A group of Boston activists called on the city to “go all-in on writing the checks” and pay $15 billion, saying the city’s wealth was built on slavery.
Activist Rev. Kevin C. Peterson spoke at a press conference Saturday in Boston’s Roxbury neighborhood about how the city should implement reparations.
Mr. Peterson said at a news conference that the $15 billion would be earmarked “to fix lasting justice for Black people in Boston.” “This city’s wealth was built on slavery.”
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The Rev. Kevin C. Peterson, founder of New Democracy Coalition and Faneuil Hall Race, holds a press conference in Boston’s Roxbury neighborhood to announce proposals for how the city should implement reparations. did. (Pastor Kevin C. Peterson)
Peterson, founder of the Boston People’s Reparations Committee, held a press conference over the weekend calling for “the first tangible financial payments to Boston’s black residents.”
“We demand that Mayor Wu provide full monetary compensation for the wages and lives lost due to slavery and anti-Black systemic oppression,” Peterson said. “Today, we demand a full and robust reparations process.”
NBC Boston reported Mr. Peterson claimed that $15 billion would be compromised through three types of payments. One form of that could be a $5 billion cash payment to Boston’s black residents.
Another $5 billion will be invested in new financial institutions, with the rest going to closing racial disparities in education and crime prevention.
The $15 billion proposal is more than three times Boston’s originally planned annual budget. $4.28 billion in fiscal year 2024.
Mr. Peterson’s press conference came after he issued a statement on Friday insisting that “the debt must be paid in dollars.”
“It’s not enough to talk about the vagaries of health care, housing, and public education reforms made for black people in Boston as part of the reparations bill,” Peterson said in a statement Friday. By Boston 25 News. “The reality is that black people in Boston are being robbed of their labor and lives. Money owes money, and debts must be paid in dollars.”
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Democratic Mayor Michelle Wu announced last month that the city had established a team to serve as the city’s reparations task force. (AP Photo/Mary Schwalm, File)
Their statement goes on to cite the city of Boston’s historical ties to slavery and “centuries of systemic racism.”
“Reparations efforts in Boston will no longer be tamed by simple historical research or meaningless rhetoric about equity and diversity,” their statement reads. “We call on the task force to commit to writing checks that will compensate Black Bostonians and financially support the establishment of new institutions in our communities.”
Democratic Mayor Michelle Wu announced last month that the city had established a team to serve as the city’s reparations task force.
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Wu said the Boston Reparations Task Force will be comprised of a team of historians who study the city of Boston’s role in the transatlantic slave trade and the impact slavery had on the city.
Certain task force members were tasked with evaluating historians from the City of Boston who would assist other task force members in preparing a report with recommendations to the mayor.
Larcy, a member of the Boston Reparations Task Force, told FOX News Digital that investigating the history of slavery in the United States and its impact could lead to “real dollars.” (Fox News Digital)
Larci Frazier, one of the members tasked with evaluating potential historians, told Fox News Digital that the historians chosen for the project were “informed, specific, and “It is important because it helps us reach informed decisions,” he said. ”
After studying the city’s history of slavery and its impact on its current residents, the Boston Reparations Task Force produced a report recommending “restorative justice solutions” to support Black residents and recommending that city officials The special committee’s website states that it will be made available for consideration.
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The Boston People’s Reparations Commission posted on its website that it has asked Mayor Wu to begin the process of establishing a reparations commission in 2020. They also petitioned the city of Boston. formally apologize Citing the “civil sin of racism,” the City Council unanimously passed a resolution in 2022 apologizing for the legacy of “systemic white supremacy and racism.”
The special committee did not respond to requests for comment.
