The Boston Task Force on Reparations called on “White churches” to step up and pay the Black community back for racial inequities that root back to the trans-Atlantic slave trade, according to reports.
The Boston Globe reported that Black and White clergy members met in Roxbury for a press conference intended to be held outside, though it was instead held in the basement of the Resurrection Lutheran Church on Saturday because of rain.
The commission was established through a 2022 Boston City Council ordinance and made up of 10 members, including two from the youth community.
In February, the Boston activists called for the city to “fully commit to writing checks” and for a $15 billion payout since the city’s wealth was built on slavery.
“We call sincerely and with a heart filled with faith and Christian love for our White churches to join us and not be silent around this issue of racism and slavery and commit to reparations,” Rev. Kevin Peterson said.
Peterson is a minister and is trying to rename Faneuil Hall because of its ties to the slave trade in the 18th century.
“We point to them in Christian love to publicly atone for the sins of slavery and we ask them to publicly commit to a process of reparations where they will extend their great wealth — tens of millions of dollars among some of those churches — into the Black community,” said Peterson.
Sixteen religious leaders signed the letter and sent it to several churches in the Boston area, seeking support for reparations.
Specifically, in a letter obtained by the Globe, the group calls on churches to provide cash payments while also helping to create affordable housing and back new financial institutions “in Black Boston.”
The letter was reportedly sent to Arlington Street Church, Trinity Church and Old South Church in Back Bay, King’s Chapel in downtown Boston. All four churches were established in the 17th and 18th centuries, Peterson told the publication.
During Saturday’s press conference, Rev. John E. Gibbons of Arlington Street Church told reporters multiple churches are researching their history and discussing reparations.
