The reparations movement is gaining traction across the United States. Like several other cities, St. Louis has created a commission to propose ways to atone for slavery and compensate Black residents for disadvantages they face from generations of government-approved racial discrimination.

According to local station KSDK, the commission met with residents on Wednesday (Oct. 11) to request new suggestions on reparations before the year’s end.

The commission’s vice-chair Dr. Will Ross said meetings will continue until December. A final report will then be put together by Ross and eight other commission leaders and sent to Mayor Tishaura Jones and the Board of Aldermen in January.

Ross said there’s been significant damage to Black residents over decades and centuries, and resources must be available to compensate for the harm.

“We’re not going to move our city forward until we have some healing,” Ross said. “And that racial healing means we have to afford the resources.”

Since forming in March 2023, the commission has been working on data collection and public suggestions.

So far, residents' suggestions include the ability to trace their lineage (a certain amount of years) for payment of $25,000.

Ross and the commissioners still need to determine what elements to include in a reparations package, which could include payments. They’re optimistic that lawmakers would pass a reparations bill, as other cities have done.

“I think it’s actually likely [to provide reparations in St. Louis] ... we’ve watched the national landscape. Some communities have started and they are far along. Some have moved further, some communities have floundered," Ross said.

In 2021, Evanston, Illinois, became the first U.S. city to make reparations available to Black residents for past discrimination and post-trauma from slavery.

The next in-person meeting will be October 28.