Governor Kathy Hochul, along with local leaders, signed the legislation to establish the reparations task force in late 2023. Photo credit: Governor’s Office/Flickr.
July 31, 2024 Story by: Editor
Dr. Seanelle Hawkins, president and CEO of the Urban League of Rochester, has been unanimously appointed as the chair of New York State’s pioneering reparations commission.
The commission is scheduled to reconvene within 30 days to choose a vice chair. Some members advocated for the nomination of Dr. Ron Daniels, founder and president of the Institute of the Black World 21st Century, who was not present at the meeting. The Rev. Dr. Deborah Jenkins, founding pastor of Faith @ Work Christian Church in Co-op City, also expressed interest in the position.
This initial meeting took place at the State Capitol, marking the start of an 18-month effort to address the enduring impacts of enslavement, Jim Crow laws, and contemporary racist policies. The commission is expected to deliver its final report and policy recommendations to the New York State legislature by the end of 2025.
While there are still unresolved issues regarding leadership, staffing, and future meeting schedules, the grassroots coalition New Yorkers for Reparations celebrated the progress made toward reparative justice on Tuesday.
“This is a historic day for Black New Yorkers and the larger movement for racial justice in New York. We now have a New York State Community Commission on Reparations Remedies moving forward with the work of reckoning with New York’s legacy of enslavement, segregation, and white supremacy and recommending the necessary actions to address long-standing inequalities that exist across Black communities and repair the ongoing harm across the state,” the coalition stated.
“It is imperative that the commission employ a holistic framework as they undertake this work that addresses the state-sanctioned violence and economic, political, and cultural harm inflicted on Black communities over the centuries.” Source: Tag24
