Boston reparations task force member looks to reconcile, repair areas of education, health, wealth gaps
Boston Reparations Task Force member L’Merchie Frazier told Fox News Digital that the examination of the history of slavery practices in the U.S. could lead to real dollars.
A massive report from Embrace Boston on Tuesday detailed the "ongoing legacy" of slavery to provide more support for reparations.
In support of a new team added to the city’s reparations task force, Embrace Boston’s report titled "Harm Report: Connecting the Past to the Present State of Black Boston" aimed to detail the harms to Black people caused historically by the city.
"The historical and contemporary occlusion of the Black presence in Boston has been a requisite of perpetuating the myth of Boston as a White city. Changing our collective understanding of who really makes up our city, it is important that our collective third spaces tell an accurate cultural story of the city," the report read.
Embrace Boston released a 146-page report detailing the lasting harms caused by slavery. ((Photo by: Michael Siluk/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images))
Beyond monetary reparations, however, Embrace Boston also suggested reparations in the form of policy changes in areas targeting seven "injury areas": culture and symbols, housing, transportation and infrastructure, education, criminal legal systems, health, and income and wealth. It included options such as expanding access to more affordable housing, ending cash bail and promoting Black history education in K-12 schools.
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"It is clear that more work needs to be done to address the root causes of the seven injury areas and develop practical solutions that can help redress the harm inflicted on Black communities in Boston and Massachusetts. The proposed federal and city commissions to study and develop reparation proposals for African Americans represent a significant step in this direction, and they must be given the necessary resources and support to conduct this vital work," the report concluded.
Fox News Digital reached out to Embrace Boston for a comment but has yet to receive a response.
The Boston City Council voted in favor of a task force to study reparations for slavery in 2022. (Matt Stone/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald via Getty Images)
Though the report noted that the estimated value of reparations owed by the federal government to Black people is approximately $14.2 trillion, a group of Boston activists advocated for $15 billion in payments for Black Boston citizens earlier this month.
"We demand from Mayor [Michelle] Wu full monetary compensation for wages and lost lives through slavery and anti-Black institutional oppression," Boston Peoples Reparations Commission Founder Rev. Kevin C. Peterson said. "Today we call on a full and robust reparations process."
The Boston City Council originally voted to form a task force to study reparations in December 2022. In January, Mayor Wu announced a team of historians for the task force who will research the impact of slavery on Boston.
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu announced in January that they have established teams that will play a role in their reparations task force. (AP Photo/Mary Schwalm, File)
"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.