Nearly a year after the Kansas City Council approved the creation of the Mayor’s Commission on Reparations, little progress has been made. The 13-member commission wasn’t sworn in until June, and still, eight months later, absolutely no funding has been set aside for the commission to complete its work.
The commission is tasked with examining historical injustices to identify injury areas and make recommendations for reparations to the mayor and city council.
They are charged with looking at injuries in five key areas: education, economic development, health care, housing, and criminal justice. However, the commission did not receive any funding to complete the research to identify any discriminatory practices.
The lack of forward progress, and funding, has proven frustrating, considering the commission was charged with bringing back a preliminary report in 12 months and a final report with recommendations in 18 months.
Working on the King holiday theme “Reparations Now,” the Southern Christian Leadership Council invited members of the Mayor’s Commission on Reparations and the community-based KC Reparations Coalition as guest panelists at a community forum.
With the mayor, mayor pro tem, and two members of the city council firmly planted in the front row, the SCLC of Greater Kansas City’s president, the Rev. Dr. Vernon Howard, took the opportunity to ask officials why the city’s reparations commission has not received the funding it has asked for and needed to complete its work.
“This commission is hamstrung by an inability to tap into funds to get this work done,” said Howard. “I’m frustrated by that; I’m disgusted by that. The money should’ve been appropriated and put in place when the commission was.”
Mayor’s Commission on Reparations Chair Terri Barnes said that a budget of $510,000 was submitted to the mayor’s office in December. Barnes said more than archival research and historical study are needed.
She said funding is needed for legal aid, input, and review to help draft the commission’s recommendations.
“We want to make sure that what we put forward is legally acceptable and not able to be challenged in court,” said Barnes.
Reparations Commission member Dr. Linwood Tauheed raised concerns about the impact of the funding shortfall on the commission’s timeline for completion of the project. He called for a reset of the commission’s timeline.
Called on to respond, Mayor Quinton Lucas acknowledged the commission’s need for resources and emphasized the city’s commitment to “trying to be better” and expressed a desire to avoid delays in implementing reparations-related initiatives.
“I don’t know if we were more excited about just getting something happening, but we did not get to that contemplative work [funding] ahead of time,” said Lucas. “Part of the conversation with the commission right now is to make sure that missteps like that don’t happen again.”
Barnes and Lucas said a financial commitment from the city council and the mayor’s office is developing. Both expected a clearer picture by the Reparation Commission’s Jan. 23 meeting.
They also noted that the needed funding extends beyond the city’s coffers, with contributions from local businesses and philanthropic communities also anticipated.
Vice Mayor Ryana Parks-Shaw, and councilmembers Darrell Curls and Melissa Patterson-Hazley, joined Lucas in voicing their support for the commission’s work and funding.
Curls highlighted the need for seven votes from the city council to secure funding, pointing out that while five Black members are likely to support commission funding and recommendations, two additional council votes are required.
