26-18 Res. Accepting the Historical Sections of the Reparatory Justice Comm. Report Documenting a History of Discrimination Against Black Residents, Acknowledging Recommendations, and Issuing an Apology From the Common Council and on Behalf of the City

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SECTION I. The Common Council formally accepts the historical sections of the final report of the Reparatory Justice Commission and enters them into the permanent public record of the City of South Bend. SECTION II. The Common Council acknowledges, on behalf of the City of South Bend, the history of racial discrimination documented in the report — in economic opportunity & employment, housing, education, health & mental health, policing & criminal justice system — sustained over more than a century. SECTION III. On behalf of the City of South Bend,the Common Council apologizes to the Black residents of the City of South Bend, past and present, for that history and for the harms it has caused. SECTION IV. The Common Council expresses its gratitude to the members of the Reparatory Justice Commission for their work, to the community members whose testimony made that work possible, to former Council President Sharon McBride for empaneling the Commission, and to Council President Canneth Lee for shepherding the report to its current place among the historical documents of the City of South Bend. SECTION V. The Common Council commits to preserving the Commission's final report, supporting documentation,and historical research as a permanent public record,including through a dedicated public website to be developed in partnership with the St. Joseph County Public Library and the Indiana University South Bend Civil Rights Heritage Center. SECTION VI. The Common Council calls upon the administration of the City of South Bend to act upon the analyses and recommendations of the report as a framework for discussions and for the implementation of policies and legislation within its executive authority and within the limits of all federal & state laws and Constitutions, and in coordination with the Common Council, and to report periodically the Common Council and the public on the implementation of those actions. SECTION VII. The Common Council recognizes that the work of repair extends beyond the authority of any single body or branch of city government, and calls upon the South Bend Community School Corporation, the Housing Authority of South Bend, the St. Joseph County Health Department, area hospitals and universities, faith communities, philanthropic institutions, and the broader business community to engage with the Commission's recommendations as bases for further discussions and implementation of policies and legislation within their respective spheres of responsibility. SECTION VIII. This Resolution shall take effect upon passage by the South Bend Common Council and approval by the Mayor. Dated this 22nd day of June 2026