Researchers on Boston's reparations task force can be a template for other American cities, says Bay State Banner's Ron Mitchell

A man holds up a sign that says 'Reparations Now!' — Morris Griffin (pictured) holds up a sign during a meeting by the Task Force to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans in Oakland, Calif.

Jeremy Siegel is co-host of Morning Edition at GBH News. Feedback? Questions? Story ideas? Reach out to Jeremy at jeremy_siegel@wgbh.org.

Gal Tziperman Lotan is a digital producer for GBH’s Morning Edition.

January 24, 2024

Updated January 24, 2024

Jeremy Siegel: This is GBH's Morning Edition. Boston is taking a major step towards reparations. Officials announced plans last year to form a task force to research Boston's role in the transatlantic slave trade and address ways the city can try to undo the harms it caused for Black residents. And now, the city has chosen the group of academics and experts who will be leading that effort. For the latest on this, I'm joined by Ron Mitchell, editor and publisher of the Bay State Banner. Good morning, Ron.

Ron Mitchell: Good morning.

Siegel: So who is on this task force, and what will they be doing?

Mitchell: Well, the task force is made up of two different scholarly groups, one from Northeastern and the other from Tufts. The team led from the Northeastern team will be led by [Prof.] Margaret Burnham, who's a former judge and the current head of the Civil Rights and Restoration Justice Project at Northeastern. She'll also be working with Ted Landsmark, who is a Northeastern University professor of public policy and urban affairs, as well as a number of other folks on the team, including Richard O’Bryant, who's the director of the John D. O’Bryant African American Institute over there at Northeastern. They'll be studying from 1940 to present. There's also a team who's primarily made up from scholars from Tufts University. And they'll be studying from 1620 to 1940. And they're led by Kerri Greenidge, the Mellon associate professor in the study of race and colonialism, as well as other members on the team.

Siegel: So they're going to be looking into centuries of history here, leading up to present day. Beyond slavery and its immediate harms, what will these experts and historians be looking at in terms of long-lasting effects?

Mitchell: They'll be looking at the various different discriminatory actions in relation to housing, in relation to job placement, in relation to economic development, just a whole host of things dating back through from the beginning of slavery, 1620, all the way up until the current. The task force was split into two different time frames. So 1620 to 1940 is the first section they'll be studying, the folks from Tufts will be studying that time frame. And then the folks from Northeastern will be studying the 1940 to present. And they'll just be looking at really what happened over those time periods that made it harder for African Americans and descendants of Africa to thrive in this country. And, you know, it's really important for the task force to be based in research. As the director of the Reparations Task Force or the head of the Reparations Task Force Joe Feaster said, you have to really do your research so that the results of your research can drive the actions that you take moving forward.

Siegel: Let's talk a little bit about what those results could be. Do we have any indication of what sort of tangible recommendations could come from this?

Mitchell: Well, members of the Reparations Task Force are very skeptical in giving any recommendations prior to the research, and you can understand that. It's really important that, as various different folks on the Reparations Task Force said, it's very important to make sure that any actions that they take are based on fact and based on research. Needless to say, it's a great challenge for any city to try to help — It's very important that any city that takes on reparations and looks at reparations really does create policies and solutions that help to uplift the people who are damaged by those actions of slavery and discrimination. So it is really key for the folks to have a particular set of facts that they can utilize to guide them as they move forward. No one really wants to take a stab at what those particular reparation actions could be without really having that research in front of them. And I think that's why it's so important, and why they picked these different groups of scholars to research it so thoroughly.

Siegel: This is an historic effort that Boston is undertaking. Why does the city feel it's important to do it?

Mitchell: Boston has always been in many ways viewed as a racist city. But as somebody who grew up here, I also know the other half of that coin where there have always been the foundations for civil rights leaders have come out of Boston dating back for hundreds of years. Frederick Douglass, Martin Luther King, some of the most famous ones. But there are also thousands of other civil rights activists that came from the New England area. And I think that we have it in our heritage here in Boston to try to correct the injustices over time that have happened to people of color, and people from the African diaspora. And I think that this is one of the most important steps that the city has taken, certainly in recent past, along with apologizing for the various ills, as we've seen recently for Mayor [Michelle] Wu, in reference to the Charles Stuart incident and the discrimination that happened around there. You know, I think that this new administration is taking some major strides to try to make the city better and heal the city. And I think this is one of those steps.

