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Over the past half-century, numerous transitional justice (TJ) measures have been implemented globally. While much research has examined different TJ modalities in the aftermath of authoritarian rule and armed conflict, a growing body of work recognizes TJ outside of political transitions. We study a noteworthy export from transitional to non-transitional settings: truth commissions. Building on scholarship on TJ in established democracies, we introduce new quantitative data from the Varieties of Truth Commissions Project on truth commissions in an overlooked but significant case: the United States. The data capture twenty past, present and proposed official U.S. truth commissions, most of them at the subnational level. Though their mandates vary considerably, they all address racial injustice, with an emphasis on anti-Indigenous and anti-Black violence. We elaborate on trends in the data and discuss the implications for unfolding efforts to reckon with historical and contemporary racial violence and injustice in the United States.
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Democratizing-Truth:-An-Analysis-of-Truth-Commissions-
in-the-United-States
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Daniel'Posthumus
' ' Kelebogile'Zvobgo
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International*Journal*of*Transitional*Justice'pre-publication'version'
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Abstract"
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Over"the"past"half-century,"numerous"transitional"justice" (TJ)"measures"have"been"
implemented"globally."While"much"research"has"examined"different"TJ"modalities"in"
the" aftermath" of" authoritarian" rule" and" armed" conflict," a" growing" body" of" work"
recognizes" TJ"outside" of" political" transitions." We" study" a" noteworthy" export" from"
transitional"to"non-transitional"settings:"truth"commissions."Building"on"scholarship"
on" TJ" in" established" democracies," we" introduce" new" quantitative" data" from" the"
Varieties( of( Truth( Commissions"Project" on" truth" commissions" in" an" overlooked" but"
significant" case:" the" United" States." The" data" capture" twenty" past," present" and"
proposed" official" U.S." truth" commissions," most" of" them" at" the" subnational" level."
Though"their"mandates"vary" considerably," they" all"address"racial"injustice," with" an"
emphasis"on"anti-Indigenous"and"anti-Black"violence."We"elaborate"on"trends"in"the"
data"and"discuss"the"implications"for"unfolding"efforts"to"reckon"with"historical"and"
contemporary"racial"violence"and"injustice"in"the"United"States."
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!For! helpful! comments! and! discussion,! we! thank!the! editors! and! reviewers! at! the! International* Journal* of*
Transitional*Justice,!Claire!Crawford,!Geoff! Dancy,!Eduardo!González,!Adam!Kochanski,!Colleen!Murphy,! Kyle!
Rapp,! Eric! Wiebelhaus-Brahm,! Carla! Winston,! workshop! participants! at! The! Ohio! State! University!and!
members! of! the! International! Justice! Lab.!This!research!is!supported!by!fellowships!from!the!University! of!
Southern!California!(Provost!Fellowship!in!the!Social!Sciences)!and!William!&!Mary!(Global!Research!Institute!
Pre-doctoral! Fellowship).! In! addition,! this! material! is! based! upon! work! supported! by! the! National ! Science!
Foundation!Graduate!Research!Fellowship!Program!under!Grant!No.!DGE-1418060.!Any!opinions,!findings,!and!
conclusions!or!recommendations! expressed!in!this! material!are!those!of! the!authors!and! do!not!necessarily!
reflect!the!views!of!the!National!Science!Foundation.!Authors!are!listed!alphabetically.!
!Program!in!Public!Policy!and!Global!Research!Institute,!William!&!Mary,!dkposthumus@email.wm.edu.!
!Government!Department!and!Global!Research!Institute,!William!&!Mary,!kzvobgo@wm.edu.!
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Introduction*
Over% the% past% half-century,% numerous% transitional% justice% (TJ)% measures% have% been% implemented%
globally.
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% While% much% research% has% examined% different%TJ% modalities% in% paradigmatic% transitional%
settings%like%post-apartheid%South%Africa%and%post-junta%Chile,%a%growing%body%of%work%recognises%TJ%
in% non-paradigmatic% settings,% namely% consolidated% democracies% and% autocracies.
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%Building% on% the%
scholarship% on% TJ% in% established% democracies,% this% article%examines% truth% commissions% in% an%
overlooked%but%significant%case:%the%United%States.%
In%the%aftermath%of%domestic%and%international%racial%justice%protests%triggered%by%the%police%
killings%of%Breonna%Taylor%and%George%Floyd%and%the%lynching%of%Ahmaud%Arbery%in%2020,%US%policy%
makers% at% the% city,% state% and% federal% levels% proposed,% and% in% some% instances% launched,% truth%
commissions%to%address%historical%and%contemporary%racial%violence%and%injustice.
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%While%the%number%
of%recently%proposed%and%launched%commissions%is%noteworthy,%US%truth%commissions%are%not%a%new%
phenomenon.%
This%article%introduces%and%comparatively%analyses%all%past,%present%and%proposed% US%truth%
commissions,% using% new% data% from% the% Varieties( of( Truth( Commissions%Project,% the% most%
comprehensive%and% detailed%quantitative%data%on%truth% commissions%to%date.%The%article%in%general%
and% the% data% in% particular% proceed% from% an% exercise% in% critical% reflexivity% and% a% commitment% to%
producing%decolonial%and%antiracist%research.%So,%in%addition%to%analysing%original%data,%we%lay%out%a%
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!Cynthia!M.!Horne,!‘The!Impact!of!Lustration!on!Democratization!in!Postcommunist!Countries,’!International!
Journal!of!Transitional!Justice!8(3)!(2014):!496-521;!Kathy!L.!Powers!and!Kim!Proctor,!‘Victim’s!Justice!in!the!
Aftermath!of!Political!Violence:!Why!Do!Countries!Award!Reparations?’!Foreign!Policy!Analysis!13(4)!(2016):!
787-810;! Jelena! Subotić,! ‘Expanding! the! Scope! of! Post-Conflict! Justice:! Individual,! State! and! Societal!
Responsibility,’!Journal!of!Peace!Research!48(2)!(2011):!157-169.!
2
!Paige!Arthur,!‘How!Transitions!Reshaped!Human!Rights:!A!Conceptual!History!of!Transitional!Justice,’!Human!
Rights!Quarterly!31(2)!(2009):!321-367;!Michal!Ben-Josef!Hirsch,!‘Ideational!Change!and!the!Emergence!of!the!
International! Norm! of! Truth! and! Reconciliation! Commissions,’!European! Journal! of! International! Relations!
20(3)!(2014):!810-833;!Carla!Winston,!‘Truth!Commissions!as!Tactical! Concessions:!The!Curious!Case!of!Idi!
Amin,’!International!Journal!of!Human!Rights!25(2)!(2021):!251-273.!
3
!Jennifer!Rae!Taylor!and!Kayla!Vinson,!‘Ahmaud!Arbery!and!the!Local!Legacy!of!Lynching,’!The!Marshall!Project,!
21! May! 2020,! themarshallproject.org/2020/05/21/ahmaud-arbery-and-the-local-legacy-of-lynching!
(Accessed!8!July!2021).!!
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model%for%reflexivity%in%TJ%research,%especially%quantitative%work.%Our%reflexive%exercise%addresses,%in%
the%first%instance,%the%TJ%field%and,%in%the%second%instance,%ourselves%as%researchers.%This%sociological%
analysis% of% the% field,% combined% with% the% data% analysis,% confirms% the% conceptual,% methodological,%
empirical% and% normative% importance% of% including% the% US%case% in% TJ% scholarship.% To% be% sure,% US%
commissions%meet%widely%accepted%definitions%of%truth%commissions;%omitting%the%US%case%introduces%
bias%into%global%TJ%data%and%analyses;%the%US%case%has%both%shaped%and%been%shaped%by%global%cases;%
and% individuals% and% communities% that% have% suffered% political% violence% are% owed% TJ% in% the% United%
States%just%as%much%as%anywhere%else%in%the%world.%
Our% new% dataset% captures% 20%past,% present% and% proposed% official% US%truth% commissions,%
detailing%among%other% items:%(1)%the%commission’s% jurisdiction%(city,%county,%state% or%national),%(2)%
commission%subject%matter%(e.g.,%lynchings,%police%abuse,%institutional%racism,%etc.),%(3)%victim%and%
perpetrator% groups,% (4)% commission% leaders% and% leadership% selection% and% (5)% the% involvement% of%
domestic%and%international%civil%society%actors.%%
Our%early%research%produces%several%important%findings.%To%begin,%while%the%first%two%US%truth%
commissions%were%implemented%at%the%national% level,% the% majority% have% been%implemented%at%the%
subnational%level,%with%state-level%commissions%accounting%for%25%percent,%and%county-%and%city-level%
commissions%accounting%for% a%combined%55%percent% of%US%commissions.%With% national-level%action%
often% stymied% by% partisan% polarization% and% legislative% gridlock,% the% ‘local% turn’% suggests% that%
subnational%TJ%efforts%in%the%United%States%may%be%more%feasible%than%national%ones.%
Next,%while%US%truth%commission%mandates%vary%considerably,%they%all%address%racial%violence%
and%injustice,%by%state%and%nonstate%actors.%Historically,%they%have%tended%to%focus%on%anti-Indigenous%
and% anti-Black% violence,% but% more% recent% commissions% are% broader% in% scope,% encompassing% other%
racial%and%ethnic%minority%groups,%immigrants%and%the%LGBTQIA%community.%Relatedly,%though%past%
commissions% concentrated% on%particular% types% of% abuse%like% extrajudicial% killings,% current% and%
proposed% commissions% seek% to% address% broader% issues% like% institutional% racism.% Many% new%
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commissions%also%span%decades,%if% not%centuries,%in% the%scope%of% their%investigations,%in% contrast%to%
many%earlier%commissions%with%narrower%timeframes.%This%expansion%–%in%groups,%violations%and%time%
–%poses%a%potential%breadth-depth%trade-off%in%the%information%that%US%commissions%can%uncover.%
Finally,%the%United%States%joins%countries%like%Brazil,%Colombia%and%Mexico%in%their%use%of%truth%
commissions%at%the%subnational%level.%With%actors%at%different%levels%of%government%responsible%for%
abuses% in% different% jurisdictions,% these% recent% commissions% indicate,% albeit% provisionally,% a% new%
development% in% global% TJ% practice:% the% (re)distribution% of% responsibility% for% human% rights% abuses%
across%jurisdictions%and,%by%extension,%the%(re)distribution%of%responsibility%to%provide%redress.%This%
may%be%particularly%true%of%countries%with%federal%systems.
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%
This%article%makes%three%contributions%to%the%comparative%study%of%truth%commissions%and%TJ.%
First,%we%make%an%argument%for%‘casing’%the%United%States%and%we%map%out%the%prevalence%and%types%
of%US%commissions%over%the%past%six%decades.%While%the%nation%has%touted%itself%as%‘exceptional,’%it%has%
struggled%to%address%past%and%present%injustices,%primarily%against%communities%of%colour.%The%need,%
demand%and,%to%a%growing%degree,%the%supply%of%TJ%in%the%United%States%evinces%the%importance%of%this%
set%of%norms%and%practices%–%for%the%whole%world,%not%just%some%countries.%In%addition,%our%work%begins%
to%correct%a%common%error%in%existing%empirical% research:%the%exclusion% of%cases%that,% but%for%their%
occurrence%where%we%least%expect,%meet%standard%definitions%of%TJ%institutions.%
Second,% this% article%represents% an% unusual% attempt% to% analyse%subnational% TJ% tools% using%
quantitative%data.%Our%granular%data%illuminate%differences%and%similarities%between%US%commissions%
and% indicates% the% extent% to% which% US%commissions% are% learning% from% each% other% and% from% global%
precedents.%The%data%also%helps%scholars%and%practitioners%foresee%potential%limitations%of%current%US%
truth%commission%designs,%opening%the%door%for%experts%to%recommend%ways%to%mitigate%against%these%
limitations.%
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!Consider,!as!an!example,!the!United!States,!where!there!have!been!different!types!of!localized!human!rights!
violations!like!racial!terror!lynchings,!which!were!concentrated!in!the!Southern!states.!
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Third,%we%offer%a%model%for%reflexivity%in%TJ%research,%especially%quantitative%projects.%While%
qualitative%and%interpretivist%scholarship%has%long% centred% reflexivity%in%project% conceptualization,%
data% generation,% empirical% analysis% and% writing,% quantitative% scholarship% has% lagged% behind.
