Why Boston Activists Want White Churches to Pay Reparations
Religious leaders in Boston have rallied together to demand reparations for Black Americans, including a call for $15 billion from city authorities and white churches to help bridge the equity gap and tell a story of enslaved people in the northeast “that is rarely talked about.”
In February 2023, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu appointed members who would be part of the city’s Reparations Task Force. However, last month the task force said it would not complete its work by the end of the year as originally planned and that an action plan is now expected “sometime in 2025.”
Boston is one of a number of U.S. cities, including Los Angeles, San Francisco, Detroit, and St. Louis, that is working to identify local ties to slavery and whether reparations are appropriate.