Boston Task Force Weighs Delaying Second Reparations Report

Boston’s reparations task force is considering whether to delay public release of a Northeastern University study on discrimination against Black Bostonians from 1940 to 2020. At its first meeting in more than a year, members broadly supported waiting, but did not vote on the proposal.

Some members want the study released together with new research on slavery and its legacy in Boston. Antonia Edwards argued that the public should receive a complete package rather than the second report alone. The task force has not established whether it can decide to withhold the report, or whether Mayor Michelle Wu’s office would support doing so.

The Northeastern study was intended to accompany research by Tufts University scholars spanning the 17th through the 20th century. The city said the Tufts report was never completed. Its release was halted after questions were raised about factual errors and citations in a 2022 book by researcher Kerri Greenidge. Greenidge no longer works at Tufts.

Task force member Rev. Mariama White-Hammond said the group will seek proposals for new research covering the period assigned to the Tufts team. She said research on reparations for slavery must include the era when slavery took place.

The city paid two research teams a combined $500,000. The task force was established under a 2022 ordinance, with research originally due by the end of 2023; that deadline has been extended several times. Chair Joseph D. Feaster Jr. said the group hoped to have work ready for discussion but had been set back by events beyond its control.

Boston Shouldn’t Bury Research on Racism While It Starts Over

Boston’s reparations task force is weighing whether to keep a completed Northeastern University study of discrimination against Black residents from the public while it seeks new research on slavery. That risks making a report on racism since 1940 wait indefinitely for a separate project that was never completed.

Members broadly supported withholding the study at their October 29 meeting, though no vote was taken. The task force has not established whether it has authority to delay release, and Mayor Michelle Wu’s office has not stated whether it would support the move. Antonia Edwards said members had planned to present the studies together and argued for giving the community a complete package.

The proposed pairing has already failed once: the Tufts research, intended to address slavery and its legacy across the 17th through 20th centuries, was never completed. Its release was halted after scholars raised questions about factual errors and citations in researcher Kerri Greenidge’s 2022 book. Greenidge no longer works at Tufts. There is no suggestion that the Northeastern study contains errors.

The city paid two teams $500,000 combined, and the task force’s original 2023 deadline has been extended repeatedly. Rev. Mariama White-Hammond says new research must cover the period when slavery occurred. That work matters, but it should not become a reason to leave existing research on systemic discrimination out of public view. The task force has yet to decide what happens next.

Boston Reparations Panel Risks Holding Back Research It Paid For

Boston’s reparations task force is considering keeping a Northeastern University study from the public while it tries to replace unfinished research from Tufts. The choice puts a city-funded report on discrimination since 1940 on hold, even though no suggestion has been made that the Northeastern work contains errors.

At the October 29 meeting, most members signaled support for delaying release, but the task force did not vote. Whether it has the authority to hold the study back—and whether Mayor Michelle Wu’s office would back that decision—remains unsettled. The city paid two teams a combined $500,000 for the research.

The Tufts study, intended to examine slavery and its legacy over the 17th through 20th centuries, was never completed. Its release was halted after questions were raised about factual errors and citations in a 2022 book by researcher Kerri Greenidge, who no longer works at the university. Now the task force plans to seek proposals for replacement work covering the same period.

The original deadline for research was the end of 2023 and has been extended multiple times. Chair Joseph D. Feaster Jr. said the group had hoped to have material ready for discussion but was set back by events beyond its control. The demand for a complete package may sound orderly, but it offers no clear timetable for releasing the Northeastern findings or finishing the replacement study.