Boston, MA

Boston’s Reparations Task Force is setting a precedent for other states to follow – The Boston Globe

Published

1 year ago

July 28, 2023

Boston’s Reparations Task Force is setting a precedent for other states to follow – The Boston Globe

Massachusetts led an embryonic country in establishing and legalizing the institution of slavery. Now its capital city can provide leadership for the rest of the country to follow to atone for that generational injury.

Almost 400 years after Massachusetts first recognized slavery as a legal institution, Boston is looking to repair the harm caused by its participation in the transatlantic slave trade through its Boston Task Force on Reparations, which researches the lasting impact of slavery in the city. Local, state and federal public policies have undoubtedly robbed Black Americans of the opportunities to build wealth, institutions and whole communities. Now, Boston is among a growing number of cities that are acknowledging the role local governments played in slavery, Jim Crow segregation and promoting anti-Black practices like redlining and other discriminatory public policies in criminal justice and education.

After two years of research and public hearings, California’s Reparations Task Force issued over 100 final recommendations for a statewide reparations program, and state lawmakers must now decide whether or not to adopt them. In 2019, Evanston, Illinois, passed the nation’s first reparations law, which was narrowly tailored to address segregationist housing policy by providing Black people that have been residents of Evanston since before 1969 with $25,000 grants for home repairs. At the federal level, several efforts have been made by Congress members — most recently, Representative Cori Bush (D-Mo.) took steps to pass legislation that provides financial reparations to Black Americans. But a task force similar to the one created in Boston has yet to be established by the federal government.

However, some scholars — notably, economist William “Sandy” Darity and arts consultant A. Kirsten Mullen — don’t acknowledge local redress efforts as authentic reparations programs. By their definition, those endeavors cannot provide the compensation that is commensurate with the injury caused by slavery since true reparations would close the national White-Black wealth gap. According to the latest Federal Reserve estimates reported in 2019, the median wealth for White families was $188,200 — 7.8 times that of the typical Black household, at $24,100. Because local remedies won’t come close to closing this gulf, Darity and Mullen would rather local efforts be considered “racial equity initiatives” so they won’t distract organizers from the larger goal.

Another significant goal of any reparations program involves acknowledgement and atonement. The National Coalition of Blacks for Reparation in America (N’COBRA) provides a general definition of reparations as being “a process of repairing, healing and restoring a people injured because of their group identity.”

Carrie Mays, a Boston reparations task force member, at a ceremony announcing the reparations task force at the Museum of African American History.Matthew J. Lee/Globe Staff

The Boston Task Force on Reparations isn’t a distraction or detour from getting commensurate compensation for the damage caused by cities and states (particularly among those that acted before the U.S. was a union). Attempts to acknowledge and redress past action is part of a process that different actors must go through to meet their moral and financial obligations to rectify the injuries these entities caused. Bypassing the harm caused at the local level absolves countless institutions of their responsibility for participating in a violent system where its legacy lives on at local levels today. Moreso, many national policies and programs start at the local level and are codified and resourced by the federal government. One can argue that Black descendants of enslaved persons from Massachusetts, which was established before there was a union, can file a separate claim.

Boston’s effort is not tailored to the goal of closing the racial wealth gap. Rather, it seeks to address the city’s historic wrongdoings and current racial disparities in health, wealth, income and homeownership. The city’s effort to research the lasting impacts of slavery is noteworthy because, as Mayor Michelle Wu has stated, there is no statute of limitations on these sorts of claims, and since Boston has de facto memorials of chattel slavery as part of its built environment, like many other U.S. cities. For example, the historic Faneuil Hall where Revolutionary-era meetings and protests took place and the celebrated Arnold Arboretum were both financed through the labor of enslaved Black people. Likewise, the very presence of Harvard University reminds us there is a local debt owed to the Black descendants of the region.

According to a Harvard report, various presidents, faculty and staff enslaved over 70 people, some of whom worked on campus, for a century and a half. Harvard also gained the majority of its income from investments in Caribbean sugar planters and plantation suppliers, and eventually began investing in cotton manufacturing, real estate and railroads, all of which relied on the labor of enslaved people. Further, Harvard received financial gifts from individuals who gained their wealth through the slave trade in the Caribbean and the U.S., which undoubtedly helped establish the university’s status as one of the wealthiest institutions of higher learning in the nation and likely contributed to its current $50.9 billion endowment.

