Caucus Renews Call For Reparations Panel, As Moore Unveils Disparity Programs

By Maryland Matters Staff

June 20, 2025

The Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland renewed its call Thursday for a commission to study reparations, even as Gov. Wes Moore unveiled a series of measures that he said would close the racial wealth gap that is a legacy of past discrimination.

It’s the latest in a debate that began with Moore’s May 16 veto of Senate Bill 587, which called for creation of a commission to study the effects of historic racism on Black residents of the state today and to recommend “appropriate benefits” ranging from an official apology to monetary benefits.

“While the steps announced today are important, they do not replace the need for reparations,” said a prepared statement from the caucus. “Addressing the racial wealth gap, health disparities, our unequal justice system, housing access, and education outcomes requires a comprehensive approach—and reparations must be central to that effort.

In his veto message, Moore said there have been many studies on historic racial inequities and that this was not the time for another study, but for action.

Lawmakers confident they can override Moore’s veto, reinstate Reparations Commission bill

He pointed to efforts under his administration to increase the amount of state business for Black-owned businesses, boost funding for historically Black colleges and universities, expand home ownership and expunge cannabis conviction records, which disproportionately affected Black residents.

Those themes were repeated Thursday, Juneteenth, when Moore traveled to the Bethel AME Church in Cambridge to tout his administration’s accomplishments and announce an expansion of cannabis commutations and the start of the new “Just Communities” program.

Moore, according to a text of his speech, said the program aims to help atone for “placed-based policies of the past like historic redlining and mass incarceration and the urban renewal of the ’80s and ’90s and unfair appraisal values – which have been some of the greatest wealth thefts in American history.”

The Just Communities program gives priority for state investment to communities that can show they have been impacted by racial segregation, state or federal redevelopment programs that seized private homes, high rates of incarceration or exposure to environmental or health hazards.

Moore identified the first 419 such communities, in 16 counties and Baltimore City, that will be eligible for $400 million in funding for communities that have been “historically impacted by exclusionary policies.”

The governor also announced an additional 6,938 pardons for conviction of simple cannabis possession, on top of the nearly 170,000 pardons he issued for the crime last year. The new cases were discovered by court officials as they continue to pore through records.

Moore said racial inequality, through restrictive policies and denied opportunities, has coat the economy $16 trillion in the last two decades, and he repeated his call to action.

“We have a remarkable lineage of scholarship on this issue. We have more data now than ever before on this topic,” Moore said. “The work of repair doesn’t require more analysis. Because we cannot afford to simply “meet” about the situation before us… and delay progress… “We need action, and we cannot wait.”

The caucus statement said it “applauds Governor Wes Moore’s announcement today and his continued commitment to improving the lives of Black Marylanders,” and said it has been a proud partner in many of hte efforts cited by Moore.

The caucus, which has vowed to override Moore’s veto of the reparations bill, said it will continue working with the governor on that progress. But is said that the progress needs to include a reparations commission.

“As we celebrate Freedom Day and reflect on meaningful progress, we remain focused on our unfinished work—particularly the creation of the Maryland Reparations Commission … the first-ever state action on reparations in Maryland,” the statement said. “It is a historic and necessary step toward repair and true equity.”