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%Yet%
positionality%shapes%many%research%choices,%with%important%implications%for%research%findings%and%
conclusions.%Accordingly,%we%lay%bare%how%different%parts%of%our%identities%shaped%various%aspects%of%
the%research:%from%the%decision%to%do%it%to%how%we%define%and%measure%key%concepts%to%the%analysis%
itself.%Were%the%TJ%field%more%reflexive%–%as%our%co-author%team%has%striven%to%be%–%the%United%States,%
we%propose,%may%have%been%cased%years%ago.%
The%article%proceeds%as%follows.%In%the%second%part,%we%discuss%reflexivity,%which%guides%the%
project.%In%the%third%part,%we%address%the%notion%of%‘transitional%justice%without%transition’%and%discuss%
research%on%and%cases%of%truth%commissions%in%consolidated%democracies.%Here,%we%problematize%the%
omission%of%previous%US%national%commissions%in%empirical%research.%We%then%pivot%to%US%subnational%
commissions,% which% have% been% all% but% ignored% in% the% literature.% We% describe% the% data% collection%
protocol% and% introduce% the% dataset% in% the%fourth% part.% We% then% produce% descriptive% statistics% and%
elaborate%on%trends%in%the%data%in%the%fifth%part.%The%sixth%part%summarizes%the%findings%and%suggests%
how%US%commissions%can%build%on%precedents.%We% conclude% by% discussing% the% implications% of% our%
findings%for%the%scholarship%and%practice%of%TJ.%
%
Active*Reflexivity*
We%approached% this% research% from% a% posture% of% ‘active% reflexivity,’% mindful% of% how% positionality% –%
notably% scholars’% identities,% geographic% locations,% academic% training% and% methodological%
backgrounds%and%preferences%–%can% influence%the%design%and%execution%of%social% science%research.
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%
5
!Katelyn! E.! Stauffer! and! Diana! Z.! O'Brien,! ‘Quantitative! Methods! and! Feminist! Politi cal! Science,’! in! Oxford!
Research!Encyclopedia!of!Politics,!ed.!William!R.!Thompson!(Oxford:!Oxford!University!Press,!2018),!1-29.!
6
!Roni! Berger,! ‘Now! I! See! it,! Now! I! Don’t:! Researcher’s! Position! and! Reflexivity! in! Qualitative! Research,’!
Qualitative! Research! 15(2)! (2015):! 219-234;! Jessica! Soedirgo! and! Aarie! Glas,! ‘Toward! Active! Reflexivity:!
Positionality!and!Practice!in!the!Production!of!Knowledge,’!PS:! Political!Science! &!Politics!53(3)!(2020):!527-
5"
Yet,%despite%its% importance,%the%role% of%the%researcher%is% not%often%addressed% in%quantitative%work.%
This%is%especially%true%for%‘desk%research’%–%‘the%process%of%collating%and%coding%existing%information%
for% analysis,% without% direct% contact% between% researchers% and% research% [subjects].’
7
%While% an%
uncommon%practice,%reflexivity%is%vital:%it%is%a%cornerstone%of%decolonial%and%antiracist%research.
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%As%
we% elaborate% below,% our% reflexive% exercise% is% dual-pronged,% first% addressing% the% TJ% field% and% then%
addressing%our%co-author%pair.%
%
Why$do$transitional$justice$scholars$exclude$the$US$case?$
Our% project% was% inspired% by% a% question% and% puzzle% in% mainstream% TJ% research:% why% do% scholars%
exclude%the%US%case%despite%the%need,%demand%and,%to%a%growing%extent,%the%supply%of%TJ%for%political%
violence%in%the%United%States?%The%country%is%conspicuously%absent%from%scholarship,%even%specialized%
journals%and%book%collections.%Scholars%seem%unwilling%or%reluctant%to%case%the%country.%We%speculate%
that%this%is%due%to%an%implicit%bias%among%TJ%scholars,%many%of%whom%are%white%and%from%the%Global%
North,%and%who%perhaps%prefer%to%study%things%that%happen%‘over%there,’%i.e.,%in%the%Global%South.
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%But%
this% creates% a% sample% selection% bias% that% reinforces% notions% of% US% exceptionalism% and% denies% the%
United%States%as%a%setting%where%TJ%is%needed,%wanted%and%happening.%
Some%might%exclude%the%United%States%on%the%grounds%that%it%is%a%‘full’%democracy%and%is%not%
undergoing% a% transition.% But% the% democratic% context,% and% the% difference% between% transitional% and%
non-transitional%TJ,%should%not%distract%us%away%from%the%case%–%just%as%it%does%not%distract%us%away%
531;! Dvora! Yanow,! ‘Thinking! Interpretively:! Philosophical! Presuppositions! and! the! Human! Sciences,’! in!
Interpretation! and! Method:! Empirical! Research! Methods! and! the! Interpretive! Turn,! eds.! Dvora! Yanow! and!
Peregrine!Schwartz-Shea!(Armonk:!M.E.!Sharpe,!2006),!5-25.!!
7
!Amelia!Hoover!Green!and!Dara!Kay!Cohen,!‘Centering!Human!Subjects:!The!Ethics!of!“Desk!Research”!on!
Political!Violence,’!Journal!of!Global!Security!Studies!6(2)!(2021):!1-17.!
8
!M.!Brinton!Lykes!and!Hugo!van!der!Merwe,! ‘Critical!Reflexivity!and!Transitional!Justice! Praxis:!Solidarity,!
Accompaniment!and!Intermediarity,’!International!Journal!of!Transitional!Justice!13(3)!(2019):!411-416.!
9
!Laurel! E.! Fletcher! and! Harvey! M! Weinstein,! ‘How! Power! Dynamics! Influence! the! North-South! Gap! in!
Transitional!Justice,’!Berkeley!Journal!of!International!Law!36(2)! (2018):! 1-28;!Hugo!van!der!Merwe!and! M.!
Brinton!Lykes,!‘Racism!and!Transitional!Justice,’!International!Journal!of!Transitional!Justice!14(3)!(2020):!415-
422.!
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from% other% cases.% Established% democracies% like% Canada% and% South% Korea% have% implemented% truth%
commissions%and%other% TJ% mechanisms,% and% scholars% and% practitioners% alike% consider% these% cases%
important%within%the%global%TJ%landscape.
10
%In%addition,%there%has%been%a%shift%over%the%past%decade%
from%the%field’s%early%preoccupation%with%transitional%contexts,%given%the%growing%use%of%TJ%tools% in%
non-transitional%contexts.
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%So%the%US%case%is%not%unique%in%this%regard.%
Others% might% exclude% the% United% States% because% most% of% its% truth% commissions% have% been%
developed%at%the%subnational%level,%making%the%case%‘too%different’%from%global%cases.%But%the%emphasis%
on% the% subnational% also% should% not% deter% us% from% analysing% US%truth% seeking.% Subnational%
commissions%in%countries%like%Brazil%and%Colombia%have%received%praise,%both%at%home%and%abroad,%
for%their%contributions%to%national%narrative%making.
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%So%the%US%case%is%not%exceptional%in%this%regard%
either.%
Most% fundamentally,% the% inequalities,% discrimination% and% violence% that% marginalized%
populations%face%in%the% United% States,%racial%and%ethnic%minority% groups% in%particular,%are%in%many%
ways%similar,%for%example,%to%those%that%Black%and%other%non-white%people%experienced%in%South%Africa%
under%apartheid.%Here% and%now,%as% it%was%there% and%then,%there%is% a%deep%need% to%reckon%with% and%
provide%restitution%for%historical%and%contemporary%wrongs.%
Therefore,%scholars%should%not%let%the%US%case%slip%through%the%cracks% when%we% study%truth%
commissions%and%TJ%globally.%Otherwise,%we%expose%ourselves%to%criticisms%long%raised%(and%recently%
amplified)%in%the%field%of%International%Relations%–%that%our%collective%body%of%work%is%value%laden%in%
10
!Franklin!Oduro,!‘The!Canadian!Truth!and!Reconciliation!Commission:!Lessons!from!Comparable!Experiences!
in!Nigeria!and! Ghana,’!The!Canadian!Journal!of! Native! Studies!32(2)!(2012):!103-120;!Hun!Joon! Kim,! ‘Local,!
National,!and!International!Determinants!of!Truth!Commissions:!The!South!Korean!Experience,’!Human!Rights!
Quarterly!34(3)!(2012):!726-750.!
11
!Nicola!Henry,!‘From!Reconciliation!to!Transitional!Justice:!The!Contours!of!Redress!Politics!in!Established!
Democracies,’!International! Journal! of! Transitional! Justice!9(2)! (2015):! 199-218;! Eric! Wiebelhaus-Brahm,!
‘Global! Transitional! Justice! Norms! and! the! Framing! of! Truth! Commissions! in! the! Absence! of! Transition,’!
Negotiation!and!Conflict!Management!Research!(2020,!advance!access).!
12
!Advocacy!for!Human!Rights!in!the!Americas,!‘A!Review!of!How!Colombia’s!Truth!Commission!is!Advancing,’!
Colombia! Peace:! Monitoring! Progress! in! Peace! Dialogues,! colombiapeace.org/advancing-truth-commission!
(Accessed! 4! March! 2021);! Nina! Schneider,! ed.,!The! Brazilian! Truth! Commission:! Local,! National! and! Global!
Perspectives!(Oxford:!Berghahn!Books,!2019).!
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ways%that%privilege%powerful,%white-majority%nations%like%the%United%States%and%deny%them%as%sites%of%
debate%and%analysis.
13
%This%is%a%criticism%that%can%also%be%made%about%cross-national%data%projects%that%
characterize%political%regimes%and%that% measure% conflict% occurrence,%intensity%and%duration%–% data%
projects%that%many%of%us%rely%on%to%operationalize%and%evaluate%‘democracy’%and%‘autocracy,’%‘peace’%
and%‘conflict’%and%‘transitional’%and%‘non-transitional.’%The%TJ%field,%and%cognate%research%programmes%
in%peace%and%conflict%studies,%can%and%should%be%more%reflexive%in%conceptualization,%data%generation%
and%empirical%analysis.%In%the%next%section,%we%turn%from%the%field%to%ourselves,%discussing%how%our%
personal%and%professional%backgrounds%shaped%our%decision%to%undertake%this%project%and%influenced%
our%approach.%
%
Racial$Injustice,$Researcher$Identity$and$Location$
This%project%was%born%amidst%racial%justice%protests%following%the%killings%of%George%Floyd,%Breonna%
Taylor%and%Ahmaud%Arbery%in%2020.%We%had%reflected%for%some%time%on%TJ%in%the%United%States,%but%
more%in%a%personal%capacity%than%in%a%professional%capacity.%The%year%2020%challenged%this%division%
between%the%personal%and%the%professional,%spurring%us%to%action.%Against%the%backdrop%of%the%national%
awakening%on%race,%identity%and%space%shaped%our%understanding%of%the%issues%at%stake.%%
Kelebogile%is%an%outsider-insider%while%Daniel%is%an%insider-outsider%to%the%United%States%and%
the%TJ%processes%that%are%unfolding%in%the%country.%A%Zimbabwean%immigrant%to%the%United%States,%the%
principal%investigator%Kelebogile%does%not%directly%share%in%the%history%that%has%brought%the%country%
to%this%moment%of%racial%reckoning.%To%borrow%a%term%from%US%politics%scholar%Christina%Greer,%she%is%
a%‘Black%ethnic’%not%a%‘native%Black’;%there%is%a%degree%of%distance%between%her%and%the%issues%that%US%
13
!Gurminder!K.!Bhambra,!Yolande!Bouka,!Randolph!B.!Persaud,!Olivia!U.!Rutazibwa,!Vineet!Thakur,!Duncan!
Bell,!Karen!Smith,!Toni! Haastrup,! and!Seifudein!Adem,!‘Why! Is!Mainstream!International! Relations!Blind!to!
Racism?’! Foreign! Policy,! 3! July! 2020,! foreignpolicy.com/2020/07/03/why-is-mainstream-international-
relations-ir-blind-to-racism-colonialism! (Accessed! 15! November! 2020);! Kelebogile! Zvobgo! and! Meredith!
Loken,!‘Why!Race!Matters!in!International!Relations,’!Foreign!Policy!237!(2020):!11-13.!
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truth%commissions%are%intended%to%address.
14
%She%has%the%privilege%of%studying%these%topics%without%
the%weight%of%direct%experience%or%intergenerational%trauma.%In%addition,%she%is%a%scholar%of%TJ%in%the%
Global%South,%not%the%Global%North.%Because%of%this%personal%and%professional%outsider%status,%she%
hesitated%to%assume%this%project.%
But%Kelebogile%realized%during%the%protests%that%the%distance%between%her%and%questions%of%TJ%
for%US%racial%violence%is%narrower%than%she%initially%thought.%She%felt%an%acute%sense%of%‘linked%fate’%–%
that% what% happens% to% Black% Americans% affects% her% and% that% what% happens% to% her% affects% Black%
Americans.
