Maryland Reparations Commission: History Behind the Headlines
By Darius Spearman (africanelements)
Support African Elements at patreon.com/africanelements and hear recent newsin a single playlist. Additionally, you can gain early access to ad-free video content.
On December 16, 2025, the Maryland General Assembly made a historic decision that will shape the future of racial justice in the state. Lawmakers voted to override Governor Wes Moore’s veto of Senate Bill 587, officially establishing the Maryland Reparations Commission (foxnews.com). This vote marks a rare moment in politics where a Democratic legislature pushed back against a Democratic governor to advance a policy focused on Black wealth.
The conflict between the legislature and Governor Moore, the state’s first Black governor, centers on strategy rather than ideology. Governor Moore argued that the time for studying history had passed. In his veto letter, he stated that Maryland should focus on “the work itself” to close the racial wealth gap rather than launching another investigation (washingtonpost.com). He pointed to previous efforts, such as the Maryland Lynching Truth and Reconciliation Commission, as evidence that the state already understands its painful past (foxnews.com).
However, the Legislative Black Caucus and other supporters of the bill insisted that a new commission is a legal necessity. They argued that without a specific, state-sanctioned factual record of discrimination, any future program to distribute funds could fail in court. Under the strict scrutiny standard used by federal courts, the state must prove it is remedying specific harms it caused (foxnews.com). With Donald Trump currently in the White House and a conservative judiciary in place, lawmakers believe this “factual record” is the only way to protect reparations from being struck down as unconstitutional.
The Maryland Reparations Commission will now begin a two-year process to document the economic damage inflicted on Black Marylanders. The commission must submit a preliminary report by January 1, 2027, and a final report with recommendations by November 1, 2027 (foxnews.com). This body will look at the long history of slavery, but it will also examine how state policies destroyed Black wealth long after emancipation.
The Roots of Inequality: Slavery in Maryland
To understand why this commission exists, one must look at the foundation of Maryland itself. Maryland was not simply a state with slavery; it was a society built upon forced labor. The practice became legal in the colony in 1642, and by the mid-1700s, nearly 40 percent of the population consisted of enslaved people (wikipedia.org). The tobacco economy of the Eastern Shore and Southern Maryland relied entirely on the theft of Black labor, generating immense wealth for white landowners while denying Black workers the right to own property or accumulate assets.
Maryland occupied a unique and precarious position during the Civil War. It was a Union state, yet it maintained the institution of slavery throughout most of the conflict. Because it did not secede, the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 did not free enslaved people in Maryland (wikipedia.org). Readers interested in the historical intricacies of the U.S. Constitution and slavery will note that federal law at the time protected the institution in loyal border states. It took a state constitutional convention to finally abolish slavery in Maryland on November 1, 1864 (wikipedia.org).
The commission will likely examine how this delayed freedom impacted Black families. Even after 1864, the state did not offer land or compensation to the newly freed population. Instead, the legal system shifted from chattel slavery to a system of “Jim Crow” laws that enforced segregation and disenfranchisement (foxnews.com). The state is already investigating the violent history of this era through a separate body, the Maryland Lynching Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which documents racially motivated murders that occurred between 1854 and 1933 (foxnews.com, maryland.gov). However, the new reparations commission aims to attach a dollar amount to the generational wealth lost during these years.
The “Black Butterfly” and Urban Displacement
While slavery set the foundation, 20th-century policies cemented the economic divide. The commission will spend significant time reviewing how the state intentionally destroyed Black communities in Baltimore and beyond. Dr. Lawrence Brown, a leading scholar on Baltimore’s history, coined the terms “Black Butterfly” and “White L” to describe the racial geography of the city (bcurbanreview.com, lbsbaltimore.com). These shapes on the map are the direct result of government policies that funneled investment into white neighborhoods while stripping resources from Black ones.
One of the most devastating examples of state action was the construction of the “Highway to Nowhere” in West Baltimore. In the 1960s and 1970s, state and city officials demolished nearly 1,000 homes and displaced 1,500 residents to build a highway that was never connected to the interstate system (bcurbanreview.com). This project targeted a stable Black community, wiping out homes that represented the primary financial asset for hundreds of families. This type of state-sponsored destruction resembles the Tulsa Race Massacre, where the physical erasure of a community led to lasting poverty.
