‘This is a marathon, not a sprint’: For Boston reparations task force, redress is a work in progress

When Mayor Michelle Wu tapped 10 activists, historians, scholars, and students to study Boston’s complicated relationship with slavery last year, the appointments were hailed as a crucial step in addressing the city’s strained race relations and in making amends to African American residents. But the earliest that Black Bostonians might get to weigh in on this process will be 2025, meaning that reparations might not materialize for years to come. Adding to a sense of stagnation are varying perspectives on what reparations could look like among members of Boston’s reparations task force, and the opaqueness of the research process that will provide data for the task force to use. There are also independent reparation efforts in Boston, separate from the city’s task force, which are happening at the same time. “Trust me, I am on the side of urgency,” said Robin Rue Simmons, founder and executive director of FirstRepair, an Illinois-based organization promoting reparations efforts around the US. “But I’ve seen in many cities the excitement of the initial milestone and then a struggle of just trying to figure out: How do we establish the task force? Should it be a committee? Should it have a sunset? Should it be...