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Issue Brief Mechanisms for Advancing Health EquityRacism as a Public Health CrisisMechanisms for Advancing Public Health

­The Work of Reckoning: Local Truth Commissions as a Public Health Strategy

November 12, 2026

Overview

In recent years, several U.S. municipalities have established truth commissions to examine histories of racial injustice and structural inequality and to understand how these harms continue to shape residents’ lives today. This issue brief explores what local truth commissions are, how they are established and implemented, and their relevance to public health.