Mayor Michelle Wu, alongside the Boston Reparations Task Force, has greenlit two teams of historians to dig deep into the city's bleak history with slavery, the city announced. The teams will explore Boston's involvement in the transatlantic slave trade from its earliest days in 1620 right up to contemporary issues that are stemming from that dark legacy.
Historians from Tufts University and Northeastern University will spearhead the effort, armed with a half-a-million-dollar budget funded by federal relief monies and Boston's operating budget. With the research teams having been chosen, they're charged with unraveling centuries-old connections that, until now, have been buried below the academic surface. According to a statement on Boston's official website, these academics are expected to bring to light the city's complicity and consequences of its part in upholding and profiting from human bondage.
Scheduled to clock-in a comprehensive report by next year, the researchers will embark on a quest to inform the task force's move towards reparations. The first team, including notable scholars Dr. Kerri Greenidge, Dr. Kendra Field, and Kyera Singleton, will cover the historical span from 1620 to 1940. Meanwhile, the second team from Northeastern University, led by Margaret Burnham and Dr. Deborah Jackson, will focus on the period from 1940 to the present, uncovering the enduring effects of slavery on modern Boston.
In a show of civic duty, Mayor Wu expressed gratitude to the historians for their commitment in exposing the fabric of malaise woven into Boston's history. "I'm grateful to these teams of historians who will serve our city by documenting Boston’s role in the trans-Atlantic slave trade and the myriad legacies of slavery that continue to impact the daily lives of our city’s communities," Wu told boston.gov. "Through their scholarship and partnership with our task force, we will better understand the full picture of our city’s history and look forward to their comprehensive report that will build on our ongoing efforts."
The task force, which was founded following a city ordinance last December, will collaborate closely with these newly appointed experts. They will function as the backbone for the task force's deliberations, aiming to present cogent reparative frameworks. As Joseph D. Feaster, Jr., the chair of the task force shared with boston.gov, the selection of such distinguished researchers assures him that the task force will be capable of offering thoughtful recommendations on Boston's reparations response.
Community engagement is a key aspect of the research process, with updates to be presented publicly, giving Boston's citizens a chance to weigh in as this momentous endeavor unfolds. This work ultimately seeks to chart a course for the city towards recognizing and rectifying the lingering damages wrought by its historical embrace of slavery, an undertaking that city officials like Lori Nelson, Senior Advisor for Racial Justice, believe is crucial for achieving racial justice and healing long-standing wounds.