Siegel: This is something that we have not seen much of across the country. What effects do you think Boston's reparations effort could have, and what could other states potentially, or other cities around the country, learn from it?

Mitchell: I think that we as a country have to heal. And healing starts with understanding and identifying what happened to a group of people when folks are discriminated against. And I think this is a great template for other cities in the country to follow. I think that as Boston and New England move forward to help to uplift the folks who were discriminated against, I think other cities will have a great process that they can follow. And I think that we'll lead reparations around the country. We're not the only city in the country that's looking at this and trying to make efforts to help make up for the discrimination that African American folks have felt over the centuries. But I think Boston, once again, will be on the forefront of civil rights and civil rights activity and outlining a template for other cities to follow.

Siegel: That is Ron Mitchell, editor and publisher of the Bay State Banner, on Boston's Reparations Task Force. Ron, thanks so much for your time this morning.

Mitchell: Thank you so much for having me.

Siegel: You're listening to GBH's Morning Edition.

Boston is taking a major step towards reparations for Black residents: The city has chosen the group of academics and experts who will be leading a research effort into Boston's role in the transatlantic slave trade and subsequent discrimination.

The task force will be made up of two different groups, said Ron Mitchell, editor and publisher of the Bay State Banner, whose publication broke the news on the research efforts.

“They'll be looking at the various different discriminatory actions in relation to housing, in relation to job placement, in relation to economic development, just a whole host of things dating back through from the beginning of slavery,” Mitchell told GBH’s Morning Edition co-host Jeremy Siegel. “They'll just be looking at really what happened over those time periods that made it harder for African Americans and descendants of Africa to thrive in this country.”

A team from Northeastern University led by Prof. Margaret Burnham, a former judge who now heads the university’s Civil Rights and Restoration Justice Project, will be studying impacts of slavery and discrimination from 1940 to the present. The team will include Northeastern Professor Ted Landsmark, who studies public policy and urban affairs, and Professor Richard O’Bryant, director of the John D. O’Bryant African American Institute.

Another team, at Tufts University, will study the era from 1620 to 1940. Professor Kerri Greenidge, the Mellon associate professor in the study of race and colonialism, will lead the Tufts team.

“It's really important for the task force to be based in research. As the director of the Reparations Task Force or the head of the Reparations Task Force Joe Feaster said, you have to really do your research so that the results of your research can drive the actions that you take moving forward,” Mitchell said.

The task force will receive researchers’ work and is eventually tasked with recommending what the city should do to try and face the effects of slavery, segregation, and discrimination.

"I think there are a lot of options that the Task Force on Reparations should consider to counter the negative effects of centuries of discrimination against families who are descended from enslaved Americans,” Mitchell said. “In the area of education, there could be scholarships and other educational support programs. In the area of housing discrimination based on decades of redlining and home loan disparities, which have had devastatingly negative effects on generational wealth for many Black families, there could be home purchase grants, as well as real affordable housing and home ownership assistance. These are just a few of the solutions that should be on the table."

Mitchell said he hopes the task force can act as a template for other American cities and towns having conversations about reparations.

“Boston has always been in many ways viewed as a racist city. But as somebody who grew up here, I also know the other half of that coin where there have always been the foundations for civil rights leaders have come out of Boston dating back for hundreds of years,” he said. “Frederick Douglass, Martin Luther King, some of the most famous ones. But there are also thousands of other civil rights activists that came from the New England area.”

Studying reparations, he said, is an important step in correcting prior and current injustices.

“Healing starts with understanding and identifying what happened to a group of people when folks are discriminated against,” he said. “As Boston and New England move forward to help to uplift the folks who were discriminated against, I think other cities will have a great process that they can follow.”