15
%Beyond%beginning%to%feel(more%like(an%insider,%she%is%an%assumed%insider.
16
%She%has%lived%
in%the%United%States%for%20%years,%was%educated%there%and%does%not%have%a%detectable%‘foreign’%accent.%
In%her%everyday%life,%she% is%read%as% a%native%Black.% Moreover,% she%has%shared%her% international%and%
comparative%TJ%research%with%groups%advocating%for%and%helping%to%implement%US%truth%commissions%
and%she%has%presented%her%research%findings%to%the%public%in%national%media.%Importantly,%she%feels%a%
deep% sense% of% responsibility% to% engage% rather% than% disengage% with% unfolding% TJ% processes% in% her%
adopted%country.%%
%Daniel%has%a%different%kind%of%privilege%from%Kelebogile:%white%privilege.%American%by%birth,%
but%raised%and%educated%overseas,%primarily%in%Japan,%Daniel%does%not%know%intimately%the%history%of%
US%racial%violence.%Lacking%personal%insight%and%direct%experience%with%the%issues%at%the%centre%of%US%
truth%commissions%–%both%because%he%is%white%and%because%he%has%lived%most%of%his%life%abroad%–%he%
also%approached%the%project%with%hesitancy.%Yet%the%TJ%institutions%and%policies%that%he%first%learned%
about% in% Asia% are% materializing% in% his% home% country.% Researching% TJ% in% the% United% States% is% an%
14
!Christina!M.!Greer,!Black!Ethnics:!Race,!Immigration,!and!the!Pursuit!of!the!American!Dream!(Oxford:!Oxford!
University!Press,!2013).!
15
!Michael! C.! Dawson,! Behind! the! Mule:!Race! and! Class! in! African-American! Politics!(Princeton:! Princeton!
University!Press,!1995).!
16
!Louise!Ryan!and!Anne!Golden,!‘“Tick!the!Box!Please”:!A!Reflexive!Approach!to!Doing!Quantitative!Social!
Research,’!Sociology!40(6)!(2006):!1191-1200.!
9"
opportunity% to% interrogate% systemically% racist% institutions% from% which% he% benefits% directly% and%
indirectly%as%a%white%American.%
Though%outsiders%in%several%respects,%we%have%privileged,%insider%knowledge%because%we%have%
studied% or% observed% TJ% processes% in% different% parts% of% the% world.% We% have% insight% into% how%these%
processes%have%worked%in%global%contexts%and%we%appreciate%how%TJ%could%be%transformative%in%the%
US%context.%Importantly,%this%research%is%an%opportunity%for%us%to%engage%in%decolonial,%antiracist%work%
from%a%former%centre%of%colonization:%the%Commonwealth%of%Virginia.
17
%
%
Academic$Background,$Concept$Definition$and$Research$Design$
Once% we% decided% to% undertake% this% research,% our% professional% backgrounds% influenced% how% we%
designed%and%executed%it.%Because%state-centrism%is%endemic%to%both%our%home%fields,%International%
Relations%and%Public%Policy,%we%de%facto%privilege%government-sponsored%TJ%projects.%While%we%relax%
the%assumption%that%a%truth%commission%must%be%adopted%by%a%national%government%–%a%point%to%which%
we% return% later% in% the% article% –% we% nevertheless% maintain% that% a%commission% must% be% adopted% by%
government%actors.%We%do%not%presume%that%government/official%TJ%initiatives%are%preferable%to%civil%
society/unofficial%initiatives%or%that%they%are%more%effective.%We%simply%conceptualize%commissions%
as%government%initiatives.%Of%course,%we%recognize%that%differently%situated%scholars%might%approach%
this%issue%differently.%
17
!The! first! colony! in! English! North! America! was! established! at! Jamestown! in! 1607! and! the! first! enslaved!
Africans!were!brought! to! Point! Comfort! in! 1619,! both! mere! miles! from! William! &! Mary,! where! Daniel! is! a!
student!and!Kelebogile!is!a!professor.!The!University,!itself,!sits!on!stolen!Indigenous!land!and!was!built!and!
enriched!by!enslaved!Africans!and!their!descendants,!people!whose!labour!was!also!exploited!by!the!College’s!
faculty!and!students.!Our!city,!Williamsburg,!was!also!the!capital!of!the!Virginia!colony!during!British!rule!and!
the!state!capital,!Richmond,!was! a! political!centre!of!the!Confederacy!during!the!US!Civil!War.!This!history!
challenges!and!motivates!us!to!participate!in!decolonial,!antiracist!work!through!research!and!teaching,!as!well!
as!memorializing!the!enslaved! on!campus!and!removing!from! places!of!honour!the!names!and! likenesses!of!
white! supremacists,! among! other! truth! and! memory! projects.! The! Lemon! Project! Steering! Committee,! The!
Lemon!Project:!A!Journey!of!Reconciliation,!Report!of!the!First!Eight!Years!(Williamsburg:!The!College!of!William!
&!Mary,!2019).!
10"
We%also%recognize%our%positionality%as%producers%of%quantitative%data.%Scholars%who%build%and%
analyse%quantitative%data%sometimes%‘flatten’%the%processes%and%politics%that%they%purport%to%capture.%
Quantitative%research%relies%on%an%assessment%of%‘what%counts’%and%‘what%does%not%count.’%Our%concern%
with%consistency%in%defining%what%is%and%what% is%not%a%truth%commission%is%thus%rooted% not%only%in%
International% Relations% and% Public% Policy% but% also% in% assumptions% about% unit% comparability.% We%
assume% that% ‘official’% and% ‘unofficial’% truth% projects% are% ‘too% different’% to% be% studied% side% by% side.%
Relatedly,%our%measurement% implies%that%official%truth% projects% are%in%fact% comparable.% We%respect%
that%differently%positioned%scholars%might%approach%this%same%task%in%markedly%different%ways.%
Finally,% we% acknowledge% our% motivation% in% building% a% dataset:% quantitative% data% is%highly%
valued%in%US%political%science%and,%for%many%scholars,%it%is%the%only%way%that%they%can%appreciate%the%
prevalence%and%significance%of%political%events%and%processes,%especially%those%that%have%historically%
been% overlooked% in% scholarship.% With% that% said,% our% quantitative% data% is%not% intended% to% supplant%
qualitative%work.%Rather,%the%data%can%help%situate%qualitative%work%in%a%broader%perspective%and%help%
us%expand%the%reach% of% research%on%truth%commissions%and% TJ% in%a%discipline%that%often% values% the%
quantitative%over%the%qualitative.%Critically,%our%data%helps%us%and%the%broader%field%characterize%and%
evaluate%US%commissions% in%a%way%that% was%not%previously% possible.%A%quantitative%dataset,%with%a%
clear%codebook%and%protocol,%also%positions%us%and%other%scholars%to% later% integrate% the% results% of%
commissions,%add%new%commissions%and%expand%on%the%current%list%of%variables.%
%
Transitional*Justice*Without*Transition*
Early%research% on%TJ%in%‘non-paradigmatic’%cases,% namely%established%democracies%and%autocracies,%
suggested%that%its%effects%are%limited,%the%basic%reasoning%being%that%democratic%leaders%have%existing%
commitments%to%justice%while%autocratic%leaders%do%not.
18
%Recent%research%has%set%aside%the%purported%
18
!Pádraig! McAuliffe,! ‘Transitional! Justice’s! Expanding! Empire:! Reasserting! the! Value! of! the! Paradigmatic!
Transition?’!Journal!of!Conflictology!2(2)!(2011):!32-44.!
11"
effects%of% TJ% tools% in% non-transitional% settings% and% seeks%instead% to% comprehend% variation% in% the%
emergence%and%design(of%TJ%mechanisms%absent%a%conventional%political%transition.
19
%
Truth%commissions%are%a%noteworthy% export% from% transitional%to%non-transitional%settings.%
The% Varieties( of( Truth( Commissions(Project%reports% that% between% 1970% and% 2018,% 43% percent% of%
national%commissions%(36%of%84)%were%implemented%outside% of%transitions% from%autocracy,%internal%
armed%conflict%and% government-led% mass%killings.
20
%And%since%2000,%non-transitional% commissions%
represent%more%than%half%of%commissions%globally.%While%traditional%political%transitions%are%not%the%
trigger%for%commissions%in%standing%democracies,%scholars%argue%that%such%commissions%nevertheless%
operate% in% a% ‘transition% between% regimes% of% legitimation.’
21
%Essentially,% governments% deliver% a%
commission%or%another%mechanism%because%unaddressed%historical%injustices%undermine%the%state’s%
legitimacy%in%the%eyes%of%the%public.%South%Korea’s%three%truth%commissions%in%the%early%2000s%serve%
as% examples.
22
%Other% full% democracies% like% Canada% have% implemented% TJ% mechanisms% (to% varying%
success)%in%response%to%abiding% social%divisions%and%conflicts%between%and%among%citizens,% not%just%
with%the%state%–%something%Canada%and%the%United%States%have%in%common.
23
%%
(
19
!Daniel! Solomon! and! Kelebogile! Zvobgo,! ‘Co-Opting! Truth:! Explaining! Quasi-Judicial! Institutions! in!
Authoritarian!Regimes,’!Unpublished!manuscript!(2020).!
20
!Kelebogile!Zvobgo,!‘Demanding!Truth:! The!Global!Transitional!Justice!Network! and!the!Creation!of!Truth!
Commissions,’!International!Studies!Quarterly!64(3)!(2020):!609-625.!
21
!Stephen!Winter,!Transitional!Justice!in!Established!Democracies:!A!Political!Theory!(Basingstoke:!Palgrave!
MacMillan,!2014);!Stephen!Winter,!‘Towards!a!Unified!Theory!of!Transitional!Justice,’!International!Journal!of!
Transitional!Justice!7(2)!(2013):!224-244.!
22
!Kim,! Hun! Joon,! The! Massacres! at! Mt.! Halla:! Sixty! Years! of! Truth! Seeking! in! South! Korea! (Ithaca:! Cornell!
University!Press,!2014).!
23
!Amaia! Álvarez! Berastegi,! ‘Transitional! Justice! in! Settled! Democracies:! Northern! Ireland! and! the! Basque!
Country!in!Comparative!Perspective,’!Critical!Studies!on!Terrorism!10(3)!(2017):!542-561;!Fionnuala!Ní!Aoláin!
and! Colm! Campbell,! ‘The! Paradox! of! Transition! in! Conflicted! Democracies,’! Human! Rights! Quarterly! 27(1)!
(2005):!172-213;!Kim!Stanton,!‘Canada's!Truth!and!Reconciliation!Commission:!Settling!the!Past?’!International!
Indigenous!Policy!Journal!2(3)!(2011):!1-18.!
12"
Truth$Commissions$in$the$United$States$$
The%United%States%is%by%many%accounts%one%of%the%world’s%oldest%and%strongest%democracies.
24
%That%is,%
of%course,%if%one%takes%a%narrow%view%of%the%concept%of%democracy%and%sidesteps%the%fact%that%suffrage%
for%non-white%Americans%was%only%legislated%in%the%mid-20th%century%and%remains%highly%contested.%
Further,%the%United%States%has%been%reluctant%to%grapple%with%historical%wrongs%like%the%country’s%
establishment%on%Native%genocide%and%land%theft,%beginning%in%1607,%and%the%enslavement%of%Africans%
and% their% descendants,% beginning% in% 1619.
25
% These%injustices%are%not% universally%acknowledged%
among% the% majority-white% population,% nor% is% redress% widely% supported.% This%contributes% to% the%
continued%marginalization%and%oppression%of%Indigenous%people%and%Black%people,%and%other%racial%
and% ethnic% minority% groups,% in% virtually% all% aspects% of% US%political% and% economic% life% –% from%
employment%and%housing%to% healthcare% to% voting%and%justice.
26
%Yet%there%appears%to%be%a%growing%
interest% in%addressing% and% disseminating% (i.e.,% democratizing)% the% truth% of%US%political% violence,%
especially%racial%violence,%as%part%of%a% broader%movement%to%acknowledge%the%voices,% perspectives%
and%experiences%of%Americans%of%colour%and%to%uphold%their%rights%and%full%citizenship.%So%it%is%puzzling%
that% the% mainstream% TJ% literature% has% ignored% the% US%case% and% specific%TJ% modalities% like% truth%
commissions.
27
%
One%reason%for%the%omission%in%scholarship%is%chronology%and%nomenclature.%The%first%national%
truth% commissions% in% the% United% States% preceded% emblematic% commissions% in% Latin% America% and%
24
!Carles!Boix,! Michael! Miller! and! Sebastian! Rosato,! ‘A! Complete! Data! Set!of!Political!Regimes,!1800-2007,’!