The commission will also investigate redlining and restrictive covenants. In the 1930s, the Home Owners’ Loan Corporation created maps that marked Black neighborhoods as “hazardous” for investment (lbsbaltimore.com). This prevented Black families from obtaining federally backed mortgages, which were the main vehicle for wealth creation for the white middle class. Furthermore, real estate developers in suburbs like Roland Park and Guilford used restrictive covenants, legal clauses in property deeds, to forbid the sale of homes to Black people (lbsbaltimore.com). These covenants ensured that, as property values rose in the 20th century, Black Marylanders remained locked out of the appreciation.
*Figures are estimated medians based on regional data cited in state economic reports.
Wealth vs. Income: Defining the Problem
A critical distinction the commission will draw is between income and wealth. Income refers to the money a person earns from a job, while wealth refers to the assets a person owns minus their debts. The data shows that while the income gap is significant, the wealth gap is enormous. In the Maryland and D.C. region, white households hold roughly seven to eight times the wealth of Black households (bcurbanreview.com, lbsbaltimore.com).
This disparity exists because wealth is often inherited. White families in Maryland were able to pass down property, stocks, and savings accumulated during eras when Black families were legally barred from doing the same. Conversely, Black families often pass down debt or have no assets to transfer because of historical theft like the “Highway to Nowhere” or predatory lending practices (bcurbanreview.com). Supporters of reparations argue that focusing on income alone ignores the cumulative debt the state owes to descendants of enslaved people.
The commission aims to address this by recommending “appropriate remedies.” These could include direct cash payments, but the scope is much broader. Potential options include housing grants to assist with down payments, tuition waivers for state universities, and low-interest loans for Black-owned businesses (foxnews.com). This approach mirrors the work of California’s Reparations Task Force, which produced hundreds of recommendations to address similar systemic harms.
National Context and Next Steps
Maryland is not acting in isolation. It joins California and New York as one of the few states to establish a formal reparations commission (foxnews.com). These states are challenging the narrative that slavery is ancient history with no bearing on modern economics. By creating a “Free State” commission, Maryland is acknowledging that even states that stayed in the Union participated in the economic oppression of Black people. This challenges the “Free State” fallacy, a concept that debunks the idea that only Southern states bear responsibility for the legacy of slavery.
The commission consists of 23 members. This group includes state legislators, representatives from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) like Morgan State and Bowie State, and members of advocacy groups such as the NAACP (foxnews.com). These members serve without salary, and the commission has a modest budget for administrative staff (foxnews.com, maryland.gov). Their primary power lies in their ability to call upon state agencies to provide documents and data.
The road ahead remains difficult. Once the commission releases its final report in November 2027, the General Assembly will have to pass new laws to implement the recommendations. This will likely involve a debate over funding, especially if the recommended remedies carry a high price tag. Governor Moore, who prioritized closing the wealth gap through economic growth, will likely play a central role in deciding which recommendations become law. The override of his veto shows that the legislature is willing to push forward. Still, the ultimate success of the reparations movement in Maryland depends on the strength of the evidence the commission gathers.
White Households
Black Households
Homeownership is the primary driver of wealth in America. The gap represents generations of denied mortgages and redlining.
The establishment of the Maryland Reparations Commission is a victory for advocates who have fought for decades to have the state acknowledge its role in creating racial inequality. By overriding the governor’s veto, the legislature signaled that economic justice requires a specific accounting of history. As the commission begins its work, the eyes of the nation will watch to see if Maryland can turn historical truth into tangible repair.
About the Author
Darius Spearman is a professor of Black Studies at San Diego City College, where he has been teaching for over 20 years. He is the founder of African Elements, a media platform dedicated to providing educational resources on the history and culture of the African diaspora. Through his work, Spearman aims to empower and educate by bringing historical context to contemporary issues affecting the Black community.
