Rev Kevin Peterson demands $15B in reparations for black Bostonians

By James Reinl, Social Affairs Correspondent, For Dailymail.Com Published: 14:41 EST, 19 February 2024 | Updated: 14:47 EST, 19 February 2024 Boston activists have urged the city to lavish $15 billion in reparations to black residents, stoking fears of a potential strain on resources amid cuts for cops and veterans in this year’s budget. Rev Kevin Peterson, of the Boston People’s Reparations Commission, launched the appeal this weekend, saying the city was ‘built on slavery’ and should now ‘pay back’ black residents. The sum includes $5 billion in direct cash payments to black Bostonians, a $5 billion investment in new financial institutions and $5 billion to fight crime and improve schools for black kids, the commission says. Critics of reparations say they’re unfair and costly — the $15 billion is nearly four times the $4.2 billion that Boston City Council voted to cover all services last June. That involved trimming budgets for cops and veterans, and city tax revenues only appear to be shrinking. But Peterson, also the founder of the New Democracy Coalition, says officials must ‘fully commit to writing checks’ to compensate black Bostonians as part of a broader reparations package. Poll Do you support a federal reparation...