Boston reparations panel members are committed to their slow-moving work

Members of Boston’s Reparations Task Force said the conservative shift in national politics has given their work renewed significance and reason to finish — even as the panel has not held an official meeting for nearly nine months. “I’m disappointed, but not demoralized,” said task force Chair Joseph Feaster. “I intend to stay in the struggle. I believe my members of the task force will and the city of Boston is committed to seeing this through, and that’s what I intend to assist them in doing.” Carrie Mays, one of four Black women on the task force, said historical work with community is pivotal at this moment. “I do believe that it is up to our community and the efforts in initiatives like this [task force] to preserve history so that we can teach our own children and keep the legacies of our ancestors alive through our own voices,” Mays said, adding that the reparations advocacy will likely be balanced with the widespread movement among Black women to prioritize self-care. “I do not think that this is going to make the work stop, because at the end of the day, if we’re talking about Black women especially, they still have...