BY KORBETT MOSESLY for WEEKLY VOLCANO | 7/17/2026
Washington’s first state-funded reparations study will hold two listening sessions on July 23.
A noon virtual session will be hosted by the Black Education Strategy Roundtable and Truclusion, the firm conducting the study. A 6 p.m. in-person session in Tacoma will be co-hosted by The Black Collective, APRI-Tacoma and Greater Heights Church of God in Christ.
What residents say during these sessions will help shape the recommendations that reach Olympia in 2027. Registration is required for both.
Pierce County residents helped fund Washington’s reparations study. On Thursday, July 23, they will have two direct channels into it: a midday session on Zoom and an evening session in Tacoma, where the study’s research team will hear, in residents’ own words, what reparative action should look like in this state.
Two Sessions, One Day: Pick Your Room
The noon session is virtual and statewide, while the evening session is in person in Tacoma. Both will use interactive activities rather than a lecture format, and both will feed into the same record. Attend the session that fits your schedule, or attend both.
Virtual Listening Session
Thursday, July 23, 2026, noon, via Zoom
The session will be hosted by the Black Education Strategy Roundtable, a statewide organization focused on the education of Black students, together with Truclusion, the firm conducting the state’s study.
Interactive activities are planned, and registration is required. The Black Education Strategy Roundtable plans to hold additional sessions in the coming months.
Questions may be directed to Executive Director Derick Harris at derick@besrwa.org.
Register at: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/47XcGgH2S6W3EMoO1JNqAQ#/registration
In-Person Listening Session
Thursday, July 23, 2026, 6-7:30 p.m., Tacoma
The session will be co-hosted by The Black Collective, APRI-Tacoma and Greater Heights Church of God in Christ.
Participation will take place through interactive activities rather than a lecture. Registration is required.
Questions may be directed to Chaplain Sherrilla Bivens-Mburu at sherrillabivens45@gmail.com.
Learn more at: www.reparationswa.com
Why Showing Up Matters
A study can recommend only what it hears and documents. The research team contracted by the state is gathering testimony directly from descendants and community members. That input will feed the analysis and policy recommendations due to the governor and Legislature in 2027.
The noon session will put residents in the same virtual room as the research firm, with no intermediary between what people say and what the study records. Every resident who participates adds their history and priorities to the record. The fuller the record, the stronger the recommendations built on it.
The Charles Mitchell and George Washington Bush Study on Reparative Action
Washington’s state-funded study examines how slavery and the discriminatory laws that followed it continue to affect descendants of enslaved people in the state, including their wealth, housing, education and experiences with the criminal justice system. It will also consider what reparative measures the state should take.
The study is named for Charles Mitchell, a boy held in slavery in Olympia who escaped to freedom on British soil in 1860, and George Washington Bush, one of the territory’s earliest permanent Black settlers.
Funded by the State, Counties and Community
The Legislature provided $300,000 to begin the study. Community advocates, led by the Washington Equity Now Alliance, then brought counties to the table.
King County added $300,000, and Pierce County committed $150,000 in its 2026-27 budget. The funding built the table. The listening sessions are how the community fills the seats.
Washington is the third state in the country to fund a reparations study. The final report and recommendations are due to state leaders in June 2027.
Where the Sessions Fit in the Timeline
May 2025
Gov. Bob Ferguson signs the state budget funding the study through Engrossed Substitute Senate Bill 5167, sponsored by Sen. Bob Hasegawa.
January 2026
The Washington State Department of Commerce contracts with Truclusion LLC of DuPont to conduct the research in consultation with the Washington State Commission on African American Affairs.
July 23, 2026
Two listening sessions are scheduled for the same day: a noon virtual session hosted by the Black Education Strategy Roundtable and Truclusion, and a 6 p.m. in-person session in Tacoma co-hosted by The Black Collective, APRI-Tacoma and Greater Heights Church of God in Christ. Registration is required for both.
Summer and Fall 2026
The Black Education Strategy Roundtable plans additional virtual listening sessions in the coming months. Updates will be posted at besrwa.org and ReparationsWA.com.
June 2027
The final report and reparative policy recommendations are due to the governor and Legislature.
The hosts help a listening session reach people a state agency might not reach on its own. In Tacoma, that means civic, labor and faith institutions with deep roots in Black Tacoma. Online, it means a statewide Black education advocacy network working alongside the research team.
A study can recommend only what it hears. The recommendations that reach Olympia in 2027 will be shaped by who participates in sessions like these.
Make Your Voice Part of the Record
Both sessions are July 23, and both require registration. Register before the date of the events.
Register for the noon virtual session through the Black Education Strategy Roundtable’s Zoom registration page:
https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/ 47XcGgH2S6W3EMoO1JNqAQ#/registration
Questions may be directed to Derick Harris at derick@besrwa.org.
To register for the 6 p.m. Tacoma session, use the registration information at: www.reparationswa.com
Questions may be directed to Chaplain Sherrilla Bivens-Mburu at sherrillabivens45@gmail.com.
Those who cannot attend either session may complete the study’s community survey at: www.reparationswa.com
The survey takes approximately five to 12 minutes.
This story was reprinted with permission by Opportunity Link: www.olink.news