Comparative!Political!Studies!46(12):!1523-1554.!
25
!US!Congress,!House,!Truth!and!Healing!Commission!on!Indian!Boarding!School!Policy!Act,!H.R.!8420,!116th!
Cong.,!introduced!in!House!29!September!2020,!congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/8420!(Accessed!
3!March!2021);!US!Congress,!House,!Urging!the!establishment!of!a!United!States!Commission!on!Truth,!Racial!
Healing,! and! Transformation,! H.Con.Res.! 100,! 116th! Cong.,! introduced! in! House! 4! June! 2020,!
congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-concurrent-resolution/100/text!(Accessed!3!March!2021).!
26
!Devah!Pager!and! Hana!Shepherd,!‘The!Sociology!of! Discrimination:! Racial!Discrimination!in!Employment,!
Housing,!Credit,!and!Consumer!Markets,’!Annual!Review!of!Sociology!34!(2008):!181-209;!Jo!C.!Phelan!and!Bruce!
G.!Link,!‘Is!racism!a!fundamental!cause!of!inequalities!in!health?’!Annual!Review!of!Sociology!41!(2015):!311-
330;!Alexandra!Byrne,!Bilen!Zerie,!and!Kelebogile!Zvobgo,!‘Biden’s!Policy!Must!Center!Racial!Justice,’!Foreign!
Policy!240!(2021):!5-7.!
27
!Genevieve!Bates,!Ipek!Cinar,!and!Monika!Nalepa,!‘Accountability!by!Numbers:!A!New! Global! Transitional!
Justice!Dataset!(19462016),’!Perspectives!on!Politics!18(1)!(2020):!161-184;!Geoff!Dancy,!Bridget!E.!Marchesi,!
13"
Africa%in%the%1980s%and%1990s.%The%first%US%truth%commission,%the%National%Advisory%Commission%on%
Civil% Disorders% (hereafter,% the% Kerner% Commission)% was% initiated% more% than% a% decade% before% the%
renowned%Argentine%Comisión%Nacional%sobre%la%Desaparición%de%Personas%(CONADEP).%Installed%in%
1967%by%President%Lyndon%Baines%Johnson,%the%Kerner%Commission%studied%the%circumstances%of%the%
nationwide% race% riots% that% year% and% their% causes,% namely% racial% segregation% and%discrimination% in%
policing,%employment,%housing%and%education% –%evergreen%problems%facing% Black%communities%and%
communities%of%colour%today.
28
%Thirteen%years%later%in%1980,%the%US%Congress%formed%the%Commission%
on% Wartime% Relocation% and% Internment% of% Civilians% (CWRIC)% to% examine% World% War% II-era%
persecution%of%persons%of%Japanese%ancestry.
29
%%
To%be%sure,%neither%commission%was%called%a%‘truth%commission’%at%the%time%nor%was%it%framed%
as%part%of%a%process%of%‘transitional%justice’%per%se.%This%terminology%did%not%exist%then.%Moreover,%the%
country% was% not% undergoing% a% textbook-case% political% transition.% Nonetheless,% both% the% Kerner%
Commission%and%the%CWRIC%meet%Hayner’s%widely-accepted%definition%of%a%truth%commission:%(1)%a%
temporary%body%(2)%created%by%a%national%government%to%(3)%examine%past%abuses%and%(4)%determine%
a%pattern%of%harm%while%(5)%engaging%affected%communities.
30
%Crucially,%CONADEP%experts%like%Emilio%
Crenzel%argue%that%Argentina%modelled%its%commission%after%US%commissions,%and%not%after%the%failed%
1982%commission%in%neighbouring%Bolivia,%as%some%have%suggested.
31
%Leaving%the%United%States%out%
Tricia!D.!Olsen,!Leigh!A.!Payne,!Andrew!G.!Reiter,!and!Kathryn!Sikkink,!‘Behind!Bars!and!Bargains:!New!Findings!
on!Transitional!Justice!in!Emerging!Democracies,’!International!Studies!Quarterly!63(1)!(2019):!99-110.!
28
!Much!of!the!commission’s!research!focused!on!Detroit,!Michigan!and!Newark,!New!Jersey,!where!the!violence!
was!especially!severe.!United!States!National!Advisory!Commission!on!Civil!Disorders,!The!Kerner!Report!(New!
York:!Pantheon!Books,!1988).!
29
!Commission! on! Wartime! Internment! and! Relocation! of! Civilians,! Personal!Justice! Denied:! Report! of! the!
Commission!on!Wartime!Relocation!and!Internment!of!Civilians!(Seattle:!University!of!Washington!Press,!1997).!
30
!Priscilla!B.!Hayner,!Unspeakable!Truths:!Transitional! Justice! and! the! Challenge!of!Truth!Commissions,!2! ed.!
(New!York:!Routledge,!2011).!
31
!Emilio! Crenzel,! ‘Argentina's! National! Commission! on! the! Disappearance! of! Persons:! Contributions! to!
Transitional!Justice,’!International!Journal!of!Transitional!Justice!2(2)!(2008):!173-191.!
14"
of%the%global%history%and%genealogy%of%truth%commissions%is%regrettable;%it%obscures%an%important%part%
of%commissions’%evolution%over%time%and%across%space.
32
%%
The%Kerner%Commission%and%the%CWRIC%also%set%a%precedent%for%future%US%commissions,%most%
of%which,%quite%interestingly,%have%been%designed%at%the%subnational%level.%Outside%of%the%United%States,%
subnational%truth%commissions%have%gained%attention%and%traction%in%recent%years;%they%are%part%and%
parcel%of%the%local%turn%in%TJ.
33
%Some%argue%that%these%types%of%commissions%are%preferable%to%national%
ones%because%they%afford%greater%agency%to%communities,%as%in%Prijedor%in%the%ex-Yugoslavia.
34
%Setting%
aside%questions%of%preferability%and%effectiveness,%there%is%a%growing%research%agenda%on%local%TJ,%even%
for%democracies.%Given%this%rich%area%of%study,%it%is%all%the%more%important%to%engage%the%US%case.%
The%little%work% that% exists%on%US%truth%seeking%has%focused%almost% exclusively%on%the% 2004%
Greensboro% commission,% which% investigated% the% 1979% massacre% in% Greensboro,% North% Carolina,%
where%neo-Nazis%and%Ku%Klux%Klan%members%killed%five%labour%organizers%and%wounded%10%others.
35
%
However,%this%was%not%a%government-sponsored%commission,%so%we%would%instead%characterize%it%as%
an%unofficial%truth%project.
36
%This%in%no%way%diminishes%its%work.%Rather,%it%helps%us%as%social%scientists%
to%distinguish%between%dissimilar%processes.%
%
32
!We!remark!here!on!the!timing!of!the!two!commissions!in!human!rights!dialogue!and!precedent.!The!Kerner!
Commission!was!established!between!the!adoption!of!the!Convention!on!the!Elimination!of!All!Forms!of!Racial!
Discrimination!by!the!United!Nations!General!Assembly!in!1965!and!the!treaty’s!entry!into!force!in!1969.!So!
issues!of!racial!injustice!and!violence!were!front-of-mind,!not!only!for!the!United!States!but!also!for!the!world.!
Meanwhile,!the!CWRIC!was!established!in!response!to!the!decades-long!Japanese!American!redress!movement.!
While!the!United!States!had!attempted!to!mete!out!justice!for!Germany!and!Japan’s!World!War!II-era!crimes!at!
the!Nuremberg!and!Tokyo!trials,!it!was!not!until!the!1980s!that!it!began!to!look!inward!and!address!(some!of)!
its!own!crimes.!
33
!Adam!Kochanski,!‘The!“Local!Turn”!in!Transitional!Justice:!Curb!the!Enthusiasm,’!International!Studies!Review!
22(1)!(2020):!26-50.!
34
!Dowling,!Julia,!Facing!the!Past!in!Prijedor:!A!Case!Study!of!Local!Transitional!Justice!Initiatives!(Master’s!diss.,!
University!of!Sarajevo,!2014).!
35
!Greensboro!Truth!and!Reconciliation!Commission,!Greensboro!Truth!and!Reconciliation!Report!(Greensboro:!
Greensboro!Truth!and!Reconciliation!Commission,!2006).!
36
!Louis!Bickford,!‘Unofficial!Truth!Projects,’!Human!Rights!Quarterly!29(4)!(2007):!994-1035.!
15"
The*United*States*Truth*Commissions*Dataset*
We%have% tracked%20%past,%present%and%proposed%official%US%truth%commissions,%most%of%them%at%the%
subnational%level%and%all%of%them%to%address%racial%violence%and%injustice.%Our%dataset%builds%on%the%
pioneering%Varieties(of( Truth(Commissions%to%include% not%only%national%efforts%but%also%subnational%
efforts.%In%this%section,%we%discuss%our%data%collection%protocol%and%provide%a%technical%description%of%
the%variables%to%accompany%the%published%dataset%(available%via%the%Harvard%Dataverse).%
%
Data$Sources$
The%main%coder%on%this%project%drew%on%a%variety%of%digitized%primary%and%secondary%source%materials.%
Key%search%terms%included%‘United%States,’%‘truth%commission,’%‘truth%and%reconciliation,’%‘truth% and%
healing,’%‘racial%justice,’%etc.%Primary%sources%included%commission%websites,%founding%documents%like%
executive% orders% and% legislation,% statements% by% policy% makers% and% commissions’% interim% and%
concluding%reports.%Secondary%sources%included%academic%journals%and%books,%news%features,%reports%
by%civil%society%organizations%(for%example%the%Truth,%Racial%Healing,%and%Transformation%Movement)%
and%publications%by%international%expert%groups%like%the%International%Center%for%Transitional%Justice%
(ICTJ).% We% also% drew% on% Transitional% Justice% in% the% USA,% a%network% of% US-based% academics% and%
practitioners% working% on% diverse% projects,% including% reparations,% memorialization,% public% history,%
education% and% institutional% reforms.% The% collective% hosts% public% workshops,% maintains% a% member%
listserv% and% facilitates% meetings% where% participants% are% able% to% keep% each% other% abreast% of%
developments%in%our%respective% areas% of%work.%These%resources%helped% us% ensure% that%we%had%the%
most%comprehensive%and%up-to-date%list%of%US%truth%commissions.%%
(
Defining$the$Universe$of$Cases$
We%use%Hayner’s%definition%of%a%truth%commission,%relaxing%only%the%criterion%that%it%be%created%by%a%
national%government.%To%be%included,% a% truth% commission% need%not%be%so%called.%For% instance,% our%
dataset%includes%the%Truth%and%Healing%Council%(THC)%in%the%state%of%California.%Rather,%to%be%included,%
16"
a%commission%must%be%sponsored%by%government%officials%at%either%the%city,%county,%state%or%federal%
level.%In%addition,%a%commission%must%be%temporary,%focused%on%events%in%the%past%and%set%up%to%reveal%
a% pattern% of% harm.% Consequently,% we% exclude% such% bodies% as% the% Citizens% Commission% for% Police%
Accountability%in%Louisville,%Kentucky,%which%is%a%permanent%body,%and%the%state%of%Wisconsin’s%Task%
Force%on%Racial%Disparities,%which%is%focused%on%ongoing%events.
37
%A%commission%must%also%be%tasked%
with%engaging% affected% communities.% Therefore,% we% exclude% such% cases% as% the% Virginia% Governor’s%
Commission%to%Examine%Racial% Inequity,% which%has%not%been% assigned% to%engage%communities%but,%
rather,%has%been%ordered%to%analyse%discrimination%in%the%legal%code.
38
%We%also%exclude%such%bodies%
as%the%state% of% Vermont’s%Racial%Equity% Advisory% Panel,%which%is%not% an%investigative%body.
39
%For%a%
proposed% commission% to% be% included,% it% must% be% formally% introduced% by% an% executive,% executive%
agency,% or% legislative% body.% For% now,% we% exclude% among% proposed% commissions% the% process% in%
Minneapolis,%Minnesota;%currently%there%exists%only%an%ad%hoc%subcommittee%tasked%with%developing%
a% framework%for% a% possible% truth% commission.
40
%As% a% note,% we% only% move% a% commission% from%
‘proposed’% to% ‘present’% when% it% begins% operating.% Simple% pronouncements% of% commissions% being%
launched%do%not%suffice.%
%
37
!Louisville!Metro!Police!Department,!‘Citizens!Commission!on!Police!Accountability,’!Louisville!Metro!Police!
Department,! louisville-police.org/348/Citizens-Commission-on-Police-Accountabi! (Accessed! 28! February!
