The Boston Reparations Prospectus
Through a self-determined reparations process, we Blacks in Boston, seek to effectively address the harm inflicted through the enslavement of Blacks in Boston and generations of systemic oppression. The descendants of Blacks slaves in Boston expect justice from the white community--we expect payment and repair from the public and private sectors to the fullest extent. Blacks in Boston, who have been oppressed through public school segregation, health disparities, redlining, broken civic structures and more, demand reparations in the interest of the generation of Black Bostonians to come. Blacks should be compensated monetarily and through public policy that will be in effect for Black Bostonians for generations. An initial immediate reparations payout should be 14 billion. A Boston Reparations prospectus demands that we in Boston creatively reimagine the current asymmetry of the racial order in Boston in the interest of creating a new Boston. This prospectus is offered in the name of Belinda Sutton, the first known person in Boston to request reparations.
A Boston Reparations Prospectus translates into:
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Securing reparations for Blacks in Boston (money remuneration and micro + macro policy repair);
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Fostering a new civil society in Boston's Black community, especially from the grassroots related to the affirmation of culture;
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Developing new Black leadership through assembly and dialogue;
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Working with white churches, locally in Boston and across the nation, around atonement, repair and reconciliation related to their participation in the slave trade and tacit support of the anti-Black systemic oppressio
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Creating independent vehicles for community education;
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Developing authentic partnerships across the Black community in Boston, especially with local Black faith-based institutions;
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Addressing issues of community violence;
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Demanding community justice, with an emphasis on healing and well-being, as a means of making our communities whole.
