On any given day in this community, you can see the challenges families are facing such as food insecurity, unstable housing, barriers in education and struggling neighborhoods. These aren’t isolated issues. And as the Reparatory Justice Commission report makes clear, they are deeply connected, shaped by long-standing conditions, and help explain why these challenges persist.
The commission’s recently completed report challenges us to confront where we have fallen short of meeting the standards our neighbors deserve. Before anything else, the members of this commission deserve real credit. They took on a difficult task, spent months listening, researching, and documenting our city’s history, and produced a comprehensive report grounded in both data and lived experience. That effort matters.
That’s why it is disappointing to see so much of the focus shift toward how this report is being framed or managed, rather than what it actually says. When the conversation becomes about controlling the narrative instead of engaging with the substance, we risk missing the moment ― and we can’t afford to do that.
The report clearly lays out how many of the disparities we see today, particularly those affecting Black residents, are connected to decades of policy decisions in housing, education, and economic opportunity. It also provides thoughtful, practical recommendations for how we begin to address those gaps in a meaningful way.
Acknowledging that reality is not about assigning blame, instead it’s about understanding the full picture so we can move forward in a better direction. And moving forward requires action.
There are practical, achievable steps we can take right now that would not only address long-standing inequities, but also strengthen our entire community. That starts with expanding homeownership and housing stability through down payment assistance, home repair grants, and fair code enforcement. Stable housing is the foundation for everything else, and too many families have been locked out of it for too long.
We must strengthen tenant protections and rental safety enforcement, especially when it comes to repeat offenders and absentee corporate landlords. Safe, quality housing is not optional, it is a basic expectation and human right.
We also need to invest directly in historically neglected neighborhoods. Basic infrastructure like sidewalks, streets, lighting should never depend on who you know or how loud your voice is. Every neighborhood deserves to feel seen and valued.
Improving economic opportunity means supporting Black-owned businesses with real access to capital, ensuring fair opportunities in city contracting, and demanding accountability when public dollars are spent. When small businesses succeed, neighborhoods benefit.
Our work must extend into education. Reducing racial disparities means addressing discipline inequities, expanding tutoring and mentorship opportunities, increasing recruitment of Black teachers, and investing in early childhood education. Giving kids a strong start and consistent support is one of the most important things we can do as a community.
And, as the report makes clear reinforced by data, we cannot ignore health. Racial injustice has had real, measurable impacts on health outcomes. Treating it as a public health issue means taking action through environmental remediation, improving maternal health support, expanding access to mental health services and ensuring families can access nutritious food.
None of these ideas are extreme. They are practical, grounded, and aligned with the goal we all share: building stronger neighborhoods, supporting families, and creating real opportunity.
There is far more that unites us than divides us. We all want safe neighborhoods. We all want our kids to have structure, support, and opportunity. We all want to feel pride in where we live. Now is the time to act on those shared values.
This report is more than a document ― it is a roadmap. It reflects real work, real voices and real solutions. It deserves to be taken seriously.
Let’s use it. Let’s engage our community in it. And most importantly, let’s turn it into action that creates meaningful, lasting progress for South Bend.
Jason Critchlow is Portage Township trustee.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: We can be honest about the past and serious about the future | Opinion
Reporting by Jason Critchlow, Guest columnist / South Bend Tribune
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