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HOUSE BILL NO. 6111
A bill to create the American Freedmen reparations commission
and prescribe its powers and duties; and to provide for the powers
and duties of certain state officers and entities.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
Sec. 1. This act may be cited as the "American Freedmen 1
reparations commission act". 2
Sec. 3. As used in this act: 3
(a) "American Freedmen" means individuals who meet all of the 4
following conditions: 5
June 18, 2026, Introduced by Reps. McKinney, B. Carter, Hoskins, Grant, Edwards, Scott, Wilson,
Myers-Phillips, T. Carter, Young, Neeley, O'Neal, Tsernoglou, Foreman, Rheingans, Wegela,
Andrews, Byrnes, Skaggs, Dievendorf, Steckloff, Weiss, Paiz, Price, Lo ngjohn, Pohutsky,
Roth, Farhat and Coffia and referred to Committee on Government Operations.
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(i) Have at least 1 ancestor who was an enslaved individual. 1
(ii) Have been denied rights as a result of Dred Scott v 2
Sanford, 60 US 393 (1856), which ruled that enslaved individuals 3
were not citizens of the United States of America and could not 4
expect any protections by the United States Supreme Court. 5
(b) "Commission" means the American Freedmen reparations 6
commission created under section 5. 7
(c) "Enslaved individual" means an individual who was enslaved 8
in the United States of America and emancipated by the Emancipation 9
Proclamation, Amendment XIII of the Constitution of the United 10
States, or another form of manumission. 11
(d) "Freedmen's bureau" means the Bureau of Refugees, 12
Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands established in 1865 to aid formerly 13
enslaved African Americans and their descendants. 14
(e) "Reparations" means any tangible benefits or remuneration 15
for the purpose of repaying the debt of unpaid labor from slavery 16
and repairing the effects of slavery. Reparations includes, but is 17
not limited to, any of the following: 18
(i) Monetary remuneration. 19
(ii) Programs and policies that eliminate the racial wealth gap 20
and achieve equality for American Freedmen. 21
(iii) Creation of an educational system of state institutions of 22
higher education for American Freedmen that is similar to 23
institutions created under the Morrill Act of 1862, 7 USC 301 to 24
308, the agricultural college act of 1890, chapter 841 of 26 Stat 25
417, and the equity in educational land-grant status act of 1994, 26
PL 103-382. 27
Sec. 5. (1) The American Freedmen reparations commission is 28
created in the department of treasury. 29
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(2) The commission must have 9 members, of which not more than 1
4 members may be members of the legislature. The commission must 2
consist of the following members: 3
(a) Five members appointed by the governor that meet the 4
following conditions: 5
(i) One member who works in academia and has expertise in civil 6
rights and freedmen bureau history and policies. 7
(ii) Two members who work for grassroots reparations 8
organizations that have a mission of reparatory justice for 9
American Freedmen. 10
(iii) Two members who are experts in constitutional law. 11
(b) Two members appointed by the president pro tempore of the 12
senate. 13
(c) Two members appointed by the speaker of the house of 14
representatives. 15
(3) The members of the commission must be appointed not more 16
than 90 days after the effective date of this act. 17
(4) The term of office of each member is for the life of the 18
commission. 19
(5) If a vacancy occurs on the commission, the governor, 20
president pro tempore, or speaker of the house of representatives 21
shall appoint an individual to fill the vacancy for the balance of 22
the term, depending on which member created the vacancy. 23
(6) The governor may remove a member of the commission for 24
incompetence, dereliction of duty, malfeasance, misfeasance, or 25
nonfeasance in office, or any other good cause. 26
(7) Not later than 30 days after the members are appointed, 27
the governor shall call the first meeting of the commission. At the 28
first meeting, the commission shall elect a member as a 29
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chairperson, a member as a vice chairperson, and may elect other 1
officers that it considers necessary or appropriate. The commission 2
shall meet not less than 1 time each month or more frequently at 3
the call of the chairperson or at the request of 5 or more members. 4
(8) Five of the members of the commission constitute a quorum 5
for transacting business. A vote in favor by 5 of the members of 6
the commission serving is required for any action of the 7
commission. 8
(9) The commission shall conduct its business in compliance 9
with the open meetings act, 1976 PA 267, MCL 15.261 to 15.275. 10
(10) A writing that is prepared, owned, used, possessed, or 11
retained by the commission in performing an official function is 12
subject to the freedom of information act, 1976 PA 442, MCL 15.231 13
to 15.246. 14
(11) A member of the commission who is not a member of the 15
legislature is entitled to per diem compensation for service on the 16
commission and reimbursement for actual and necessary expenses 17
incurred in serving as established by the legislature. Only for 18
attendance at a commission meeting that occurs during adjournment 19
of the legislature is a member of the commission that is a member 20
of the legislature entitled to per diem compensation for service on 21
the commission and reimbursement for actual and necessary expenses 22
incurred in serving as established by the legislature. 23
Sec. 7. The department of civil rights shall do all of the 24
following: 25
(a) Provide administrative services to the commission, 26
including, but not limited to, secretarial and other staff 27
necessary for the commission to exercise the commission's powers 28
