Boston announces reparations task force that will study impact slavery had on residents: City 'on trial'
Boston is the latest big city exploring reparations to its Black residents
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Boston Mayor Michelle Wu announced Wednesday that the city has established teams that will play a role in their reparations task force.
Wu said the Boston Reparations Task Force will consist of one team of historians that will research the city of Boston’s role in the transatlantic slave trade and the impact of slavery on the city.
Each historian was evaluated by city staff and other members of the task force.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"I’m grateful to these teams of historians who will serve our city by documenting Boston’s role in the trans-Atlantic slave trade and the myriad legacies of slavery that continue to impact the daily lives of our city’s communities," Wu said in a statement.
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu announced Wednesday that they have established teams that will play a role in their reparations task force. (AP Photo/Mary Schwalm, File)
"Through their scholarship and partnership with our task force, we will better understand the full picture of our city’s history and look forward to their comprehensive report that will build on our ongoing efforts."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}After examining the city’s slave history and its impact on current residents, the Boston Reparations Task Force will create a report of recommendations "for reparative justice solutions" to aid Black residents for the city officials to consider.
In addition to researching the legacy of slavery in Boston, the task force will engage the community to discuss their "lived experience," according to the task force's website.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The task force reportedly has a budget of $500,000 to study the issue.
The task force reportedly has a budget of $500,000 to study the issue. (Lane Turner/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
"Boston is on trial to redress historical injustices that flow directly and indirectly from the institution of chattel slavery, and the examination of the truth and expansion of the narrative that will give us that evidentiary pool from which to argue for repair," task force member L’Merchie Frazier said.
The Boston City Council voted to form the task force in December 2022.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}This is the latest attempt of a local government trying to enact reparations. Similar efforts are underway on the federal level and across the country, usually in Democratically controlled states and cities like San Francisco.
New York in December established a commission to explore the best methods of providing reparations to descendants of slaves.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul speaks during the State of the State address in Albany, N.Y., Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul signed the bill for a "community commission to study the history of slavery in New York state" to examine "various forms of reparations."