EMBRACE BOSTON HARM REPORT
CONNECTING THE PAST TO THE PRESENT STATE OF BLACK BOSTON
This report connects the present state of our city to a history of harms perpetrated against Black Bostonians across seven injury areas including: culture and symbols, housing, transportation, education, criminal legal systems, health, and income & wealth.
Through each injury area, we explore how legacies of slavery, legal segregation, and racial discrimination have shaped life in Boston from the earliest days of the colony to the present. Massachusetts was among the first states to abolish slavery, but it was also the first colony to legalize it. The moment is now to reconcile our history with slavery and systemic race-based oppression here in Boston.
Boston–and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, broadly–can lead the nation in the meaningful work that is required to ameliorate this lengthy history of harm. We can be an exemplar of repair, doing the kind of work that sets generations on a better trajectory. At Embrace Boston, we hold a vision for a city and a nation that is truly worthy of us all. Our destinies, irrespective of one’s racial or ethnic identity, are inextricably linked. Let’s ensure that we are on the right side of history. May the work of repair and the imagining of a better future begin.