ST. LOUIS 鈥 A meeting of the city鈥檚 Reparations Commission went off the rails this week when some in its audience began blasting its approach to public engagement.
Several people suggested the commission had been less than transparent about its process for writing a critical report to city officials on reparations for slavery and anti-Black discrimination. They complained that they didn鈥檛 know who exactly was working on the report. They said they couldn鈥檛 get timely notice for meetings. And most of all, they said, the commission hasn鈥檛 done nearly enough to get people to show up.
There were around 30 people 鈥 and several empty chairs 鈥 in the audience at the Deaconess Foundation on Wednesday night.
鈥淭hey can鈥檛 fill a room with Black people for a meeting on reparations, in north 蜜芽传媒, in 2023,鈥 said Tory Russell, who gained a reputation during the 2014 Ferguson protests. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think they care if the community shows up.鈥
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The rebukes made for a remarkable ending to the commission鈥檚 eighth public input meeting this year. Mayor Tishaura O. Jones formed the task force to investigate the impacts of slavery and discrimination and facilitate a 鈥渞obust public dialogue鈥 around what happened and what should happen next, and report back to Jones and the aldermen early next year. If the public dialogue is seen as insufficient, it could cast a pall over the body鈥檚 recommendations.
Dr. Will Ross, the commission鈥檚 vice chairman, appeared chastened by the end of the meeting.
鈥淲e are not happy with the turnout,鈥 he said. 鈥淚t should be unacceptable. It is unacceptable.鈥
The commission, he said, needs money from City Hall to get the word out better about its work.
Nick Dunne, the mayor鈥檚 press secretary, said Thursday that Jones does care about the task force鈥檚 work and wants it to succeed. But he said none of the city鈥檚 other 100 or so boards or commissions have budgets for outreach, and that the commission has done a good job drawing audiences itself.
鈥淚f they want more turnout and more outreach, I鈥檓 eager to have that conversation,鈥 he said.
The outbursts followed months of more muted criticism of the commission鈥檚 process. There have been issues getting meeting locations posted on the city鈥檚 website more than a few days beforehand. There have been questions about why elected officials who will act on the commission鈥檚 recommendations haven鈥檛 been at meetings. And some people have simply expressed impatience: They want reparations, and they want them now.
But on Wednesday night, it was all that and more.
It started when Russell, the Ferguson activist, asked who would be writing the report, and which institutions had been brought in to consult. That triggered a lengthy back-and-forth where commissioners initially struggled give him a satisfactory answer. And when it appeared they finally had, the Rev. Rich Jackson, known for his ministry to people in prison and ex-offenders, took the mic and scolded the commission for not including the public when the commission was formed. And before it was explained that the commission assigned report-writing tasks in livestreamed meetings, and that there was a public application process for the commission, discussion turned to crowd size.
Travis Cotton, who lives on the city鈥檚 north side, asked what was being done to get more young people to meetings, for instance. 鈥淓verybody鈥檚 hurting,鈥 he said.
And state Rep. Kimberly Ann Collins, D-蜜芽传媒, called on commissioners to do more to get the word out themselves.
鈥淭his is not the totality of residents that represent the whole city of 蜜芽传媒,鈥 she said. 鈥淲e can get more people in this room.鈥
But Jada Peten, an organizer with the progressive advocacy group Action 蜜芽传媒, defended commissioners, who are unpaid volunteers. Peten said it was city officials鈥 job to pay for mailers and door-knockers to get the word out, and they haven鈥檛 done it.
She said her organization, which pushed Jones to set up the commission and is led by Reparations Commission chair Kayla Reed, has been doing its best to make up for that. But more outreach is needed.
鈥淭he city has not done a good job of facilitating that,鈥 she said.
In a series of conversations with Congresswoman Cori Bush and 蜜芽传媒 Mayor Tishaura Jones, Post-Dispatch columnists Aisha Sultan and Tony Messenger ask the two political leaders of the region about a variety of topics, including reparations, rebuilding north 蜜芽传媒, crime, the changing political scene in Missouri, and parenting. Video by Colter Peterson, cpeterson@post-dispatch.com
