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Date: 10/3/2023
AMHERST — A town committee offered recommendations for reparative justice in a final report to “redress racialized harms waged against the town’s African American residents historically and in the present era.”
The African Heritage Reparation Assembly of Amherst, formed by the Town Council and Town Manager’s Office studied a history of structural racism in Amherst, receiving information and input via listening sessions and community surveys over a two-year period.
The studies were conducted and information was compiled in collaboration with the University of Massachusetts Donahue Institute.
“The idea of reparations is as old as human conflict itself,” said AHRA Assembly Member Dr. Amilcar Shabazz in a statement. “When we experience harm, the necessary way to end the conflict is to assess, acknowledge and apologize, and to repair the damage consistent with the needs identified by the harmed community. This involves a process that requires time, effort and resources. The AHRA report responds to these needs with a structured approach that commits us to do all that we can on the state and federal levels. We are acting locally in advance of global change.”
The report examined current racial disparities and the ongoing effects of racism on Black residents and recommends a set of remedies.
Among those recommendations are the creation of additional opportunities for affordable housing, home ownership as well as more favorable circumstances for business. Other concepts offered included the previously proposed youth center for members of the Black and Indigenous youth community.
According to the statement, the “movement for reparations in Amherst began in 2020 as a grassroots initiative called Reparations 4 Amherst, which paved the way for the AHRA’s work through its reporting on historical harm and modern-day disparities. The final report recommends ongoing ‘truth and reconciliation’ initiatives, including educational opportunities for non-Black residents.”
The town of Amherst has committed $2 million over 10 years for a reparations fund. The report recommends that the town accelerate its commitment to ensure the fund is fully funded within four years, and that the fund operate as an endowment with annual spending of $100,000.
“The path of local reparations invites a community to genuinely acknowledge and confront the present-day manifestations of its past. It asks us to look closely at our individual beliefs and collective structures that allow harm to persist, so that we may transform and heal. This is hard, necessary work, in which we can all play a role and from which we can all benefit,” said Michele Miller, AHRA Chair.
More information, including access to the report can be found at amherstma.gov.