WRVO Public Media commemorates Juneteenth with the one-hour radio special "What Is Owed?" exploring the history of reparations demands and efforts to repay victims of systemic oppression against Black Americans. The special emphasizes the voices of Black activists fighting for reparations since the nation's founding.
Boston, like many cities around the U.S., has begun to wrestle with the notion of paying reparations to Black people to make up for 400 years of enslavement and economic exclusion. But in Boston, this debate is layered in history. It was here that slavery was first legalized in the American colonies; it was here that founders of American independence are buried alongside the Black people they enslaved; and it was here that legislation was introduced in the 1980s that became the model of a national bill calling for reparations - a bill that is still on the agenda in the U.S. Congress. In “What Is Owed?”, reporter Saraya Wintersmith explores the history of reparations demands going back 250 years, and other efforts around the country and around the world to repay victims of systemic oppression. “What Is Owed?” emphasizes the voices and leadership of Black activists who have been fighting for repair since the founding of the nation.
WRVO presents “What Is Owed?” on Wednesday, June 19 at 3 p.m. Listen on air or online at wrvo.org.