2021);!Adam!Rogan,!‘State!Racial!Disparities!Task!Force!Members!Hope!It’s!Not!‘a!Dog!and!Pony!Show’,’!The!
Journal! Times,! 22! November! 2020,! journaltimes.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/state-racial-disparities-
task-force-members-hope-its-not-a-dog-and-pony-show/article_78e40efe-05ac-5471-adc7-d43c103fc25d.!
html!(Accessed!28!February!2021).!
38
!Office!of!the!Governor!of!Virginia,!‘Commission!to!Examine!Racial!Inequity!in!Virginia!Law,’!Governor!Ralph!
Northam,!governor.virginia.gov/racial-inequity-commission/about/!(Accessed!28!February!2021).!!
39
!State!of!Vermont,!‘Racial!Equity!Advisory!Panel,’!racialequity.vermont.gov!(Accessed!28!February!2021).!
40
!City!of!Minneapolis,!‘City!Council!Approves!Resolution!Establishing!Truth!and!Reconciliation!Process!for!City!
of! Minneapolis,’! City! of! Minneapolis! News,! 16! October! 2020,! news.minneapolismn.gov/2020/10/16/city-
council-approves-resolution-establishing-truth-and-reconciliation-process-for-city-of-minneapolis/!
(Accessed!28!February! 2021);! City! of! Minneapolis,!‘City!Council! Committee! Advances! Plans! For! Truth!and!
Reconciliation!Commission,’!City!of!Minneapolis!Patch,!1!July!2021,!patch.com/minnesota/minneapolis/city-
minneapolis-city-council-committee-advances-plans-truth-reconciliation!(Accessed!21!July!2021).!
17"
Technical$Description$
Here,%we%give%a%brief%technical%description%of%the%dataset’s%key%variables.%
Status,(Dates(and(Creators.(The%categorical%variable%Status%indicates%whether%a%commission%is%
‘past,’%‘present’%or%‘proposed,’%with%follow-on%date%variables%for%the%year%a%commission%was%proposed%
and,%if%applicable,%when%it%began%operating%and%concluded%its%work.%The%binary%variables%Federal(level,%
State%level,%County(level%and%City(level%capture%the%commission’s%jurisdiction,%with%follow-on%variables%
where%applicable%for%the%relevant%state,%county%or%city%name.%Creator%captures%the%individual%or%entity%
that%adopted%the%commission,%for%example%‘US%President’%for%the%Kerner%Commission.%Creator(party%
marks%the%party%affiliation%of%the%commission%creator,%‘Democratic’%in%the%case%of%President%Johnson.%
If% the% creator% was% a% legislature% or% council,% we% use% the% party% affiliation% of% the% majority% group,% for%
instance%the%Democratic%majority%in%the%US%Congress%that%helped%usher%in%the%CWRIC.%We%also%have%a%
binary%variable%Bipartisan(creator%that%marks%if%there%was%any%bipartisan%cooperation.%
Mandates.( The% categorical% variable% Victim( group%specifies% victims% of% interest% to% the%
commission,%for%example%Japanese%Americans%in%the%case%of%the%CWRIC.%Meanwhile,%Primary(abuses%
and%Secondary(abuses%capture%the%violations%at%the%centre%of%commission%investigations,%for%example%
racial%terror%lynchings%in%the%case%of%Maryland’s%Truth%and%Reconciliation%Commission%(TRC).%Primary(
perpetrator%and%Secondary(perpetrator%capture%offenders%of%interest,%for%example%local%governments%
and% private% citizens,% respectively,% in% commissions% focused% on% lynchings% like% the% one% in% Maryland.(
Mandate(start(and(Mandate(close%indicate%a%commission’s%assigned%temporal%scope.%
Leadership(and(civil(society(involvement.%The%data%also%detail%the%leadership%selection%method%
using%the%categorical%variable%Member(selection,%with%‘policy%maker%nomination,’%‘public%nomination’%
and% ‘open% application’% as% the% selection% options.% Finally,% we% capture% whether% domestic% and/or%
international%civil%society%groups%were%involved%in%the%lead-up%to%and/or%execution%of%the%commission%
using% the% binary% variables% Domestic( civil( society%and% International( civil( society,% with% a% follow-on%
description% of% the% groups% and% persons% involved,% for% example% the% ICTJ% in% the% case% of% the% Maine%
18"
Wabanaki-State% Child% Welfare% TRC%and% Chief% Willie% Littlechild% from% Canada’s% TRC% in% the% case% of%
California’s%THC.%
%
Trends*in*US*Truth*Commission*Experimentation
41
%
The%US%edition%of%the%Varieties(of(Truth(Commissions%captures%20%past,%present%and%proposed%official%
US%truth%commissions,%from%1967%to%2021.%As%seen%in% Table%1,%six% commissions%(30%percent)% were%
created%between%1967%and%2013,%seven%(35%percent)%have%been%active%since%2018%and%seven%others%
(35%percent)%have%been%proposed%since%2020%by%executives%and%in%legislatures%at%different%levels%of%
government.%As%seen%in%the%table,%commissions%are%being%proposed%and%launched%at%higher%rates%over%
time.% Whereas% the% first% six% US%truth% commissions% spanned% five% decades,% the% seven% currently% in%
operation%span%a%mere%three%years.%Further,%the%seven%under%deliberation%were%proposed%by%policy%
makers%within%a%single%year,%the%first%few%coming%within%weeks%of%George%Floyd’s%murder%in%May%2020%
and%the%ensuing%racial%justice%protest%movement.
41
!Geoff!Dancy,!Hunjoon! Kim,!and!Eric! Wiebelhaus-Brahm,!‘The!Turn! to!Truth:!Trends!in!Truth!Commission!
Experimentation,’!Journal!of!Human!Rights!9(1)!(2010):!45-64.!
19#
Table&1.&List&of&US&National&and&Subnational&Truth&Commissions.&
!
Commission'Name'
Status'
Creator'
Start'Year'
National'Advisory'Commission'on'Civil'Disorders'(Kerner'Commission)'
Past'
US'President'
1967'
Commission'on'Wartime'Relocation'and'Internment'of'Civilians'
Past'
US'Congress'
1980'
A'Documented'History'of'the'Incident'Which'Occurred'at'Rosewood,'Florida''
in'January,'1923'
Past'
State'Legislature'
1993'
Oklahoma'Commission'to'Study'the'Tulsa'Race'Riot'of'1921'
Past'
State'Legislature'
1997'
1898'Wilmington'Race'Riot'Commission'
Past'
State'Legislature'
2000'
Maine'Wabanaki-State'Child'Welfare'Truth'and'Reconciliation'Commission'
Past'
Governor'
2013'
Alachua'County'Truth'and'Reconciliation'
Present'
County'Commissioner'
2018'
Maryland'Lynching'Truth'and'Reconciliation'Commission'
Present'
State'Legislature'
2019'
California'Truth'and'Healing'Council'
Present'
Governor'
2020'
Iowa'City,'Iowa'Ad'Hoc'Truth'and'Reconciliation'Commission'
Present'
City'Council'
2020'
Providence,'Rhode'Island'Truth-Telling,'Reconciliation'and'Municipal'Reparations'Process'
Present'
City'Mayor'
2020'
Carlisle,'Pennsylvania'Truth'and'Reconciliation'Commission'
Present'
City'Council'
2021'
New'York,'New'York'Racial'Justice'and'Reconciliation'Commission'
Present'
City'Mayor'
2021'
United'States'Commission'on'Truth,'Racial'Healing,'and'Transformation'
Proposed'
US'Congress'
pending'
Truth'and'Healing'Commission'on'Indian'Boarding'School'Policy'in'the'United'States'
Proposed'
US'Congress'
pending'
Boston,'Massachusetts'Truth,'Justice'and'Reconciliation'Commission'
Proposed'
District'Attorney'
pending'
Philadelphia,'Pennsylvania'Truth,'Justice,'and'Reconciliation'Commission'
Proposed'
District'Attorney'
pending'
San'Francisco,'California'Truth,'Justice,'and'Reconciliation'Commission'
Proposed'
District'Attorney'
pending'
North'Dakota'Truth,'Healing'and'Reconciliation'Commission'
Proposed'
State'Legislature'
pending'
Unify'Arkansas'Commission''
Proposed'
State'Legislature'
pending'
20#
National(Commissions(
The$first$US$truth$commission,$the$Kerner$Commission,$ran$from$1967$to$1968$and$investigated$the$
causes$and$circumstances$of$the$1967$nationwide$race$riots.$The$deadliest$of$the$riots$were$in$Detroit,$
Michigan,$where$43$people$were$killed,$ and$ in$ Newark,$ New$Jersey,$where$26$people$were$ killed,$
most$of$them$Black.
42
$The$commission$was$ created$via$presidential$executive$ order$ and$President$
Johnson$ hand-selected$ the$ members.$ The$ commission$ held$ public$ hearings$ with$ affected$
communities,$ and$ interviewed$ civil$ rights$ leaders,$ business$ and$ labour$ leaders$ and$ government$
officials.
43
$
In$its$ final$report,$the$commission$rejected$the$popular$claim$that$the$riots$were$caused$by$
violent$‘riff$raff’$acting$out$for$no$reason.$The$commission$determined$that$systemic$and$individual$
anti-Black$ racism$ was$ to$ blame.
44
$The$ commissioners$ were$ remarkably$ prescient,$ prescribing$ a$
series$of$remedies$that$Black$people$and$people$of$colour$are$still$fighting$for$today:$(1)$an$end$to$de$
facto$ segregation$ in$ housing,$ (2)$ affordable$ housing,$ (3)$ jobs$ creation,$ including$ in$ police$
departments,$and$(4)$the$ expansion$ of$social$assistance$programmes.$ Ultimately,$ Johnson$ ignored$
the$ commission’s$ recommendations,$ deeming$ efforts$ to$ comprehensively$ redress$ the$ Black$
community$politically$inconvenient.
45
$
The$CWRIC$came$just$over$a$decade$later$in$1980$–$the$fruit$of$a$grassroots$redress$movement$
led$by$Japanese$Americans.$Selected$by$the$US$Congress,$the$CWRIC$leadership$team$was$composed$
42
!Khorri! Atkinson! and!Rick!Rojas,!‘Five!Days!of!Unrest!That!Shaped,!and!Haunted,!Newark,’!The$New$York$
Times,!11!July!2017,!nytimes.com/2017/07/11/nyregion/newark-riots-50-years.html!(Accessed!28!February!
2021);!Traqina!Quarks!Emeka,!‘Detroit!Riot!of!1967,’!Encyclopedia$Britannica,!britannica.com/event/Detroit-
Riot-of-1967! (Accessed! 28! February! 2021);! Alice! George,! ‘The! 1968! Kerner! Commission! Got! It! Right,! But!
Nobody!Listened,’!Smithsonian$Magazine,!1!March!2018,!smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/1968-
kerner-commission-got-it-right-nobody-listened-180968318!(Accessed!28!February!2021).!
43
!Ryan,!Mary!Kathleen,!‘The!Democratic!Kaleidoscope!in!the!United!States:!Vanquishing!Structural!Racism!in!
the!US!Federal!Government.’!(PhD!diss.,!Virginia!Tech,!2019).!!
44
!Justin! Driver,! ‘The! Report! on! Race! That! Shook! America,’! The$ Atlantic,! May! 2018,! theatlantic.com/!
magazine/archive/2018/05/the-report-on-race-that-shook-america/556850!(Accessed!2!March!2021).!
45
!Steven!M.!Gillon,!‘This!Government! Report! Showed! How!Racism!Was!Dividing!America! 50! Years! Ago.! Its!
Prediction! Is! Haunting,’! TIME,! 1! March! 2018,! time.com/5180266/kerner-commission-report-anniversary/!
(Accessed!8!July!2021).!!
21#
of$ partisan$ and$ nonpartisan$ members.
46
$Commissioners$traversed$ the$ nation,$ hearing$ from$ 750$
witnesses$during$their$three-year$investigation.$They$ concluded$ in$ their$report$that$anti-Japanese$
racism$ and$ xenophobia,$ not$ genuine$ or$ imminent$ security$ threats,$ motivated$ the$ government's$
programme$of$mass$relocation$and$internment$of$an$estimated$120,000$persons$of$Japanese$ancestry$
between$ 1942$ and$ 1946.$ Among$ other$ items,$ the$ CWRIC$ recommended$ reparations,$ which$ were$
delivered$with$the$Civil$Liberties$Act$of$1988.
