Establishment of the Presidential Commission to Develop Reparation Proposals for the American Freedmen Families.

Updated: May 28

DRAFT
Executive Order
 
Establishment of the Presidential Commission to Develop Reparation Proposals for the American Freedmen Families. 
 
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered as follows:
 
Section 1. Establishment. There is established the Presidential Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for the American Freedmen Families (Commission). American Freedmen are that class of persons emancipated in the United States via the 13th Amendment in 1865 or prior and their descendants.

Sec. 2. Membership. (a) The Commission shall be composed of some odd number of members designated or appointed by the President.

(b) Members of the Commission shall be persons who are especially qualified by virtue of their education particularly in the fields of constitutional law, public policy, political science, economics, and American history with specific emphasis on Reconstruction and the ongoing plight of the American Freedmen. Members shall also include other individuals having experience in reparations advocacy as well as knowledge of the overthrown Reconstruction efforts, Congress’ 13th Amendment authority to eradicate all badges and incidents of slavery and of remedial justice.

(c) The President shall designate a Chair or two members of the Commission to serve as Co-Chairs (Chair or Chairpersons) from among the Commission's members.

Sec. 3. Functions. The Commission shall produce a report for the President that includes but is not limited to the following:

1. A corpus of evidentiary documentation of the institution of slavery existing within the United States from 1776 through 1865. The Commission’s documentation and examination shall include but not be limited to the facts related to—
   1. the capture and procurement of the inhabitants of Africa.
   2. the importation of said persons into the United States for the purpose of enslavement.
   3. the sale and acquisition of said persons as chattel property in interstate and intrastate commerce.
   4. the treatment of the men, women and children imported from Africa as slaves in the United States, including the deprivation of their freedom, exploitation of their labor, and destruction of their cultures, languages, religions, and families; and
   5. the systemic dehumanization, including sexual violence and the treatment of individuals as property.
2. The role which the Federal and State governments played in tolerating and supporting the institution of slavery in constitutional and statutory provisions. This includes the extent to which said governments prevented, opposed, or restricted efforts of those who chose to seek refuge in free territories or foreign lands.
3. The fact that the rights, privileges and immunities of citizenship were abrogated for those held in the condition of chattel bondage. All Federal and State laws that discriminated against the American Freedmen and their enslaved ancestors from the nation’s founding up until the Civil Rights Acts of the 1960’s which sought to undo discrimination and segregation.
4. The other forms of discrimination in the public and private sectors against members of the Freedmen class in the United States including redlining, educational funding discrepancies, and predatory financial practices.
5. The detrimental effects of slavery's legacy on American Freedmen and the broader social fabric, manifest in the consistent exacerbation of wealth inequality.
6. Recommend appropriate ways to educate the American public of the Commission’s findings.
7. Recommend appropriate remedies in consideration of the Commission’s findings on the matters described in the final report submitted to the President. In making such recommendations, the Commission shall address among other issues, the following questions:
   1. How such recommendations of remedy encompass acknowledgement, redress and closure for wrongs and injuries caused by the State, which shall include full repair and special measures.
   2. How the Government of the United States will offer a formal apology on behalf of the people of the United States for the perpetration of gross human rights violations and crimes against humanity on Americans held as slaves and their Freedmen descendants.
   3. Which Federal and State laws and/or policies disproportionately and negatively impact the American Freedmen class by perpetuating lingering effects, materially and psycho-socially, and how these can be eliminated.
   4. How the injuries resulting from matters outlined in the Committee’s final report can be reversed and provide appropriate policies, programs, projects, and recommendations for the purpose of reversing the injuries. This includes closing the wealth gap within a ten-year period.
   5. How, in consideration of the Commission’s findings, any form of compensation including direct payments to the American Freedmen class is calculated.
   6. How forms of compensation to eligible recipients should be awarded through a newly formed and improved Bureau of American Freedmen Affairs.
   7. How, in consideration of the Commission’s findings, any other forms of  rehabilitation or restitution to the American Freedmen class is warranted as well as the form and scope those measures should take.
   8. How a federal reparations program for the American Freedmen shall be funded by the United States via Congress’ Article I, Section 9, Clause 7 (power of the purse) constitutional authority.
   9. How Congress can and should use its 13th Amendment section 2 power to clearly define and ultimately eradicate all badges and incidents of slavery.

Sec. 4. Administration. (a) The Office of Administration within the Executive Office of the President shall provide funding and administrative support for the Commission to the extent permitted by law and within existing appropriations. To the extent permitted by law, including the Economy Act (31 U.S.C. 1535), and subject to the availability of appropriations, the General Services Administration shall provide administrative services, including facilities, staff, equipment, and other support services as may be necessary to carry out the objectives of the Commission.

(b) Members of the Commission shall serve without compensation for their work on the Commission, but shall be allowed travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, to the extent permitted by law for persons serving intermittently in the Government service (5 U.S.C. 5701-5707).

(c) Insofar as the Federal Advisory Committee Act, as amended (5 U.S.C. App.) (Act), may apply to the Commission, any functions of the President under the Act, except for those in section 6 of the Act, shall be performed by the Administrator of General Services.

Sec. 5. Reports and Termination. The Commission shall make an interim report as to its findings of fact not later than October 22nd, 2024, and shall present its final report and recommendations not later than one year from the date of this order. It shall terminate upon presenting its final report and recommendations.