Commission on slavery reparations proposed in Boston

By PHILIP MARCELO
Associated Press

BOSTON (AP) — A Boston city councilor is proposing the city form a new commission to study reparations and other ways the Massachusetts’ capital can atone for its role in slavery and its legacy of inequality. City Councilor Julia Mejia’s proposal calls for the special panel to document disparities and “historic harms” experienced by Black Bostonians, drawing from oral histories and archival research, as well as community forums. The commission would then report its findings within two years. Among the things the report would address is how city laws and policies continue to disproportionately impact African Americans, and how those can be reversed.