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…