Since its inception, the Boston Reparations Task Force has held four public meetings. However, they have yet to publish a request for proposals (RFP) process for the research phase of their work. Consequently, much of their meeting time has been dedicated to discussing the RFP draft and identifying researchers and scholars that are knowledgeable about Black Boston history and reparations. Unsurprisingly, community members have already raised valid concerns about what reparations might look like for Boston, which reflect similar ones raised at the national level, such as questions about the scope of the task force’s research, eligibility and community engagement, and what constitutes a repair mechanism. At their June meeting, one member of the public said this was the “most consequential and contentious policy discussion had since the end of the Civil War and Civil Rights Movement.”

The Boston community is taking the opportunity to discuss local reparations seriously, and the rest of us should too. While the task force is juggling these basic questions about what their research and recommendations are going to look like, it is important to recognize a part of reparations is acknowledging harm. Boston has taken a step that many other local and state governments cannot say they have taken, especially when compared to state leaders like Florida Governor Ron DeSantis who are rewriting history to obscure local discriminatory practices. Acknowledgment at all levels is the collective first step toward a national program. We should encourage more of these efforts.

The Boston reparations effort should not be dismissed or overlooked. The city’s task force could very well create a reparations model that other municipalities can build upon for their particular context. Reparations won’t come from Washington — they will go to Washington, and the initial local efforts will inform that subsequent congressional act.

Andre M. Perry is a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution.

Jordan Fields is a research intern at the Brookings Institution.

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Boston, MA

Boston Celtics vs. Toronto Raptors: Where to watch free NBA live stream

Published

6 hours ago

January 15, 2025

Press Room

Boston Celtics vs. Toronto Raptors: Where to watch free NBA live stream

A pair of division foes in the Eastern Conference meet up on Wednesday, Jan. 15 when the Boston Celtics travel to take on the Toronto Raptors at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto.

The game is scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m. EST and will be broadcast on NBC Sports Boston. Fans looking to watch this NBA game can do so for free by using DirecTV Stream, which offers a free trial. You can also watch on FuboTV, which also offers a free trial and $30 off your first month, or SlingTV, which doesn’t offer a free trial but has promotional offers available.

The Celtics are looking for their first winning streak since they beat the Raptors, Timberwolves and Rockets consecutively to end December and start January. Boston enters this matchup at 28-11 while Toronto is 9-31 and winless in two previous matchups with the defending champions.

WATCH THE GAME FOR FREE HERE

Who: Boston Celtics vs. Toronto Raptors

When: Wednesday, Jan. 15 at 7:30 p.m. EST

Where: Scotiabank Arena in Toronto

Stream: FuboTV; Sling; DirecTV Stream (free trial)

Betting: Check out our MA sports betting guide, where you can learn basic terminology, definitions and how to read odds for those interested in learning how to bet in Massachusetts.

What is FuboTV?

FuboTV is an internet television service that offers more than 200 channels across sports and entertainment including Paramount+ with SHOWTIME. From the UEFA Champions League to the WNBA to international tournaments ranging across sports, there’s plenty of options available on FuboTV, which offers a free trial and $30 off the first month for new customers.

What is DirecTV Stream?

DirecTV Stream offers practically everything DirecTV provides, except for a remote and a streaming device to connect to your television. Sign up now and get three free months of premium channels including MAX, Paramount+ with SHOWTIME and Starz.

What is SlingTV?

SlingTV offers a variety of live programing ranging from news and sports and starting as low as $20 a month for your first month. Subscribers also get a month of DVR Plus free if they sign up now. Choose from a variety of sports packages without long-term contracts and with easy cancelation.

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Court papers say ex-NBA player Jontay Porter laid out betting scheme in a text; 6th person arrested

By JENNIFER PELTZ Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — A sixth person was charged Monday in the federal sports betting case involving ex-NBA player Jontay Porter, and authorities disclosed a text message Porter allegedly sent explaining how to cash in on his plans to bench himself in a January 2024 game.

