In building a case for local reparations, Embrace Boston report aims to connect past to present

As Boston embarks on a massive undertaking to examine possible reparations for Black residents, a new report detailing the lasting legacy of slavery and systemic racism in the city offers solutions to redress the financial and emotional harms such discrimination has inflicted. The report from Embrace Boston, titled “Harm Report: Connecting the Past to the Present State of Black Boston” and slated to be released Tuesday, could provide a potential road map to Boston’s reparations task force, which recently selected two research groups to analyze slavery’s impact on the city. “This report hopefully puts blame not on people, but instead on processes,” said Imari Paris Jeffries, executive director of Embrace Boston, the organization that spearheaded the monument on Boston Common. “If we’ve created these processes, we can uncreate them.” The suggested solutions are myriad and extend beyond cash payments. They include restitution for people harmed by marijuana-related arrests, spending more money on low-income schools, increasing more reliable transit options in Black neighborhoods, and expanding affordable housing. And while it aims to make the case for local reparations, the report stops short of deciding which Bostonians would qualify. Paris Jeffries said this is intentional, so that the community can set its...