Organizers outline reparative‑action study, urge Washingtonians to take survey and join advisory panel

Organizers of the Charles Mitchell and George Washington Bush reparative‑action study provided a progress update in a monthly webinar and asked Washington residents to take a community survey, apply for a new advisory panel and attend upcoming listening sessions.

Marv Jones, the project manager, said the study has two primary goals: to summarize and quantify the impact of slavery and related discriminatory injustices in Washington and to produce evidence‑based legislative policy recommendations rooted in research and genealogical findings. "The survey results that Washingtonians provide will ultimately inform and help shape the recommendations that our policy evaluation team composes," Jones said, urging broad participation.

Ariel Davis, the community engagement specialist, described recent outreach: speaking at community events, tracking interest in advisory roles and collecting contact information from residents and organizations. Davis invited people to submit data or indicate interest via an online form; she gave an email contact in the webinar (transcript contains two spellings of the address) and said staff will follow up with interested individuals.

Jones said Dr. Thomas Kramer and Marvin Slaughter are analyzing accumulated data and that the advisory‑panel application will open on May 22. He described two participation tracks for selected panel members: a more time‑intensive assignment working directly with the policy and evaluation team, and a less time‑intensive role with a community insights board. Applicants who previously completed an interest form will receive the application link by email.

Organizers announced listening sessions in June and July, both virtual and in person, and a forthcoming series of topic‑based informational webinars. Jones said the next webinar is scheduled for June 12 at 12 p.m. Pacific and that the session will be recorded; he also said answers to questions not addressed live will be posted on the project website. (At the close of the webinar Jones separately referenced a December webinar at the same time; the session contained both references.)

During a short Q&A, staff monitored chat responses and answered some questions live. A participant asked how changes to the Voting Rights Act (VRA) have changed the landscape; Jones said Dr. Ashley Gardner would provide the substantive answer and organizers will post the response in the Q&A on the project web page. Organizers repeated that the project website will host recordings, the posted Q&A and details about how to apply for the advisory panel.

No formal votes or policy decisions were taken during the webinar. Organizers closed by thanking attendees and reminding them to watch the project web page for the recording and posted answers to outstanding questions.