NYC to study impacts of slavery, consider reparations
Credit: John McCarten/NYC Council Media Unit on Flickr
The New York City Council on Thursday passed a package of legislation aimed at addressing the impact of slavery and racial injustice in New York City. The legislation establishes a “Truth, Healing, and Reconciliation” process on slavery in NYC, which was the nation’s capital of slavery for nearly two centuries. Other bills require the city to conduct a reparations study, install informational plaques at the site of the city’s first slave market in lower Manhattan, and create a task force to explore creating a “freedom trail” recognizing sites linked to the Underground Railroad and the abolitionist movement.
During the early 1700s, New York had one of the highest rates of slave ownership in the nation, with between 15 and 20 percent of the population being enslaved. In fact, before the American Revolution, more enslaved Africans lived in NYC than in every other city except South Carolina, with more than 40 percent of households owning slaves.
Even after slavery was banned statewide in 1827, New York City continued to profit from the illegal slave trade, transactions with visiting slave owners, and the trade of goods produced by enslaved labor. Many businesses, including the predecessors of some modern banks, continued to profit from slavery up until 1886, as reported by the Associated Press.
One of the bills, Introduction 242-A, sponsored by Council Member Crystal Hudson, would require the city’s Commission on Racial Equity (CORE) to establish a process to analyze the city’s involvement in slavery and its present-day impacts.
The process would establish facts about slavery in NYC, address its ongoing legacies, recognize the communities still impacted by it, and recommend changes to government and institutions to prevent injustices from recurring.
Another bill, Introduction 279-A, sponsored by Council Member Farah Louis, would mandate CORE collaborate with experts on a study that examines the possibility of reparations for New Yorkers who are descendants of enslaved peoples. The study would document the history of slavery in NYC, highlight relevant rights violations, and propose potential legal remedies to address the harms caused.
The studies are estimated to cost roughly $2.5 million, according to a financial impact analysis of the bills.
“Throughout my tenure in the Council, we have heard countless testimonies and conducted numerous hearings revealing the ongoing impacts of historical injustices,” Louis said.
“Black women, in particular, continue to be disadvantaged in both public and private sectors, facing systemic inequities that hinder their progress and well-being. Addressing these compounded injustices is essential to forming a more just municipality and society.”
Another bill, sponsored by Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, would require the city to install an informational sign at the intersection of Wall and Pearl Streets in Manhattan to commemorate the site of NY’s first slave market.
CORE would work with the existing state commission, which has also been reviewing the possibility of reparations, according to AP. A report from the state panel, which met for the first time in July, is expected to be released in early 2025. CORE would not be required to produce recommendations until 2027.
The legislation now heads to the desk of Mayor Eric Adams, who has voiced support for reparations in the past.
“The legacy of slavery and systemic racism has impacted all facets of our society today, and it’s important that our city recognizes and takes steps to redress these longstanding harms,” Speaker Adrienne Adams said in a statement.
“By creating new processes to fully examine the present-day impacts of injustices inflicted on Black New Yorkers and communities, we are advancing necessary efforts to consider potential remedies that can lead to healing and reconciliation.”
NYC is following in the footsteps of several other American cities that have recently begun studying the impact of slavery on their communities, including exploring the possibility of reparations.
In 2021, Evanston, Illinois became the first American city to offer reparations to Black residents and their descendants, as reported by AP, including the distribution of $25,000 payments in 2023. Eligibility was determined by the degree of harm suffered by residents due to the city’s discriminatory housing practices.
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