurial grants for current Black residents.
The report traces racial disparities to the lasting effects of slavery, segregation and racial violence in St. Louis. Researchers highlighted how the city’s history of slavery and lynching continues to shape contemporary patterns of inequality related to crime, health and justice systems. The report additionally examines housing discrimination and red-lining policies, noting how they stifled Black families from building generational wealth.
To address these systemic issues, the commission recommended a variety of city investments in key areas, including housing and neighborhood development, education, public health, economic justice, criminal justice and policing, and cultural preservation and memory. Proposed measures include housing grant funds, tax credit programs, scholarship funds, educational programs, low-cost healthcare initiatives, and implementing alternative policing methods.
One key component is direct reparations. The commission recommends general cash payouts to “individuals who can trace their ancestry to enslaved people and to Black residents who have been disproportionately impacted by systemic racism.” These payments could amount to up to $25,000 for designated communities with documented direct harm, distributed in ways that help build wealth such as through tax exemptions or credits. The commission also called for an official apology from the city for its past harmful policies and the promotion of projects celebrating Black cultural heritage.
“It is the Commission’s hope that this report fosters accountability and learning, and ultimately leads to reparative actions that will improve the quality of life for Black St. Louisans,” the report stated. “By working together, we can begin to heal the wounds of the past and create a more equitable future for our city.”
The report comes 18 months after Mayor Tishaura Jones commenced the project in December 2022, aimed at assessing the impact of slavery, segregation and other race-based harms in St. Louis and recommending ways to address them. With its reparations project, St. Louis joins a growing number of cities and states exploring reparation policies. This Summer, California allocated $12 million to reparations legislation in its 2024-25 budget.
“As part of this growing movement, the City of St. Louis Reparations Commission has been attuned to, and in dialogue with, existing municipal initiatives, to gain insight into frameworks and best practices,” the report read. “… The City of St. Louis Reparations Commission has built its work on these foundations, rooting its methodology in historical insight, statistical patterns, expert knowledge, and lived experiences.”