The former Toronto Raptors center already has pleaded guilty in the criminal case and was banned from the NBA for life. He admitted that he agreed to withdraw early from games, claiming illness or injury, so that those in the know could win big by betting on him to underperform expectations.

Although the new developments don’t affect the legal case against Porter, they put the scheme in what a court document says were his own words.

“Hit unders for the big numbers,” Porter wrote to an alleged conspirator on Jan. 26, 2024, according to a court complaint against yet another alleged schemer, Shane Hennen. He was arrested Sunday at the Las Vegas airport while boarding a flight to Panama.

“No blocks no steals. I’m going to play first 2-3 minute stint off the bench then when I get subbed out tell them my eye killing me again,” Porter wrote, according to the complaint. It identifies him only as “NBA Player 1” but makes clear through references — such as the details of his guilty plea last year — that it’s Porter.

He had scratched an eye during a game on Jan. 22, 2024, keeping conspirators in the loop by text even from the arena, according to the complaint. But he wasn’t on the injured list when the Raptors faced the LA Clippers four days later.

Porter ultimately played about 4 1/2 minutes in that game before saying he had aggravated the eye problem. Then he pulled out of a March 20 game against the Sacramento Kings after less than three minutes, saying he felt ill. His performance in both games fell well below what sportsbooks had anticipated.

Porter told a court in July that he got involved in the plot to try to clear his own gambling debts. He’s set to be sentenced in May. He could face anything from no jail time to 20 years behind bars; prosecutors have estimated his sentence at about 3 1/2 to four years in prison.

A message was sent to his lawyer Monday to seek comment on the developments.

Hennen was released without bail after his arraignment Monday in Las Vegas on charges including wire fraud conspiracy. The court complaint alleges that he placed bets through proxies after co-conspirators alerted him to Porter’s plans for the Jan. 26 game, and that he also got a heads-up about the March 20 game and likely told other gamblers about it.

A message seeking comment was sent to his attorney.

Besides Hennen and Porter, four other people also have been charged to date. Two have pleaded guilty, a third has pleaded not guilty, and the fourth hasn’t entered a plea.

The complaint against Hennen alleges there were still more conspirators involved. It’s unclear whether more people may yet be arrested.

The Associated Press contributed to this article

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Boston, MA

Constantine Manos, photographer for landmark ‘Where’s Boston?’ exhibit, dies at 90 – The Boston Globe

Published

14 hours ago

January 15, 2025

Press Room

Constantine Manos, photographer for landmark ‘Where’s Boston?’ exhibit, dies at 90 – The Boston Globe

Constantine Manos, “Los Angeles, California,” 2001. (Constantine Manos/Magnum Photos)Courtesy Boston Symphony Orchestra Archives, Constantine Manos/Magnum Photos

Among Mr. Manos’s books were “A Greek Portfolio” (1972; updated 1999), “Bostonians” (1975), “American Color” 1995) and ”American Color 2″ (2010). Mr. Manos’s work with color was notably expressive and influential.

“Color was a four-letter word in art photography,” the photographer Lou Jones, who worked with Mr. Manos on “Where’s Boston?,” said in a telephone interview. “But he was making wonderful, complex photographs with color, and that meant so much.”

Yet for all his formal skill, Mr. Manos always emphasized the human element in his work. “I am a people photographer and have always been interested in people,” he once said.

That interest extended beyond the photographs he took. He was a celebrated teacher. Among the students he taught in his photo workshops was Stella Johnson.

“He’d go through a hundred of my photographs,” she said in a telephone interview, “and maybe he’d like two. ‘No, no, no, no, yes, no.’ Costa really taught me how to see. I remember him looking at one picture and saying, “You were standing in the wrong spot.’ Something like that was invaluable to me as a young photographer.

“He was a very, very kind man, very generous. But he was very strict. ‘How could you do that?’ He was adored by his students and by his friends, absolutely. We were all lucky to have been in his orbit.”

