Philadelphia task force explores reparations
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Illustration: Lindsey Bailey/Axios. Photo: Library of Congress.
Philadelphia has assembled a task force to explore what reparations could look like in the city.
Why it matters: Black Philadelphians have long faced disparities related to income, education, housing and gun violence.
The big picture: Philly joins a growing number of states and municipalities examining possible reparations — a once-fringe idea that's gone mainstream, Axios' Russell Contreras reports.
State of play: Over the coming months, the 10-member volunteer task force will study reparations and propose how to compensate Black residents whose descendants endured slavery and Jim Crow-era discrimination.
- Members met for the first time Tuesday.
Zoom in: The task force is led by co-chairs Breanna Moore and Rashaun Williams, who also lead the Philadelphia chapter of the National Coalition of Blacks for Reparations in America.
- Other members will lead committees focusing on topics including criminal justice, education, and urban planning and sustainable development.
Zoom out: Evanston, Illinois, was the first U.S. city to approve reparations in 2021.
- Since then, San Francisco and Detroit have been examining reparations, along with the states of New York and California.
Context: Black households earned nearly $40,000 less annually on average than their white counterparts, per Pew Charitable Trusts' latest State of the City report, which looked at 2022 data.
- Predominantly Black neighborhoods in North and Southwest Philly have the lowest life expectancy in the city.
- And the city's long history of redlining and residential segregation persists.
What they're saying: Philly was "shaped by the legacy of slavery and its afterlife, including mass incarceration, redlining, and educational apartheid," Cara McClellan, a member of the task force, said in a statement.
- The group's work will help ensure reconciliation and repair democratic principals, she said.
How you can help: The task force is seeking volunteers to help study, survey and assist with the eight committees.
- Sign up on the task force's website.
What's next: The task force will hold public meetings and events, with a town hall set for June 29.