We look back at the history of efforts in Boston to explore reparations, particularly through the lens of Sen. Bill Owens, the first Black member of the Massachusetts Senate. At the end of the 1980s, Owens, inspired by activism he had seen in Detroit, introduced a bill to pay reparations to Black descendants of enslaved people. That bill is credited as being a model for national legislation introduced by Rep. John Conyers in every session of the U.S. Congress since 1989 to create a national commission on reparations.
———
Credits:
Host, Producer and Writer: Saraya Wintersmith
Senior Producer: Jerome Campbell
Editor: Paul Singer
Editorial Assistant: Mara Mellits
Production oversight: Lee Hill
Mixing and Sound Design: David Goodman & Gary Mott
Theme Song and original music: Malik Williams
Artwork: Mamie-Hawa Bawoh & Matt Welch
Project Manager: Meiqian He
Consulting Producer and Head of GBH Podcasts: Devin Maverick Robins