Cellist Samuel Mayes and conductor Charles Munch during a Boston Symphony Orchestra rehearsal at Tanglewood, July 25, 1959. (Constantine Manos/Magnum Photos)Courtesy Boston Symphony Orchestra Archives, Constantine Manos/Magnum Photos

Mr. Manos, who moved to Provincetown in 2008, lived in the South End for four decades. The South Carolina native’s association with the Boston area began when the Boston Symphony Orchestra hired him as a photographer at Tanglewood. He was 19. This led to Mr. Manos’s first book, “Portrait of a Symphony” (1961; updated 2000).

Constantine Manos was born in Columbia, S.C., on Oct. 12, 1934. His parents, Dimitri and Aphrodite (Vaporiotou) Manos, were Greek immigrants. They ran a café in the city’s Black section. That experience gave Mr. Manos a sympathy for marginalized people that would stay with him throughout his life. As a student at the University of South Carolina, he wrote editorials in the school paper opposing segregation. Later, he would do extensive work chronicling the LGBTQ+ community with his camera.

Mr. Manos became interested in photography at 13, joining the school camera club and building a darkroom in his parents’ basement. After graduating from college, Mr. Manos did two years of Army service in Germany, working as a photographer for Stars and Stripes. He joined Magnum in 1963. This had special meaning for him. Mr. Manos’s chief inspiration as a young photographer had been Henri Cartier-Bresson, one of Magnum’s founders. He was such an admirer he made a point of using the same equipment that Cartier-Bresson did.

That same year, Mr. Manos entered a seafood restaurant in Rome that was around the corner from the Pantheon. Prodanou, his future husband, was dining with friends. Noticing Mr. Manos, he gestured to him. “Would you join us for coffee?” The couple spent the next 61 years together, marrying in 2011.

"Lining Up for the Shriner's Parade, South End, Boston," 1974. (Constantine Manos/Magnum Photos) — “Lining Up for the Shriner’s Parade, South End, Boston,” 1974. (Constantine Manos/Magnum Photos)Courtesy Boston Symphony Orchestra Archives, Constantine Manos/Magnum Photos

Mr. Manos lived in Greece for three years, which led to “A Greek Portfolio.” He undertook a very different project in the Athens of America. Part of the city’s Bicentennial tribute, “Where’s Boston?” was a slice-of-many-lives view of contemporary Boston.

Located in a red-white-and-blue striped pavilion at the Prudential Center, it became a local sensation. The installation involved 42 computerized projectors and 3,097 color slides (most of them taken by Mr. Manos), shown on eight 10 feet by 10 feet screens. Outside the pavilion was a set of murals, consisting of 152 black-and-white photographs of Boston scenes, all shot by Mr. Manos.

“The most important thing I had to do was to keep my picture ideas simple,” he said in a 1975 Globe interview. “Viewers are treated to a veritable avalanche of color slides in exactly one hour’s time.”

In that same interview, he made an observation about his work generally. “I prefer to stay in close to my subjects. I let them see me and my camera and when they become bored they forget about me and then I get my best pictures.”

Among institutions that own Mr. Manos’s photographs are the Museum of Fine Arts; the Museum of Modern Art, New York; the Art Institute of Chicago; the High Museum of Art, Atlanta; the Library of Congress; and the Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris.

In addition to his husband, Mr. Manos leaves a sister, Irene Constantinides, of Atlanta, and a brother, Theofanis Manos, of Greenville, S.C.

A memorial service will be held later this year.

Mark Feeney can be reached at mark.feeney@globe.com.

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Boston, MA

Below freezing temperatures again today

Published

22 hours ago

January 15, 2025

Press Room

The winds are still going Wednesday, but the air temperatures remain at respectable levels. Highs will manage to weasel up to 30 in most spots. It’s too bad we’re not going to feel them at face value. Instead, we’re dressing for temps in the teens all day today.

Thursday and Friday are the picks of the week.

There will be a lot less wind, reasonable winter temperatures in the 30s and a decent amount of sun. We’ll be quiet into the weekend, as our next weather system approaches.

With mild air expected to come north on southerly winds, highs will bounce back to the low and mid-40s both days of the weekend.

Showers will be delayed until late day/evening on Saturday and into the night. There may be a few early on Sunday too, but the focus on that day will be to bring in the cold.

Highs will briefly sneak into the 40s, then fall late day.