HomeMy WebLinkAbout26-18 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 * City of South Bend
* Common Council "
* ,u�� ( i i l T l l • 215 S.Martin Luther King,Jr.Blvd.
* South Bend,Indiana 46601
Canneth Lee June 17,2026
President Chairperson Karen White
Sheila Niezgodski Residential Neighborhoods Committee
Vice President Filed in Clerk's Office
Ophelia Gooden-Rodgers South Bend Common Council Jun 17, 2026
Chairperson,Committee 3rd Floor, South Bend City Hall
of the Whole Bianca Tirado
South Bend, IN 46601 City Clerk, South Bend, IN
Canneth Lee
First District
Re: A RESOLUTION OF THE COMMON COUNCIL OF THE CITY
Ophelia Gooden-Rodgers OF SOUTH BEND, INDIANA, FORMALLY ACCEPTING THE
Second Distract HISTORICAL SECTIONS OF THE FINAL REPORT OF THE
Sharon L. McBride REPARATORY JUSTICE COMMISSION AND THE HISTORY OF
Third District RACIAL DISCRIMINATION AGAINST BLACK RESIDENTS
Dr. Heidi Beidinger DOCUMENTED THEREIN, ACKNOWLEDGING THE ANALYSES
Fourth District AND RECOMMENDATIONS SECTIONS OF THE REPORT FOR
• PURPOSES OF POLICY DISCUSSIONS, AND ISSUING A FORMAL
Sherry Bolden-Simpson APOLOGY FROM THE COMMON COUNCIL AND ON BEHALF OF
Fifth District THE CITY OF SOUTH BEND
Sheila Niezgodski
Sixth District
Dr.Oliver Davis Dear Chairperson White:
At Large I am submitting this proposed resolution for Council consideration of the
Rachel Tomas Morgan next step following presentation of the Reparatory Justice Commission final
Ai Large report. This resolution formally accepts the historical sections of the report
Karen L. White
and directs that they be made a part of the official City record.
At Large The resolution also acknowledges the analyses and recommendations of the
report to be used in future discussions to facilitate policies and legislation for
the benefit of all residents of South Bend.
Finally, the resolution apologizes to the Black residents of the City of South
Bend,past and present, for the history of discrimination and for the harms it
has caused.
I ask for this proposed resolution to be placed on the agenda for consideration by the Residential
Neighborhoods Committee at its June 22,2026,meeting and the full Council meeting later that same
evening.
Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely yours,
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Canneth Lee, President, South Bend
Common Council
I
(574)235-9321• Fax(574)235-9173•TDD(5741 235-.5567 •http://wwvw.southbendin.gov
Filed in Clerk's Office
Jun 17, 2026
BILL NO.26-18 Bianca Tirado
City Clerk, South Bend, IN
RESOLUTION NO.
A RESOLUTION OF THE COMMON COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SOUTH BEND,
INDIANA,FORMALLY ACCEPTING THE HISTORICAL SECTIONS OF THE FINAL
REPORT OF THE REPARATORY JUSTICE COMMISSION AND THE HISTORY OF
RACIAL DISCRIMINATION AGAINST BLACK RESIDENTS DOCUMENTED
THEREIN,ACKNOWLEDGING THE ANALYSES AND RECOMMENDATIONS
SECTIONS OF THE REPORT FOR PURPOSES OF POLICY DISCUSSIONS,AND
ISSUING A FORMAL APOLOGY FROM THE COMMON COUNCIL AND ON
BEHALF OF THE CITY OF SOUTH BEND
WHEREAS, on September 25, 2023, the Common Council of the City of South Bend
established the Reparatory Justice Commission to examine the history of racial discrimination
against Black residents of South Bend and to recommend measures by which the City might repair
the documented harms of that history; and
WHEREAS, the Commission, composed of community members with expertise across
housing, employment, education, health, civil rights, and public service conducted eighteen
months of research,public testimony, archival inquiry, and community engagement; and
WHEREAS, the Commission produced a final report of 138 pages documenting an
extensive history of racial discrimination in economic opportunity & employment, housing,
education, health & mental health,policing& criminal justice system, sustained over more than a
century, and identified sixty-two specific recommendations for the City, the Common Council,
allied institutions, and community partners; and
WHEREAS, the historical record the Commission has compiled draws on official
municipal records, federal and state archives, scholarly research, and the lived testimony of South
Bend residents whose families experienced the harms documented therein; and
WHEREAS, this Council recognizes that an accurate account of the City's history is the
foundation on which any honest reparative efforts must build from; and
WHEREAS, the Commission's analyses and recommendations represent a substantive
framework for further discussions from which the work of repair, with the Common Council and
the administration of the City of South Bend, along 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 bear collective and shared responsibility for the implementation of policies and
legislation within the bounds of the Constitution and applicable law to benefit all residents.
NOW,THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Common Council of the City of South Bend,
Indiana as follows:
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
Canneth J. Lee, Council President
South Bend Common Council
Attest:
Bianca L. Tirado, City Clerk
Office of the City Clerk
Presented by me, the undersigned Clerk of the City of South Bend, to the Mayor of the
City of South Bend, Indiana on the day of , 2026, at o'clock .m.
Bianca L. Tirado, City Clerk
Office of the City Clerk
Approved and signed by me on the day of , 2026, at o'clock
.m.
James Mueller,Mayor
City of South Bend, Indiana