Fulfilling the Promises of Our Preamble: A Holistic Approach to Transitional Justice in the United States.

The murder of George Floyd sparked renewed advocacy around racial justice. However, many Americans responded defensively to the increasingly widespread recognition of systemic racism and police brutality against Black Americans. Backlash to increased calls for racial justice manifested in the passage of anti-critical race theory bills by multiple states, the enactment of the Patriotic Education Commission by President Trump, and other efforts to quell recognition of racial inequality in the United States. These emblematic events demonstrate the consequences of the United States failing to fully acknowledge and atone for its history of slavery and racial discrimination. Drawing from case studies that have implemented transitional justice schemes, this Note argues for the adoption of a responsive, holistic transitional justice scheme by the federal government. Such an approach, this Note contends, will position the United States on a path to achieving lasting justice, reconciliation, and equality. To achieve this end, the Note recommends amending the Constitution, establishing a commission on truth and history, re-examining the way we teach history in schools, and providing reparations. Thus, the Note offers a novel contribution to the literature on reparations and racial justice by demonstrating the efficacy of pairing reparations and a truth and history commission with education policy and constitutional amendments. The path to achieve transitional justice goals in the United States will be a long one, but as this Note demonstrates, this approach presents a viable means of fully achieving these goals. Discussing holistic transitional justice in the United States and developing strategies within this framework lay the first bricks in the path to achieve lasting justice, reconciliation, and equality in the United States. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]