New commission to explore reparations options for Black residents in Atlanta

Two candidates for the Atlanta City Council Post 3 At-Large seat will face off in a runoff election in early December, after neither received 50% of the vote during the Nov. 5 general election. (Matthew Pearson/WABE)

The City of Atlanta has its own reparations initiative for Black residents.

Atlanta City Council is moving forward with a new reparations study commission that will help find local-level options for restitution to Atlanta’s Black population.

Councilmember Michael Julian Bond sponsored the resolution for the commission in October. The resolution was unanimously adopted on November 2. 



The commission will have at least 11 appointed members with some background in African-American history and civil rights. Some will be selected from Atlanta colleges and universities, including Morehouse College. Others will be from advocacy organizations like the National African-American Reparations Commission.

The group will study the impact of legal discrimination against Black residents in Atlanta and make quarterly reports to the city’s Community Development and Human Services Committee. 

Fulton County is also contributing to reparations work. A task force was established in 2021 and is currently planning research alongside the Atlanta Unversity Center Consortium. 

The county will report its findings and recommendations to the board of commissioners next year. 

Officials have yet to release further details on what’s to come from the city’s new study commission.