and duties under this act. 29
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(b) Provide office space for the commission. 1
(c) Make available the times and places of commission meetings 2
in accordance with the open meetings act, 1976 PA 267, MCL 15.261 3
to 15.275. 4
(d) Keep minutes and a record of the actions of the 5
commission's meetings. 6
Sec. 9. The commission shall do all of the following to study 7
and develop reparations proposals that provide reparations to 8
American Freedmen: 9
(a) Identify, compile, and synthesize relevant written 10
evidentiary documentation of slavery in this state. The 11
documentation must include, but not be limited to, information on 12
all of the following topics: 13
(i) The capture and procurement of Africans. 14
(ii) The transport of Africans to the United States and this 15
state for the purpose of enslavement, including the treatment of 16
Africans during transport. 17
(iii) The sale and acquisition of enslaved individuals as 18
chattel property in interstate and intrastate commerce. 19
(iv) The treatment of enslaved individuals in the colonies and 20
the United States, including, but not limited to, the deprivation 21
of freedom, exploitation of labor, and destruction of culture, 22
language, religion, and families. 23
(v) The extensive sexual abuse, chattelization of individuals, 24
and denial of humanity, as it relates to enslaved individuals in 25
the colonies and the United States. 26
(vi) Laws that discriminate against formerly enslaved 27
individuals who were deemed citizens of the United States on and 28
after July 9, 1868 and American Freedmen. 29
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(vii) Forms of discrimination in the public and private sectors 1
of formerly enslaved individuals and descendants of formerly 2
enslaved individuals that occurred on and after 1868, including, 3
but not limited to, denials of housing loans, redlining, and 4
educational funding discrepancies as compared to funding offered to 5
white citizens through the servicemen's readjustment act of 1944, 6
58 Stat 284. 7
(viii) The negative effects of the institution of slavery and 8
the discrimination described in subparagraphs (vi) and (vii) on 9
American Freedmen. 10
(b) Recommend and support that data related to American 11
Freedmen in all state-collected data be disaggregated to identify 12
and track parity efforts in this state. 13
(c) Not later than 18 months after the date of the 14
commission's first meeting, submit a report of the commission's 15
findings and recommendations to the legislature. The report must 16
include, but not be limited to, all of the following: 17
(i) Recommendations on appropriate remedies, including, but not 18
limited to, reparations and special measures as those terms are 19
understood by international protocols, laws, and findings, in 20
consideration of the commission's findings and how the remedies 21
comport with international standards for wrongs and injuries caused 22
by a state. 23
(ii) If the commission determines that monetary compensation is 24
an appropriate remedy under subparagraph (i), the form of monetary 25
compensation that the commission believes should be awarded to 26
American Freedmen and the manner in which the compensation should 27
be awarded, including how the form of compensation is calculated. 28
(iii) Recommendations on appropriate ways to educate the public 29
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about the commission's findings. 1
(iv) Recommendations on how injuries that result from the 2
effects of slavery may be remedied and how this state may provide 3
appropriate policies, programs, projects, and recommendations to 4
remedy the injuries. 5
(v) Recommendations on how this state will offer a formal 6
apology on behalf of the people of this state for the perpetration 7
of gross human rights violations and crimes against humanity of 8
enslaved individuals and descendants of enslaved individuals. 9
(vi) Findings on whether laws and policies of this state 10
continue to disproportionately and negatively affect American 11
Freedmen as a whole and perpetuate the lingering material and 12
psychosocial effects of slavery. 13
(vii) Whether any other measures of rehabilitation or 14
restitution to American Freedmen are warranted and what form and 15
scope the measures should take. 16
Sec. 11. The commission may do any of the following: 17
(a) Hold a hearing at any location in this state to provide 18
testimony and feedback with regard to reparations proposals. 19
(b) Issue subpoenas and compel the attendance and testimony of 20
witnesses and the production of papers, books, and documents. 21
(c) Seek an order from a circuit court to compel testimony or 22
compliance with a subpoena. 23
(d) Obtain from the head of any state agency information that 24
the commission considers useful in the discharge of the 25
commission's duties under this act. 26
(e) Enter into contracts for the purpose of conducting 27
research or surveys, preparing reports, and performing other 28
activities as necessary to discharge the duties of the commission 29
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with any of the following entities: 1
(i) Departments, agencies, or other instrumentalities of this 2
state. 3
(ii) Departments, agencies, or other instrumentalities of the 4
federal government. 5
(iii) Private entities. 6
(f) Appoint and fix the compensation of personnel that the 7
commission considers appropriate. 8
(g) Procure supplies, services, and property by contract in 9
accordance with the management and budget act, 1984 PA 431, MCL 10
18.1101 to 18.1594. 11
Sec. 13. Any reparations provided under this act are not a 12
replacement for any reparations for American Freedmen that are 13
enacted by the federal government. 14
Sec. 15. After the commission submits its report under section 15
9(c), the commission is dissolved. 16