47
$
There$have$not$been$any$national$commissions$since,$but$there$are$two$proposals$currently$
under$consideration$in$the$US$Congress.$In$the$midst$of$the$summer$2020$Black$Lives$Matter$protests,$
California$ congresswoman$ Barbara$ Lee$ sponsored$ a$ bill$ for$ a$ Truth,$ Racial$ Healing,$ and$
Transformation$Commission$(US$TRHT).$New$Jersey$senator$Cory$Booker$introduced$a$companion$
bill$ in$ the$ upper$ chamber.$ Likewise,$ then-New$ Mexico$ congresswoman$ Deb$ Haaland$ and$
Massachusetts$senator$Elizabeth$Warren$introduced$in$the$House$and$the$Senate,$respectively,$a$bill$
for$ a$ Truth$ and$ Healing$ Commission$ on$ Indian$ Boarding$ School$ Policy$ (US$THC),$ much$ akin$ to$
Canada's$TRC.$
$
Subnational(Commissions(
Our$ data$ opens$ new$ terrain$ in$ the$ study$ of$ TJ$ generally,$ and$ truth$ commissions$ in$ particular,$ by$
including$commissions$at$the$subnational$level.$Subnational$commissions$make$up$a$significant$share$
of$US$truth$commissions,$80$percent.$As$seen$in$Figure$1,$past,$ present$and$proposed$commissions$
have$ worked,$ are$ in$ progress$ or$ are$ under$ deliberation/development$ in$ 13$ states:$ Arkansas,$
California$ (two$commissions),$ Florida$ (two$commissions),$ Iowa,$ Maine,$ Maryland,$ Massachusetts,$
46
!The!commission’s!leadership!team!included!a!member!of! the! House! of! Representatives! and! an! Associate!
Justice!of!the!US!Supreme!Court.!
47
!Commission! on! Wartime! Relocation! and! Internment! of! Civilians,! Personal$ Justice$ Denied,$ Part$ 2:$
Recommendations!(Washington!D.C.:!Commission!on!Wartime!Relocation!and!Internment!of!Civilians,!1983);!
US!Congress,! House,!Civil!Liberties!Act!of!1988,!HR!442,! 100th! Cong.,! introduced! in! House! 6! January!1987,!
govtrack.us/congress/bills/100/hr442/text!(Accessed!3!March!2021).!
22#
New$ York,$ North$ Carolina,$ North$ Dakota,$ Oklahoma,$ Pennsylvania$ (two$ commissions)$ and$ Rhode$
Island.$
$
$
$
$$$$$$$$$$$$$(a)$
$
$
$$$$$$$$$$$$$(b)$
!
$$$$$$$$$$$$$Figure'1.$Subnational$US$Truth$Commissions$by$State.$(a)$City,$County$and$State$Level.$$$$$
$$$$$$$$$$$$$(b)$State$Level$Only.$Source:$The$Varieties!of!Truth!Commissions$Project.$
$
The$ earliest$ subnational$ US$truth$ commissions$ were$ in$ Rosewood,$ Florida$ and$ Tulsa,$
Oklahoma$in$1993$ and$ 1997,$respectively.$Both$ investigated$local$authorities,$white$ supremacists$
and$violent$ extremist$groups$ like$the$Ku$Klux$Klan$for$the$harassment,$injury$and$murder$of$Black$
23#
residents.$ Anti-Black$ discrimination$ and$ violence$ in$ both$ municipalities$ culminated$ in$ race$
massacres.
48
$In$1923,$a$white$mob$ravaged$the$historically$Black$community$of$Rosewood,$killing$as$
many$as$200$people,$ burning$virtually$all$buildings$and$ forcibly$ displacing$residents.
49
$Two$years$
earlier,$in$1921,$a$white$mob$in$Tulsa$was$unleashed$on$the$Greenwood$District$of$the$city,$said$to$be$
the$ ‘Black$ Wall$ Street.’
50
$A$ centre$of$ Black$ economic$ prosperity,$ Greenwood$ was$ unacceptable$ to$
neighbouring$white$ communities.$ As$ many$ as$ 300$ people$ were$ killed$ in$ the$ massacre,$ with$ 800$
injured$and$thousands$displaced.$
Racial$terror$is$also$at$the$centre$of$a$more$recent$commission,$this$time$in$Alachua$County,$
Florida.
51
$Since$2018,$the$commission$has$been$investigating$the$lynchings$regime$that$emerged$after$
the$Civil$War$and$Black$people’s$emancipation$from$slavery.$Like$several$others,$this$commission$has$
been$ assigned$ to$ analyse$the$ actions$ of$ state$ and$ nonstate$ actors,$ including$ law$ enforcement$
personnel$and$private$citizens.$
$Beyond$these$efforts$at$the$city$and$county$levels,$a$state-level$commission$was$conducted$in$
Maine,$two$are$ongoing$in$Maryland$and$California$and$two$have$been$proposed$by$policy$makers$in$
Arkansas$and$North$Dakota.$The$2013$commission$in$Maine$was$a$partnership$between$the$state$and$
the$Wabanaki$tribal$governments.
52
$For$decades,$the$state$removed$Indigenous$children$from$their$
homes$and$communities,$and$placed$them$into$the$foster$care$system$ or$ under$ adoption$ because$
48
!The!massacres!in!Rosewood!and!Tulsa!(and!later!Wilmington,!North!Carolina)!were!emblematic!of!US!racial!
violence!at!the!time:!the!culmination!of!racial!resentment!and!institutionalized!white!supremacy.!These!are!not!
single!events:!they! are!part!and! parcel!of!anti-Black! oppression!and!violence!as! the!respective!commissions!
established.!The!Wilmington!commission!went!as!far!as!to!report!on! the!impact!and!legacy!of!the!1898!coup!
for!generations!of!Black!Americans,!not!only!in!the!respective!jurisdictions!but!across!the!country.!!
49
!Carmelita!Pickett,!‘Rosewood!Massacre!of!1923.’!Encyclopedia$Britannica,!britannica.com/topic/Rosewood-
riot-of-1923!(Accessed!3!March!2021).!!
50
!Oklahoma! Commission! to! Study! the! Tulsa! Race! Riot! of! 1921,! Tulsa$ Race$ Riot:$ A$ Report$ (Oklahoma! City:!
Commission!to!Study!the!Tulsa!Race!Riot!of!1921,!2001).!
51
!Samantha!Cherry,!‘Alachua!County!to!Host!Truth!and!Reconciliation!Events!Remembering!Lynching!Victims,’!
WUFT:$ News$ and$ Public$ Media$ for$ North$ Central$ Florida,! 6! February!2020,!
wuft.org/news/2020/02/06/alachua-county-to-host-truth-and-reconciliation-events-remembering-
lynching-victims!(Accessed!5!March!2021).!!
52
!‘Maine!Wabanaki-State!Child!Welfare!Truth!&!Reconciliation!Commission,!Beyond$the$Mandate:$Continuing$
the$Conversation!(Hermon:!Maine!Wabanaki-State!Child!Welfare!Truth!&!Reconciliation!Commission,!2015).!
24#
their$families$were$purportedly$unfit$to$raise$them.$The$policy,$said$to$protect$the$‘best$interests’$of$
Wabanaki$children,$was$devastating$for$them$and$their$families,$and$necessitated$a$truth$commission$
to$establish$ the$facts,$namely$the$policy’s$racism$and$the$serious$ harms$it$caused.$The$commission$
also$created$a$space$for$individual$and$community$healing.$
The$state$of$Maryland$has$authorized$its$TRC$to$examine$the$history$and$legacy$of$lynchings,$
while$ the$ state$ of$California$has$ authorized$ its$THC$ to$study$the$genocide$ and$ exploitation$ of$
Indigenous$Californians$in$the$19th$century$and$state-sanctioned$discrimination$and$abuse$since.$The$
commissions$began$operating$in$2019$and$2020,$respectively.$
$
Victims,(Abuses(and(Perpetrators(
Past$national$truth$commissions$have$addressed$two$primary$victim$populations:$Black$and$Japanese$
Americans.$National$commissions$currently$under$debate$would$expand$on$these.$The$US$THC$would$
address$abuses$perpetrated$against$Native$Americans$in$the$Indian$boarding$school$system,$from$the$
1860s$to$the$1960s,$and$the$US$TRHT$would$study$the$oppression$of$people$of$colour$from$the$1600s$
onwards.$$
Past$ subnational$ commissions$ have$ exclusively$ examined$ abuses$ against$ Black$ and$
Indigenous$ Americans,$ and$ emphasized$ physical$ integrity$ rights$ violations,$ namely$ killings.$ By$
contrast,$most$current$and$proposed$subnational$commissions$are$set$to$investigate$the$oppression$
of$ people$ of$ colour$ in$ general.$ Innovating$ on$ past$ efforts,$ commissions$ in$ Boston,$ Massachusetts,$
Philadelphia,$ Pennsylvania$ and$ San$ Francisco,$ California$ have$ been$ tasked$ with$ addressing$
‘marginalized$groups,’$a$designation$given$by$commission$designers$to$encompass$people$of$colour,$
immigrants$and$LGBTQIA$individuals.
53
$Most$current$and$proposed$commissions$are$also$intended$
to$examine$institutional$racism$and$structural$inequality.$
53
!Truth,!Justice,!and!Reconciliation!Commission,!‘Home,’!tjrc.org!(Accessed!4!March!2021).!
25#
Policy$ makers$ understandably$ want$ commissions$ to$ encompass$ more$ groups$ and$ tackle$
more$ issues$ over$ longer$ timeframes.$ TJ$ is$ certainly$ due$ to$ many$ more$ Americans$ than$ have$
previously$ been$ included$ in$ national$ and$ subnational$ processes.$ However,$ commission$ designers$
face$a$possible$breadth-depth$trade-off.$Commissions$may$uncover$broad$systems$of$oppression$and$
abuse$but$ultimately$fail$to$offer$specific,$actionable$steps$to$transform$communities.$Commissions$
may$ also$ fail$ to$ address$ individual$ responsibility$for$ harms$ and$ miss$ the$ opportunity$ to$ provide$
individual$redress.$
Lastly,$government$actors$have$been$(and$remain)$the$perpetrators$of$primary$concern$in$US$
commissions,$with$white$citizens$as$perpetrators$of$secondary$concern.$In$the$case$of$the$former,$we$
note$a$potential$conflict$of$interest$in$Boston,$Philadelphia$and$San$Francisco,$where$the$respective$
district$attorneys$will$lead$truth$commissions$to$investigate$the$criminal$justice$system$of$which$they$
are$key$players.$The$situation$will$need$to$be$closely$monitored$so$that$the$commissions$can$conduct$
a$full$and$impartial$investigation,$and$deliver$a$report$whose$findings$are$not$abridged,$redacted$or$
diluted.$
$
Leaders(and(Leadership(Selection(
Across$ the$ board,$ US$truth$ commissions$ have$ struggled$ to$ recruit$ members$ from$ diverse$
backgrounds,$which$ is$very$problematic,$considering$commissions’$ subject$matter.$The$problem$of$
unrepresentative$commission$leadership$ is$due$in$ part$to$the$ respective$commission$inaugurators$
ostensibly$appointing$members$from$among$their$networks,$ rather$ than$ soliciting$ applications$ or$
nominations$from$the$public,$per$international$best$standards.
54
$States$like$Maine$and$California$and$
cities$like$Iowa$City$are$among$the$exceptions,$having$had$an$open$application$process.$
$
54
!Eduardo!González!and! Howard!Varney,!Truth$ Seeking:$Elements$of$ Creating$an$Effective$Truth$ Commission!
(New!York:!International!Center!for!Transitional!Justice,!2013).!
26#
Civil(Society(Involvement(
Both$ domestic$ and$ international$ civil$ society$ actors$ have$ worked$ with$ US$commissions$ in$ their$
research$and$operations.$For$example,$the$Equal$Justice$Initiative$–$which$installed$the$country’s$first$
national$lynching$memorial,$the$National$Memorial$for$Peace$and$Justice$in$Montgomery,$Alabama$–$
has$been$heavily$involved$in$truth$seeking$in$Alachua$County.$Given$the$commission’s$focus$on$racial$
terror$lynchings,$this$is$an$obvious$choice$for$an$organizational$partner.$ International$civil$society$
groups$like$ the$ICTJ$and$TJ$professionals$like$Eduardo$ González$have$also$assisted$commissions$in$
places$like$Maine.$Members$of$previous$global$commissions$have$done$likewise.$To$illustrate,$one$of$
the$Canadian$TRC$commissioners,$Chief$Willie$Littlechild,$is$supporting$the$Californian$THC.$
$
Summary'of'Findings'
Our$research$produces$several$key$insights$into$US$and$global$TJ,$with$implications$for$current$and$
future$TJ$efforts.$First,$US$truth$commissions$mirror$efforts$in$countries$like$Brazil$that$have$turned$
to$the$local.$The$local$turn$indicates$that$subnational$commissions$may$be$more$feasible$than$national$
ones$ in$ a$ US$context.$ A$ multiracial$ coalition$ of$ progressive$ lawmakers$ has$ introduced$ bills$ to$
establish$federal$commissions$on$racial$injustice.$However,$the$proposed$legislation$faces$significant$
opposition$from$conservatives,$who$are$predominantly$white$and$many$of$whom$deny$the$existence$
of$systemic$racism$in$the$United$States.
