Greenbelt Reparations Commission presents community-healing framework, urges more Indigenous and generational African American representation

The Greenbelt Reparations Commission on Tuesday presented a research-based, community‑healing framework to the Greenbelt City Council and urged the city to increase Indigenous and generational African American representation on the commission and provide clearer structure and resourcing for its work.

Lois Rosado, co‑chair of the Greenbelt Reparations Commission, told council members the city was founded as an exclusionary, “white community,” and that African Americans helped build Greenbelt in 1935 but were not initially allowed to live there. Rosado said the commission would deliver recommendations to the council after completing its research and outreach.

The commission contracted consultants to support its work. Rena Doyle, who identified herself as co‑founder of Tri de C Consulting, summarized the consultants’ approach and findings, saying the report is designed to “model what community healing could look like” and to treat reparations as “a pathway for continuous forward movement” rather than a one‑time checklist. June, a consultant with the project team, said the document intentionally uses cultural framings and is not meant to read like an academic report.

Consultants and commission members described research and outreach completed to date: seminars and webinars on reparations, review of 78 national and local initiatives, attendance at national reparations conferences, testimony…