Black NYC Leaders Call For Action on Reparations And Justice

A group of prominent Black city officials is advocating for reparations through a series of City Council bills, emphasizing the need for the government to be held accountable for its role in slavery and institutional racism. The bills come as New York approaches the 200-year anniversary of the end of slavery in the state. At Just Conversations | Reparations in New York City: A Path Toward Justice and Equity, a talk held at the Center for Brooklyn History, part of the Brooklyn Public Library, on Jan. 21, Public Advocate Jumanee Williams and Council Members Crystal Hudson, Farrah Louis and Nantasha Williams, noted their hopes for a more just and equitable future for the city’s Black community. “A lot of people, when they think of the history of slavery, really think about the south. They don’t understand the impact that it had in the north region,” said Williams to the crowd of about 150 people. “The first commodity that was traded on Washington was human beings.” One bill, introduced by Hudson, requires the Commission on Racial Equity to establish a “truth, healing, and reconciliation” process that addresses the city’s role in slavery and its legacy felt today. Another bill, introduced by...