Black grassroots group to demand ‘cash payouts’ reparations from City of Boston related to slavery

BOSTON — A grassroots group of Black activists are demanding “cash payouts” from the City of Boston in reparations related to slavery and “centuries of institutional racism,” the group said in a statement Friday.

In the statement, the Rev. Kevin Peterson, founder of the New Democracy Coalition and the Boston People’s Reparations Commission, said the group is asking city officials to “fully commit to writing checks” to compensate Black Bostonians, in a move that would be “part of a comprehensive reparations project.”

“The reparations effort in Boston will not be domesticated into simple historical studies and meaningless rhetoric about equity and diversity in some future time,” Peterson said. “We call on the Task Force to fully commit to writing checks that will compensate Black Bostonians and fiscally support the creation of new institutions in our community.”

A press conference will be held on the topic at 2 p.m. on Saturday at the Dudley Cafe, Nubian Square, 115 Warren St., Roxbury.

During that press conference, “Rev. Peterson will announce a specific ‘initial’ monetary payout to Boston’s Black residents,” organizers said in their statement.

Peterson authored legislation that “successfully resulted in the City of Boston ‘apologizing’ for its participation in the trans-Atlantic Slave Trade,” the group’s statement said.

That led to the creation of the city’s Task Force on Reparations, the group’s statement said.

The city’s Task Force was established through a 2022 City Council ordinance and appointed by Mayor Michelle Wu, according to the city’s website. The task force is made up of 10 members, including two youths.

According to the city, the Task Force will focus on “working with a research partner to release a study on the legacy of slavery in Boston and its impact on descendants today; engaging the community throughout the process to include input from lived experience; and providing recommendations to the mayor for reparative justice solutions for Black residents.”

The Task Force last met on Feb. 6, according to meeting minutes posted on the city’s website.

Peterson also “organized the successful Boston City Council vote to change the name of Faneuil Hall as a specific reparations action. Faneuil Hall is named after a slave owner,” the group’s statement said.

“It’s not enough to talk about the vagaries of healthcare, housing and public education reform for Blacks in Boston as part of a reparations bill. The reality is that labor and lives were stolen from Blacks in Boston. Money is owed. A debt must be paid in dollars,” Peterson said.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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