Background: Rising Calls for Change
Americans are increasingly demanding that society affirms the humanity of those whose rights have been systemically violated and are calling for a broader reckoning with the legacy of racial injustice, including the genocide of Native Americans and enslavement of African Americans.
White supremacy has been maintained in the United States through a series of structural and legal measures such as the Indian Civilization Fund Act of 1819, the Indian Removal Act of 1830, coordinated efforts to disenfranchise Black voters in the South, “Jim Crow” laws that codified a system of racial apartheid, and discriminatory policing practices, among many others.
The truth about the country’s history of land theft, slavery, and racism and their connections to present-day injustices is well documented. However, this truth has not been fully integrated into the collective nation, nor has society or successive governments adequately acknowledged it. Previous efforts in the United States to address past wrongs have been insufficient to break the link between past violations and current structural racism.
Following a year of public outrage and protests in 2020, for the first time, racial justice is one of the top four priorities of the US executive branch. Within Congress, momentum is building in support of a Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans and a Commission on Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation. In June 2021, the Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative was established to investigate the lasting consequences of residential Indian boarding schools. These national level initiatives are matched by emerging efforts to seek the truth and acknowledge and repair harms in various cities and states across the country, including in Maryland, Evanston, Illinois, and California, among many others.
This momentum for change offers an opportunity to advance truth and acknowledgment and set in motion reforms and reparations programs that can unravel systemic racism in the United States. As ICTJ has seen in its work across the globe, the success of transitional justice efforts depends on windows of opportunity when there is both broad public support and political will. It is crucial to seize on this moment before institutions become more resistant to change.