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BOSTON REPARATIONS CANNOT WAIT: DESCENDANTS AND COMMUNITY DEMAND ANSWERS, ACCOUNTABILITY AND ACTION NOW

BRJC calls for a public apology and answers within 30 days, a transparent reparations roadmap within 90 days, and reparations funding in Boston's proposed FY28 budget by April 2027

BOSTON, MA — Boston's reparations process has reached a critical moment. Tufts University has returned the $335,000it received from the City of Boston after the historical research it was commissioned to produce covering 1620–1940 was not completed. The money has been returned, but the historical work remains unfinished and descendants are still waiting for meaningful progress toward repair.

The Boston Reparative Justice Coalition (BRJC) is calling on the City of Boston and the Reparations Task Force to provide immediate public answers and establish a transparent, measurable path forward. After years of delays, another open-ended process is unacceptable. Residents deserve to know what happens to the returned funds, who will complete the unfinished research, when completed research will be released, how descendants will participate, and when Boston will move from research toward implementation.

WHO WE MEAN BY AMERICAN FREEDMEN DESCENDANTS

For purposes of this community platform, American Freedmen descendants means Black Americans who trace familial lineage to people enslaved in the United States and/or the emancipated Freedmen who emerged from U.S. slavery.

This distinction matters when discussing lineage-based reparations for the specific harms of U.S. slavery and its documented aftermath. American Freedmen descendants cannot simply be researched or invited to listening sessions. They must have meaningful opportunities to help determine the harms being addressed, eligibility for lineage-based remedies, potential forms of repair, and how those remedies are implemented.

30 DAYS: ANSWERS, ACCOUNTABILITY AND APOLOGY

BRJC is calling for a formal public response within 30 days that provides a complete accounting of the returned $335,000, the status of all commissioned research, a plan and deadline for completing the unfinished 1620–1940 research, and clearly defined opportunities for American Freedmen descendants to participate in the process.

Within those same 30 days, BRJC is calling on the City to issue a formal public acknowledgment and apology for the repeated delays and breakdowns that have undermined community trust and prolonged a process intended to address generations of documented harm.

An apology must be accompanied by corrective action.

90 DAYS: A PUBLIC ROADMAP TO REPAIR

Within 90 days, BRJC is demanding a comprehensive and publicly accessible Reparations Accountability Roadmap identifying what work remains, who is responsible, how it will be funded, when research will be completed and released, how descendants and residents will participate, and specific deadlines for recommendations and implementation.

The community needs measurable deliverables, responsible parties and public deadlines, not another open-ended promise that the work will continue.

The failure of one research contract cannot become justification for another indefinite delay.

APRIL 2027: PUT REPARATIONS IN THE BUDGET

BRJC is calling for clearly identifiable reparations-related funding to be included in Boston's proposed FY28 budget by April 2027, positioning the City to begin funded first-phase reparative action during the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2027.

The discussion of repair should be tied to documented harms and may include direct financial compensation, housing and homeownership, land and property ownership, education, Black business investment, health and wellness, cultural preservation, youth opportunity and other evidence-based remedies.

American Freedmen descendants and the broader community must have meaningful opportunities to participate in determining those priorities.

COMMUNITY GATHERING FRIDAY

BRJC and community partners are calling residents together for:

REPARATIONS NOW: THE MONEY HAS RETURNED. WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

Friday, September 25, 2026
6:00–7:30 p.m.
Outside Shaw–Dudley Branch Library
149 Dudley Street, Roxbury

American Freedmen descendants, Boston residents, youth, elders, clergy, historians, community organizations, advocates, elected officials and members of the Reparations Task Force are invited to participate.

Friday's gathering will address the returned funds, unfinished research, descendant participation, the 30-day and 90-day accountability demands, the 2027 budget process, and what meaningful repair should look like in Boston.

Our six-step community proposal focuses on:

1. Completing Boston’s missing historical record;
2. Public review of completed research;
3. A structured descendant evidence period;
4. Connecting family evidence to professional research;
5. Completing economic analysis; and
6. Creating a transparent path toward recommendations and implementation.

This process cannot remain understood only by government officials, researchers and advocates. Residents must become informed, attend public meetings, submit testimony, participate in budget hearings, track deadlines and require public evidence that commitments have been fulfilled.

BRJC is no longer asking for another promise that the reparations process will continue. We are demanding a transparent process that shows the public what will happen, who is responsible, how it will be funded, and when it will be completed.

The community is calling for answers, accountability and a public apology within 30 days; a measurable roadmap within 90 days; reparations funding reflected in the proposed FY28 budget by April 2027; and funded reparative action beginning in 2027.

The $335,000 has been returned. The historical work remains unfinished. American Freedmen descendants are still here, and the obligation to repair remains.