A ‘tremendous opportunity.’ Northeastern researchers dig into Boston’s past in support of Boston’s Reparations Task Force

Published on  June 20, 2024  A ‘tremendous opportunity.’ Northeastern researchers dig into Boston’s past in support of Boston’s Reparations Task Force Next Tuesday, June 25, reparations will be taken up once again as Boston’s task force meets. Northeastern’s research team, focusing on 1940 to the present, is led by distinguished professors Margaret Burnham and Ted Landsmark. Molly Brown, Northeastern reference and outreach archivist, displays photos of the Saint Marks Freedom School Stay-out in 1964 from the Phyllis M. Ryan papers, which are now part of the Snell Library archives. The archives is being used by researchers assisting the City of Boston Reparations Task Force. Photo by Alyssa Stone/Northeastern University The idea of reparations has a long history in Massachusetts — dating to at least 1773 when an Essex County court found Richard Greenleaf liable for £18 for trespassing to enslave Caesar Hendrick.  Next Tuesday, June 25, reparations will be taken up once again, as the City of Boston Reparations Task Force meets.  A research team from Northeastern University is playing a key supporting role.  “There is a lot of movement around the country as relates to the issue of reparations,” says Deborah Jackson, managing director of Northeastern Law’s Center for...