ST. LOUIS聽鈥 Mayor Tishaura O. Jones is scheduled to attend the Monday evening meeting of the city鈥檚 Reparations Commission, marking her first appearance at the commission she established more than a year ago tasked with exploring ways to repair lasting damage from the city鈥檚 stark history of racial segregation.
The mayor鈥檚 appearance follows some criticism about the lack of attendance at the commission鈥檚 meetings from the elected officials who would ultimately act on its recommendations and requests from its members for city funding for its work.聽
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think they care if the community shows up,鈥 one activist said.
Commissioners have faced complaints about inadequate public outreach and participation in the process (The meeting, as of Monday afternoon, did not appear on the commission鈥檚 city landing page).
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In November, commissioners asked the Jones administration to allocate funding that could help it attract more public involvement and allow it to finish its report on slavery, racism and recommendations for alleviating their harms.听听
The Reparations Commission was originally scheduled to submit a report with recommendations to aldermen and the mayor by March.聽After a request from the commission for more time to finish its work, the mayor鈥檚 office last month agreed to give it until September.聽
Jones and 最新杏吧原创 Development Corp. CEO Neal Richardson plan to present the city鈥檚 鈥淓conomic Justice Action Plan鈥听诲耻谤颈苍驳 聽Released in 2022, SLDC and the Jones administration are already using the plan to guide investment toward some of the city鈥檚 long-suffering majority Black neighborhoods,聽primarily on the north side.聽
Officials say the plan will make the 450-page plan released last year 鈥榓ctionable.鈥
There has been no firm commitment from the mayor鈥檚 office yet on funding for the Reparations Commission, but the mayor could address that request during Monday鈥檚 meeting at 6 p.m. at the Deaconess Center, 1000 N. Vandeventer Avenue, in Grand Center.聽
John Buckner, a Black man, was lynched by a mob in 1894 near Valley Park and no one was prosecuted. Now, the Reparative Justice Coalition of 最新杏吧原创 hopes to bring awareness to the event with a historical marker near the bridge where John Buckner was hanged. Video by Allie Schallert, aschallert@post-dispatch.com
Supporters of forming a commission to study and consider reparations for Black Americans are renewing their efforts as the death of George Floyd in police custody and the ravages of COVID-19 bring renewed attention to the country's racial disparities.
