When a reparations task force blends descendants with anyone of the same skin tone, it is not advancing justice—it is building a program designed to collapse in court. That’s exactly the trap hidden in the St. Louis Reparations Commission’s own report.

On page 115, the Commission lays out its “Key Considerations”:

*“…we voted that reparations should be provided to those who can trace their ancestry to enslaved people *and Black residents who have been disproportionately impacted by systemic racism in St. Louis.”

This tiered eligibility—lineage plus broad racial impact—creates a race-based scheme. The Supreme Court’s 6–3 majority has already declared such race-based initiatives unconstitutional, striking down programs that sort benefits by skin color. Cities from Evanston to Atlanta are now facing lawsuits, with judges siding against race-exclusive funds.

By ignoring this legal reality, St. Louis’ advisors are either recklessly experimenting with descendants’ claims—or deliberately sabotaging them. A program built on “same skin tone” catch-alls will not survive strict scrutiny.

There is a stronger path: lineage-based reparations. That means prioritizing the descendants of enslaved families and those displaced by city-led devastation, such as the destruction of Mill Creek Valley that uprooted 20,000 Black residents and their heirs. Linking reparations to specific harms against identifiable descendants is the only model that can stand in court and deliver real repair.

The call is clear: St. Louis must drop the race-tiered experiment and center its remedies where the injury is proven—on the descendants of U.S. chattel slavery and the families whose homes, businesses, and futures were bulldozed by city policy. Anything less is a setup for failure.