Gov. Jared Polis signed a bill on Tuesday establishing a statewide racial equity study to “determine and make recommendations related to any historic and ongoing effects of slavery and subsequent systemic racism” on Black Coloradans as a result of state actions. 

Senate Bill 53 establishes the Black Coloradan Racial Equity Commission to conduct the study in collaboration with the state historical society and a third party for economic analysis. The study will also include community engagement sessions where members of the public can provide their input. 

The study is contingent upon the commission receiving $785,000 in public funding and will explore the issues including economic mobility, housing, education, health care, and the criminal justice system. 

“Black Coloradans have been living with the impacts of systemic and historic racism and the structural inequities that have resulted from it for decades,” said bill sponsor Senate President Pro Tempore James Coleman, D-Denver. “Studying that painful legacy is the first step towards addressing it, and will give us a deeper understanding of the impacts of past and current racial discrimination and policies on our community. This is an important opportunity for our state, and I am looking forward to continuing this conversation so we can begin to repair the damage and create a better and more equitable future for all Black Coloradans.”

Some Republicans criticized the bill, expressing concerns that it could lead to reparations and further divide people.   

Several states, including California, have conducted similar studies, while the city of Evanston, Illinois, initiated the nation’s first government-funded reparations program for Black residents several years ago.

The bill was sponsored in the House by Reps. Leslie Herod, D-Denver, and Naquetta Ricks, D-Aurora.