55
$With$five$subnational$commissions$launched$and$five$others$
55
!For!instance,!US!Senator! Susan!Collins,!a! Republican! from!Maine,!said! that!she!does! ‘not!believe!systemic!
racism!is!a!problem’!in!her!state!–!the!same!state!that,!until!recently,!separated!Indigenous!children!from!their!
families! because! it! considered! them! unfit! guardians.!Likewise,! Senator! Joni! Ernst! of! Iowa! has! denied! the!
existence! of! ‘systemic! racism! across! the! board’! –! the! very! issue! the! Iowa! City! TRC! is! intended! to! examine.!
Meanwhile,!Ted!Cruz,!a!US!Senator!from!Texas!who!ran!for!president!in!2016!and!is!an!early!frontrunner!for!
the!Republican!nomination!in!2024,!also!refuses!to!acknowledge!systemic!racism.!Clare!Foran,!‘Susan!Collins:!
I! Do! Not! Believe! Systemic! Racism! is! a! Problem! in! the! State! of! Maine,’! CNN$ Politics,! 29! October! 2020,!
edition.cnn.com/2020/10/29/politics/susan-collins-systemic-racism-maine-senate-debate/index.html!
(Accessed!5!March!2021);!Scott!McFetridge,!‘Iowa!Senate!Candidates!Debate,!Differ!on!Racism,!Privilege,’!The$
Associated$ Press.! October! 16,! 2020,! apnews.com/article/race-and-ethnicity-senate-elections-des-moines-
elections-joni-ernst-ea6f94a18c4ed805fb4403dff43c26e8!(Accessed!5!March!2021);!Savannah!Behrmann,!‘No!
Systemic!Racism!in! Police,!Society,!Say!Texas! Senators!Cruz,!Cornyn,’!The$ Columbus$ Dispatch,!17!June! 2020,!
dispatch.com/story/news/politics/2020/06/17/no-systemic-racism-in-police-society-say-texas-senators-
cruz-cornyn/112775972!(Accessed!5!March!2021).!
27#
proposed$in$2020$ and$the$first$ part$of$2021,$city$ and$state$policy$makers$seem$ to$be$faring$better$
than$their$federal$counterparts$who$have$proposed$two$but$launched$none.$We$note,$however,$that$
these$ten$subnational$commissions$have$been$led$primarily$by$Democratic$policy$makers.$As$of$July$
2021,$only$three$had$any$support$from$Republicans$–$the$Iowa$City$TRC$in$Iowa,$the$Carlisle$Borough$
TRC$ in$ Pennsylvania$ and$ the$ North$ Dakota$ Truth,$ Healing,$ and$ Reconciliation$ Commission.$
Expanding$attempts$by$Republicans$nationwide$to$ban$Critical$Race$Theory$and$to$deny$the$truth$of$
US$political$ violence,$ including$ the$ 6$ January$ 2021$insurrection,$ do$ not$ bode$ well$ for$ bipartisan$
cooperation$in$the$ quest$to$deliver$truth,$ justice,$reparations$and$guarantees$ of$non-repetition$for$
historical$and$contemporary$injustices.
56
$So$it$appears$that$US$truth$seeking,$whether$national$ or$
subnational,$will$depend$on$Democratic$majorities.$
Second,$ US$commissions’$ overall$ emphasis$ has$ historically$ been$ on$ Indigenous$ and$Black$
Americans,$ but$ recent$ commissions$ have$ been$ broadened$ to$ encompass$ other$ minoritized$ and$
marginalized$communities.$They$are$also$set$to$investigate$both$physical$and$non-physical$abuses.$
The$ move$ to$ expand$ commissions’$ scope$ will$ likely$ broaden$ constituencies$ of$ support$ for$ truth$
commissions$ and$ other$ TJ$ measures,$ and$ reveal$ important$ information$ on$ systems$ and$ agents$ of$
racial$ oppression.$ Yet$ commission$ designers$ face$ a$ breadth-depth$ trade-off,$ with$ commissions$
potentially$ uncovering$ systemic$ racism$ and$ structural$ inequality,$ but$ failing$ to$ offer$ concrete$
recommendations$to$transform$communities.$$
56
!For! example,! Florida! Governor! Ron! DeSantis,! another!2024! Republican! presidential! hopeful,! pushed! the!
Florida!Board!of!Education!to!adopt!new!rules!banning!the!teaching!of!critical!race!theory.!Senator!Josh!Hawley,!
another!2024!Republican!presidential! hopeful,! said! of!the!January!6th! rioters,! ‘I! don’t!know!which! of! those!
protesters,!if!any!of!them...participated!in!the!criminal!riot.!And!I!think!it’s!a!slur!on!the...people!who!came!to!
the! Capitol! that! day! to! demonstrate! peacefully! to! lump!them! in! with! the! criminal! rioters….’! Bobby! Calvan,!
‘Florida! Bans! “Critical! Race! Theory”! From! Its! Classrooms,’! Associated$ Press,! 20! June! 2021,!
apnews.com/article/florida-race-and-ethnicity-government-and-politics-education-
74d0af6c52c0009ec3fa3ee9955b0a8d!(Accessed!18!July!2021);!Colby!Itkowitz,!‘GOP!Sen.!Hawley!Says!He!Does!
Not! Regret! Raising! Fist! to! Pro-Trump! Mob! at! Capitol! on! Jan.! 6,’! The$ Washington$ Post,! 4! May! 2021,!
washingtonpost.com/powerpost/republicans-trump-hawley-jan-6-riot/2021/05/04/9f757304-aced-11eb-
acd3-24b44a57093a_story.html!(Accessed!18!July!2021).!!
28#
Third,$ while$ US$commissions$ resemble$ some$ aspects$ of$ global$ commissions,$ like$ South$
Africa’s$ focus$ on$ racial$ violence,$ Colombia’s$ emphasis$ on$ the$ subnational$ and$ Canada’s$ delay$ in$
enacting$ TJ,$ US$ efforts$ are$ in$ many$ ways$ inconsistent$ with$ global$ practices$ and$ expectations.$ To$
illustrate,$ US$ executives$ and$ legislatures$ often$ handpick$ commission$ leaders$ rather$ than$ invite$
nominations$from$the$public$or$have$prospective$commissioners$apply$and$be$chosen$based$on$merit$
and$experience.$This$appears$to$be$a$legacy$of$the$first$US$truth$commissions,$the$Kerner$Commission$
and$the$CWRIC,$where$the$president$and$members$of$Congress$selected$commissioners,$most$of$them$
government$ officials$ and$ few$ of$ them$ coming$ from$ multicultural$ backgrounds.$ This$ practice$ also$
indicates$a$shallow$understanding$of$global$experiences$and$international$standards$and$guidelines,$
with$potentially$negative$consequences$for$the$operation$and$effectiveness$of$US$commissions.$
Given$the$reality$ of$partisan$polarization,$ and$the$potential$sensitivity$ of$truth$commission$
investigations,$an$open$and$bipartisan$or$nonpartisan$leadership$selection$process$that$involves$civil$
society$might$build$trust$and$support$between$different$segments$of$society.$This$is$one$area$where$
ongoing$and$future$US$commissions$can$build$on$precedents.$Clergy$and$other$nonpartisan$civic$and$
social$leaders$have$figured$prominently$in$global$and$US$commissions,$lending$clout$and$credibility.$
International$advisors$can$also$lend$invaluable$expertise$and$assistance$in$the$design$and$operation$
of$current$and$future$commissions$in$the$United$States.$They$could$help$make$US$commissions$more$
effective,$ for$ example$ by$ suggesting$ and$ supporting$ coordination$ of$ commissions$ across$
jurisdictions.
57
$A$system$whereby$research$conducted$by$commissions$at$the$city$and$county$levels$
is$ shared$ with$ states$ and,$ in$ turn,$ with$ the$ federal$ government$ could$ be$ highly$ beneficial,$ as$ the$
nation$as$a$whole$grapples$with$its$racist$past$and$present.$
$
Conclusion'
57
!Eduardo! González! and! Kelebogile! Zvobgo,! ‘As! America! Seeks! Racial! Justice,! It! Can! Learn! From! Abroad,’!
Foreign$ Policy,! 14! March! 2021,! foreignpolicy.com/2021/03/14/racial-justice-truth-reconciliation-
commissions-international!(Accessed!15!March!2021).!
29#
We$end$as$ we$ began,$with$an$exercise$ in$ reflexivity$that,$combined$with$the$ initial$ analysis$of$our$
novel$ data,$ demonstrates$ the$ conceptual,$ methodological,$ empirical$ and$ normative$ importance$ of$
including$ the$ US$case$ in$ TJ$ scholarship.$ We$ believe$ it$ is$ the$ unique$ combination$ of$ our$ racial,$
geographic,$disciplinary$and$methodological$backgrounds$that$helped$us$see$and$take$seriously$the$
United$States$as$a$TJ$case.$
Coming$from$Japan$and$Zimbabwe,$and$studying$and$working$in$the$United$States,$we$are$no$
strangers$to$criticisms$of$the$field,$namely$that$it$is$biased,$even$hypocritical.$TJ$is$a$set$of$tools$that$
have$in$many$instances$been$foisted$by$countries$in$the$Global$North$on$countries$in$the$Global$South.$
This$is$despite$the$fact$that$the$Global$North$has$its$own$ catalogue$ of$ unaddressed$ historical$ and$
contemporary$ injustices$ –$ against$ its$ own$ citizens$ and$ against$ citizens$ of$ countries$ in$ the$ Global$
South.
58
$Interestingly,$and$ despite$emerging$attempts$ to$reckon$with$historical$ and$contemporary$
wrongs$by$such$a$prominent$country$as$the$United$States,$TJ$scholars$have$been$largely$silent$on$the$
case.$$
The$ failure$ to$ case$ the$ United$ States$ has$ biased$ how$ we$ think$ about$ TJ,$ especially$ truth$
commissions,$ and$ distorted$ how$ we$ measure$ and$ evaluate$ them.$ The$ field’s$ neglect$ has$ also$
effectively$shuttled$to$the$side$individuals$and$communities$that$have$suffered$political$violence$in$
the$United$States$and$who$are$demanding$and,$in$some$instances,$winning$TJ.$This$scholarly$context,$
and$social$unrest$in$our$country,$spurred$us$to$intervene.$We$undertook$a$new$data$collection$effort,$
mapping$out$and$describing$for$the$first$time$official$US$truth$commissions,$from$the$1960s$onwards.$$
We$situated$the$United$States$within$the$study$and$practice$of$TJ,$and$we$included$efforts$at$
the$subnational$level.$We$showed$that$US$commissions$are$adjacent,$for$example,$to$efforts$in$mature$
democracies$like$Canada$and$South$Korea,$on$the$one$hand,$and$efforts$at$the$local$level$in$countries$
like$ Brazil$ and$ Colombia,$ on$ the$ other$ hand.$ Our$ data$ thus$ reveals$ that$ the$ United$ States$ is$ not$
58
!Rosemary!L.!Nagy,! ‘Transitional! justice! as!global!project:!Critical!reflections,!‘Third$ World$Quarterly!29(2)!
(2008):!275-289.!
30#
exceptional$after$all$but$part$ of$ a$ global$ phenomenon.$ Addressing$the$US$case$helped$us$begin$ to$
confront$a$major$hypocrisy$in$scholarship$and$practice,$and$examining$the$case$ further$ holds$ the$
potential$to$consolidate$ the$shift$from$some$ of$the$TJ$field’s$ early$preoccupations$(e.g.,$democracy$
promotion,$peacebuilding$ and$civil$and$political$rights$in$contexts$ of$political$transition)$to$a$more$
transformative!justice!model$that$encompasses$broader,$structural$injustices$and$social$and$economic$
issues.
