As the 2023 mayoral race heats up in New York City, candidates are confronted with a pivotal question: Will the next mayor prioritize reparations as both a moral and economic necessity, or will this moment of potential change be allowed to pass despite significant public support?
This spring, Tulsa, Oklahoma made headlines when its mayor, Monroe Nichols, presented a groundbreaking plan for reparations totaling $105 million for survivors and descendants affected by the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre.
In New York, reparations are increasingly seen as a vital issue. Contrary to perceptions that such discussions are fringe or overly radical, a recent survey by New Yorkers for Reparations and Liberation Ventures indicates that nearly half of New Yorkers—48 percent—support reparations, with a remarkable 70 percent open to backing candidates advocating for this important cause.
This growing consensus reflects long-held beliefs among advocates that reparations are not just an ethical imperative but also an achievable goal.
Leading the charge in New York, the New York State Community Commission on Reparations Remedies was established after persistent grassroots advocacy. Over the past year, the commission has engaged in community input gathering through public hearings.
Simultaneously, the New York City Council’s Commission on Racial Equity (CORE) is developing its own reparations initiative, illustrating a commitment to confronting historic injustices.
On a national level, Representatives Ayanna Pressley and Summer Lee are championing HR-40, a legislative effort aimed at creating a national reparations commission, signaling a broader acknowledgment of the urgent need for reparative measures.
In April, advocates hosted a Mayoral Forum on Reparations near the historical site of Seneca Village, a once-thriving Black community that was forcibly taken to create Central Park. Four mayoral candidates—Michael Blake, Zellnor Myrie, Zohran Mamdani, and Brad Lander—expressed their unambiguous support for reparations during this event.
Brad Lander emphasized the societal benefits of closing the racial wealth gap, stating, “Closing the racial wealth gap is not just a better deal for Black New Yorkers, it’s a better deal for all New Yorkers.”
Zellnor Myrie remarked, “We as a city have to ensure that we are connecting the wrongs of the past.”
Zohran Mamdani highlighted the historical responsibility of the city, asserting that “New York City actively participated in the slave trade; it should reconcile and repair this legacy.”
Michael Blake pointed out the economic realities of injustice yet maintained that it was imperative for the city to prioritize addressing economic disparities: “We have to address economic injustice at the forefront; it’s simply too expensive to live in New York because of historical injustice.”
The urgent need for reparations is underscored by the stark reality that the loss of wealth among Black New Yorkers was not merely a consequence of socio-economic dynamics but rather a result of systematic theft and dispossession. Historical data reveals that Seneca Village was once home to 20 percent of all Black property owners in New York State before it was eradicated by government action in 1857.
This pattern of systematic dispossession has continued through policies that have stripped wealth from Black communities, including redlining, racial covenants, and urban renewal practices. These actions have fostered a staggering wealth disparity, with the median wealth in New York for white residents at $320,000, while for Black residents, it’s a mere $2,800.
This disparity is not just a gap—it is a chasm, a term aptly coined by Nkechi Taifa, a longstanding advocate for reparations.
New York City is deeply entrenched in the legacy of American slavery. The first slave trading post in the city was established in 1712 at a site that now lies in the heart of Wall Street. Long before the emergence of Seneca Village, there existed significant Black communities in New York, often referred to as “The Land of the Blacks,” which faced similar fates of exile and erasure.
The history of these communities remained largely obscured until important sites like the African Burial Ground were rediscovered, shedding light on the long-ignored contributions of Black New Yorkers.
The very name “New York” is tied to a legacy of colonization and exploitation. It pays homage to James Stuart, the Duke of York, who co-founded the Royal African Company, which played a pivotal role in the transatlantic slave trade.
New York’s economic development was intricately linked to slavery, as the city’s infrastructure supported and profited from the institution long after its legal abolition in 1827.
In light of this historical context, New York must take a leading role in the national conversation about reparations, encompassing justice, policy changes, and wealth redistribution as necessary steps toward healing the scars of its past. New York has always been a city driven by ambition; now it is time to align that ambition with a commitment to justice.
image source from：citylimits
