Feature Photo: Faneuil Hall in Downtown Boston (Jill Clardy/Creative Commons)
The Boston Reparations Task Force, or RTF, headed by Joseph Feaster Jr., works to heal the city’s racial divide by reimbursing residents whose ancestors have been affected by the Massachusetts slave trade.
Its latest project, the Community Grassroots Program, allocated $70,000 to collect stories from local families with a history of enslavement. Launched in June, it aims to shine light on the history of slavery in Boston and to move toward developing more racial tolerance in the state.
The RTF, established by an ordinance from the Boston City Council in December 2022, follows a three phase reparation process.
Phase One plans to research the impact of slavery on the city, finding candidates that qualify for reparations. Phase Two features a recommendation to Mayor Michelle Wu on the types of reparations granted. Phase Three consists of implementing the reparations to the community.
Phase One’s initial deadline was June 2023, but was pushed back to December 2024 in favor of “doing the appropriate deliberations.” As of this month, Phase One has not been completed.
“I say, ‘Folks, hey, this has been going on for 400 years, so don’t rush through the process,’” Feaster said.
The concept of reparations for former slaves is centuries old, but formal action has only been proposed within the last 35 years. In 1989, U.S. Rep. John Conyers, D -MI, introduced H.R. 40 into Congress. The bill, which would have explored restitutions for descendants of slavery in the United States, has yet to pass the House as of 2024.
Feaster hopes the program will continue the work of men like John Conyers, allowing families to take a closer look at their ancestry and its ties to slavery.
“It allows [the descendants] to tell their story,” Feaster said. “If nothing else, it’ll… [allow] families to get an understanding of their own lineage.”
“To those who say, ‘My ancestors did it, why should I be held responsible?’” Feaster says, “You may not have…[done] the acts, but you are benefitting from it, so there’s a payment that has to be made.”