59
$$
With$ our$ data,$ scholars$ can$ begin$ to$ systematically$ analyse$the$ emergence,$ design,$
performance$and$impact$of$truth$commissions$in$the$United$States.$We$will$see$with$time$how$well$
US$commissions$fare$in$different$jurisdictions$covering$ different$ topics$ and$ populations.$ The$data$
also$open$a$window$of$opportunity$for$scholars$and$practitioners$to$make$recommendations$to$policy$
makers,$ activists$ and$ other$ civic$ and$ social$ leaders$ to$ improve$ upon$ current$ and$ future$ US$
commissions,$whether$with$respect$to$their$mandates,$scope$or$operation.$
$
59
!Paul!Gready!and!Simon!Robins,!‘From!Transitional!to!Transformative! Justice:!A!New!Agenda!for! Practice,’!
International$Journal$of$Transitional$Justice!8(3)!(2014):!339-361.!
... Particularly, given the dominance of the transitional justice lens for understanding truth commissions, they have largely been conceptualized as a transitional justice tool, and thus, primarily as a tool for 'transitional' societies shifting to either democracy or peace (McAuliffe, 2011;see also Leyh, 2023). Consequently, scholars have often overlooked similar truth-telling processes occurring in countries of the Global North-including ones that meet Hayner's (2011) widely accepted definition (see Henry, 2015;Posthumus & Zvobgo, 2021). Indeed, while transitional justice studies scholars commonly refer to the 1974 Uganda commission as the first truth commission (e.g., Hayner, 2011;Yusuf, 2021), as Posthumus and Zvobgo (2021) illustrate, such an argument requires ignoring the United States's 1967 Kerner Commission, officially known as The National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders. ...
... Consequently, scholars have often overlooked similar truth-telling processes occurring in countries of the Global North-including ones that meet Hayner's (2011) widely accepted definition (see Henry, 2015;Posthumus & Zvobgo, 2021). Indeed, while transitional justice studies scholars commonly refer to the 1974 Uganda commission as the first truth commission (e.g., Hayner, 2011;Yusuf, 2021), as Posthumus and Zvobgo (2021) illustrate, such an argument requires ignoring the United States's 1967 Kerner Commission, officially known as The National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders. This commission, which was installed by then President Lyndon Johnson, was tasked with investigating the circumstances of the racial unrest in American cities in the summer of 1967 and its causes. ...
... While the peace and conflict studies literature are not centered around 'transitional societies' but rather violent conflict more broadly, peace scholars have also begun to recognize the field's racial (and imperial) blind spots and its tendency to focus "out there" rather than within the United States and other countries in the Global North (e.g., Azarmandi, 2018;Jackson, 2015;Scott, 2020). As in the case of the transitional justice field, it has been suggested that these tendencies are due to the large number of white scholars from the Global North in the field, implicit biases (Maiangwa et al., 2022;Posthumus & Zvobgo, 2021), and global power dynamics when it comes to publishing articles in the highly ranked academic journals published in English by North-based institutions (Fletcher & Weinstein, 2018;Richmond & Mac Ginty, 2015). The peace and conflict studies field's traditionally narrow focus on "war prevention"itself a consequence of who makes up the field and has power-further reinforces (and serves to justify) the field's blind spot. ...
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... While most truth commissions are established in countries undergoing "transition" to democratic governance or peace (Yusuf, 2021, 95), increasingly, established democracies such as Canada, Norway, Sweden, and Finland have also undertaken such processes to address historical and often, racial and/or settler-colonial injustices (Gawerc, 2024). Though the United States has denied the relevance of truth commissions for addressing its own long history of racial injustice-insisting it is a process for "countries transitioning out of conflict and from authoritarian regimes" (Giridharadas, 2016)-the United States itself has been home to at least 13 official truth commissions, albeit, primarily operating at the state-, county-or city-level (Posthumus and Zvobgo, 2022). Moreover, in the aftermath of the 2020 racial justice protests, following the killings of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and Ahmaud Arbery, many additional truth commissions were proposed to address racial injustice with a number of these proposals passing, particularly at the city level (Gawerc, 2024). ...
... Highlighting the relevance of truth commissions in the U.S. context, scholars have pointed out that the white population has not universally acknowledged the country's historical wrongs (Posthumus and Zvobgo, 2022), there is extensive racial inequality (Murphy, 2020), and human rights violations-such as police shootings of unarmed Black men and women-have become normalized and facts of life for members of minoritized groups (Murphy, 2020). ...
... Similarly, the field has seen an expansion of political, social and economic structures and contexts within which the quest for justice for past abuse is situated and interrogated (Destrooper, Gissel, and Carlson 2023). They range from investigations of historical human rights abuse in relation to slavery and colonialism in developed democracies, as in the United States, Canada, and Australia (Posthumus and Zvobgo 2021), to recent calls for redress for the medieval witch-hunt in Scotland that targeted women (Davies 2021). Although transitional justice research has been marked by efforts to identify, analyse and theorise different types of local agency and justice practices, this has nearly always taken place at the expense of studying actors' interactions and their relations. ...
... Racial Healing | 121 TRHT has been adopted at the community level across the United States and especially at select universities (Posthumus and Zvobgo 2022). ...
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The public policy process in the United States has strong status quo biases that frustrate efforts to adopt policies focused on racial justice and social equity. On occasion, a policy window opens and the chance for real change increases greatly. This article is a case study focused on advocacy for a Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation (TRHT) Commission during an open policy window that occurred in 2020 related to brutal police violence (readers should know in advance that traumatic events covered in this article include descriptions of racial violence). The findings are drawn primarily from original interviews with advocates for the Commission, providing an outsider’s perspective on this political process.
... Focus tends to concentrate on truth-seeking and truth-telling exercises, reparations plans, and police accountability. Posthumus and Zvobgo (2021), for example, chronicle the use of truth commissions in the United States. Most attention has been directed toward the Greensboro Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) (Foxworth 2008;Magarrell and Wesley 2008) and the Maine-Wabanaki Child Welfare TRC (Collins et al. 2014). ...
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Scholars from various disciplines and legal rulings in different contexts overwhelmingly support the preservation of cultural heritage in its varied forms. In the twenty-first century, it has come to be seen as a human right. In the American context, this raises questions about instances in which cultural heritage icons symbolize oppression. Is such heritage also worthy of preservation? As American racial justice activists seek to prompt a reckoning with the country’s centuries of race-based physical and structural violence, Confederate monuments and memorials have attracted considerable attention. The Southern Poverty Law Center documents over 2200 Confederate monuments around the United States. This chapter examines the academic and policy debates surrounding Confederate monument removal. While a few people argue that monuments should be done away with, most advocates for removal do not necessarily support the destruction of these heritage symbols. Instead, they argue that Confederate monuments should be moved or altered to educate about their racist origins. Thus, the chapter probes the limits of normative and legal arguments around heritage protection. While acknowledging the limitations of such an approach with few incentives for bipartisanship in contemporary national (and often state-level) politics, we argue that the transitional justice concepts of localism, participation, and holism can usefully inform local deliberation around Confederate monuments.
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The article argues that International Relations, and especially those approaches that are informed by the epistemological and methodological premises of reflexivity, would benefit from a more diversified range of comparative methodologies other than those deriving from the work of J.S. Mill and more recent developments within the neopositivist canon. While discussions of methodology in International Relations have become open to a diversity of approaches in recent years, scholars have often been less prone to formulate explicit methodological guidance, especially in the form of practical guidance for alternative comparative research designs. Building on but further developing existing work on reflexivity and methodology, the article thus aims to open up methodological possibilities for reflexive IR by delineating three comparative strategies: defamiliarizing discursive comparison, contrapuntal comparison, and vernacular comparison. Each of the strategies is explained with reference to its theoretical and methodological background in existing scholarship, two key stages for its practical application, as well as examples. The article concludes by highlighting the importance and urgency of methodological innovation in IR––especially when it comes to approaches inspired by reflexivity.
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In this analytical essay, we situate truth commissions as relevant sites for International Relations (IR) research, in particular on professional communities and knowledge hierarchies. With an empirical focus on report-making, we argue that there is a need to rethink and revise established professional community concepts. While these concepts stress professional communities’ detachment from mundane pressures, we suggest a “pressure lens” to better grasp the key dynamics of expert knowledge production. Based on in-depth interpretive research on three truth commissions—in Sierra Leone, Kenya, and Tunisia—we set out to identify key dynamics in the report-making of truth commissions that contribute to the gap between high expectations and sobering realities regarding truth commissions as “victim-centred” policy instruments. Understanding the dynamics at play requires us to pay attention to unequal pressures—such as time and funding pressures, powerholder interference, and demands voiced by victims and survivors—that bear on the work of experts and professionals who produce truth commission reports. We argue that these pressures and, crucially, the ways in which they tend to play out under conditions of coloniality, are expressions of global hierarchies that shape professional report-making work.
Five Days of Unrest That Shaped, and Haunted
  • Khorri Atkinson
  • Rick Rojas
Khorri Atkinson and Rick Rojas, 'Five Days of Unrest That Shaped, and Haunted, Newark,' The New York Times, 11 July 2017, nytimes.com/2017/07/11/nyregion/newark-riots-50-years.html (Accessed 28 February 2021);
Detroit Riot of 1967,' Encyclopedia Britannica, britannica.com/event/Detroit-Riot-of-1967
  • Emeka Traqina Quarks
Traqina Quarks Emeka, 'Detroit Riot of 1967,' Encyclopedia Britannica, britannica.com/event/Detroit-Riot-of-1967 (Accessed 28 February 2021);
Kerner Commission Got It Right, But Nobody Listened
  • Alice George
Alice George, 'The 1968 Kerner Commission Got It Right, But Nobody Listened,' Smithsonian Magazine, 1 March 2018, smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/1968-kerner-commission-got-it-right-nobody-listened-180968318 (Accessed 28 February 2021).
The Democratic Kaleidoscope in the United States: Vanquishing Structural Racism in the US Federal Government
  • Mary Ryan
  • Kathleen
Ryan, Mary Kathleen, 'The Democratic Kaleidoscope in the United States: Vanquishing Structural Racism in the US Federal Government.' (PhD diss., Virginia Tech, 2019).
The Report on Race That Shook America
  • Justin Driver
Justin Driver, 'The Report on Race That Shook America,' The Atlantic, May 2018, theatlantic.com/ magazine/archive/2018/05/the-report-on-race-that-shook-america/556850 (Accessed 2 March 2021).
This Government Report Showed How Racism Was Dividing America 50 Years Ago. Its Prediction Is Haunting
  • M Steven
  • Gillon
Steven M. Gillon, 'This Government Report Showed How Racism Was Dividing America 50 Years Ago. Its Prediction Is Haunting,' TIME, 1 March 2018, time.com/5180266/kerner-commission-report-anniversary/ (Accessed 8 July 2021).
Republican from Maine, said that she does 'not believe systemic racism is a problem' in her state -the same state that, until recently, separated Indigenous children from their families because it considered them unfit guardians. Likewise, Senator Joni Ernst of Iowa has denied the existence of
  • For Instance
  • Us Senator Susan
  • Collins
For instance, US Senator Susan Collins, a Republican from Maine, said that she does 'not believe systemic racism is a problem' in her state -the same state that, until recently, separated Indigenous children from their families because it considered them unfit guardians. Likewise, Senator Joni Ernst of Iowa has denied the existence of 'systemic racism across the board' -the very issue the Iowa City TRC is intended to examine.
US Senator from Texas who ran for president in 2016 and is an early frontrunner for the Republican nomination in 2024, also refuses to acknowledge systemic racism. Clare Foran
  • Ted Meanwhile
  • Cruz
Meanwhile, Ted Cruz, a US Senator from Texas who ran for president in 2016 and is an early frontrunner for the Republican nomination in 2024, also refuses to acknowledge systemic racism. Clare Foran, 'Susan Collins: "I Do Not Believe Systemic Racism is a Problem in the State of Maine",' CNN Politics, 29 October 2020, edition.cnn.com/2020/10/29/politics/susan-collins-systemic-racism-maine-senate-debate/index.html (Accessed 5 March 2021);
Iowa Senate Candidates Debate, Differ on Racism, Privilege
  • Scott Mcfetridge
Scott McFetridge, 'Iowa Senate Candidates Debate, Differ on Racism, Privilege,' The Associated Press. October 16, 2020, apnews.com/article/race-and-ethnicity-senate-elections-des-moineselections-joni-ernst-ea6f94a18c4ed805fb4403dff43c26e8 (Accessed 5 March 2021);
No Systemic Racism in Police, Society, Say Texas Senators Cruz, Cornyn
  • Savannah Behrmann
Savannah Behrmann, 'No Systemic Racism in Police, Society, Say Texas Senators Cruz, Cornyn,' The Columbus Dispatch, 17 June 2020, dispatch.com/story/news/politics/2020/06/17/no-systemic-racism-in-police-society-say-texas-senatorscruz-cornyn/112775972 (Accessed 5 March 2021).