Progress Report From Reparations For Amherst

Reparations for Amherst (R4A) offers this summary of recent activities aimed at advancing the work of reparations in Amherst.

• On January 25, 2021 Reparations for Amherst made a two-part request to Town Manager Bockelman: (1) $5,000 to compensate Black community members for contributing to research/education; and (2) the continuation of legal research to address the creation of a fund dedicated to economic reparations for those injured by anti-Black structural racism in Amherst. We are happy to announce that the continuation of the legal research is underway. We have not received a commitment for the $5,000, and it appears the request is tied to the results of the legal opinion. We hope to have more information to share soon. 
  
• Sunday afternoon (March 7) , twenty-one Black stakeholders convened in a 2.5-hour long closed-door meeting to discuss reparations in Amherst. Stakeholders of all ages and from various sub-communities — including academia, business, faith, town government, and education — engaged in a lively and interactive discussion. The feedback has been excellent! The meeting was led by Alderman Robin Rue Simmons of Evanston, Illinois and the national male co-chair of N’COBRA (National Coalition of Blacks for Reparations in America), Kamm Howard. Kathleen Anderson, long-time Amherst resident and female co-chair of N’COBRA New England, was the local host. (All facilitators served on a volunteer basis.) A report with recommendations for reparative action, funding possibilities, and eligibility requirements will be made available after it has been discussed and approved by the stakeholder group. There are plans in the coming weeks to convene additional closed-door meetings to capture more voices from the Black community.
  
• R4A will also be releasing a report — A Case For Reparations —  in the coming weeks. We are planning a public symposium to share the report and engage the community this spring. 
  
• We are beginning to develop an advisory board of Black stakeholders to guide our work. We are grateful to Kathleen Anderson, Dr. Demetria Shabazz, and Ms. Pat Ononibaku for joining and hope to add additional folks in the coming weeks.  

Please join R4A at the upcoming event, Working Toward Racial Equity: A Round Table and Dialogue, hosted by the League of Women Voters Amherst on Tuesday, March 23. You can learn more and register here. 

Also, the Associated Press released an illuminating piece about the reparations effort in Amherst this week, and it has been widely distributed across major news outlets. You can check it out here.