KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas announced the Mayor’s Commission on Reparations will be hosting listening sessions for the Black Audit Project, a nationwide initiative aimed at assessing the well-being of African Americans across the country.

The project’s founder and guest speaker for the listening sessions, Dr. Justin Hansford, Professor of Law at Howard University, is traveling across the globe, gathering accounts of injustices faced by Afro-descendant populations related to health, economics, education, and housing. During the listening sessions, Kansas Citians are encouraged to share their stories of racial injustice.

The insights gathered from the Black Audit Project will be presented to the United Nations to highlight global racial inequalities.

“Nearly one year ago, I appointed the Mayor’s Commission on Reparations, knowing that building a better community for all requires our City to address past wrongs and ongoing patterns of discrimination, and find ways we may create equal opportunity for all Kansas Citians,” said Mayor Lucas. “This week, I am proud the Mayor’s Commission on Reparations will host Dr. Justin Hansford in Kansas City to gather experiences and stories from community members to help inform a groundbreaking report to the United Nations about the wellbeing of Black Americans in cities around the world. The findings from the listening sessions and the product of the Black Audit Project will help the Commission’s research to bring forth the best recommendations to City Council for reparations in Kansas City. I look forward to the discussion.”

Listening Sessions:

Session #1: Thursday, March 14, 2024, from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Session #2:  Thursday, March 14, 2024, 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Both sessions will take place at The Black Archives of Mid-America Kansas City, 1722 E. 17th Terrace, Kansas City.

The Mayor's Commission on Reparations, established in May 2023, is dedicated to recommending reparatory justice for discriminatory practices against the African American community in Kansas City. Mayor Lucas emphasized the city's commitment to addressing past wrongs and creating equal opportunities for all Kansas Citians.

The Commission convenes on the 4th Tuesday of each month on the 10th floor of City Hall.

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