The Black Reparations Conference–hosted by the Black Reparations Project and co-sponsored by the Goldman School–was held virtually on February 23rd and 24th, 2023. With more than 500 registrants and over 175 attendees at any given session, the conference brought stakeholders together to focus on learning, challenges, and strategies in Black reparations movement building. The Black Reparations Project was formed to advance reparations learning, policy, and action.

Three members of the Goldman School faculty,  Dr. Ashley Adams, Dr. Darcelle Lahr, and Dr. Erika Weissinger, conceived and organized the conference, with the aim of connecting  Black reparations policy, research, and action. They were especially interested in spotlighting joy, togetherness, and healing in the Black reparations movement. 

"We need to take care of ourselves if we are going to do better at taking care of each other," said Adams. "You can't pour from an empty cup." 

Erika Weissinger and current MPA student David Dixon hosted a pre-conference session, titled “From 40 Acres and a Mule to HR 40." This session provided foundational information on Black reparations for those new to the conversation. Darcelle Lahr, ​​who is also a Professor of Business Practice at Mills College at Northeastern University, opened the pre-conference with moving insight into her own work with reparations.

“I come to reparations work through my research on how–and whether–reparations can be a force to help address the devastating impacts of the white supremacist violence that has been used repeatedly throughout our history to decimate once-thriving Black business districts,” she said. Lahr explained how reparations may provide “a way to reclaim the economic future of our most disinvested communities.”

Ashley Adams serves as Acting Director of Public Policy and Associate Adjunct Professor of Public Policy at Mills College at Northeastern University, and emceed the opening for the conference, establishing community agreements and describing the central purpose of participants coming together to learn and build the connective tissue for reparations policy and action.

Ife Tayo Walker, Director, Grad Programs and Alumnae Engagement Lokey School of Business & Public Policy at Mills College at Northeastern University and Conference Co-Chair, then led a ceremony offering libations to honor the ancestors who began this struggle hundreds of years ago. Walker explained that libation is a form of ancestor veneration, often practiced to open spiritual or community events such as Juneteenth or Kwanzaa, but is also part of a larger African tradition. Walker spoke about sacrifices made by Black ancestors in particular and dedicated the conference to their memory and work. Walker then asked other conference attendees to participate by speaking the names of their ancestors, calling them into the room. After the name of an ancestor was spoken, participants unmuted themselves and said the words “Asé.” 

California Secretary of State Dr. Shirley Weber, the sponsor of the bill that created the California Reparations Taskforce, made opening remarks. Weber spoke about the importance of the moment. 

“The Black Reparations Project has answered this call to help unite and share a vision, learnings and next steps,” she said. “I ask that you listen today with an open heart and open mind and channel any frustration from the past into hope for the future. We do not want to repeat the past, so we are moving forward with reparations in this nation.”

A passionate address from California Reparations Taskforce Chair Kamilah Moore brought the significance and potential of this work into sharp focus. 

“It is my hope that the work of the Taskforce reinvigorates the African American community…to exercise our human right to self-determination with the renewed energy that enables us to freely determine our status in this country and to pursue our economic, social, and cultural developments,” she said. “The Federal Government looks to the State of California as we trailblaze in setting the precedent for what reparatory and transitional justice looks like for African Americans and society at large.”

The panel discussion “California Reparations," moderated by Alameda County Supervisor Nate Miley, featured municipal leaders and community organizers who described local reparations initiatives in California. They honed in on efforts made by the Reparations Task Force and the work being done in cities like Hayward, Richmond, and Vallejo. Community organizer Chris Lodgson from the Coalition for a Just and Equitable California opened the panel with an empowering and hopeful message for participants: “You, me, we, are closer to reparations than we’ve ever been.” 

Tinisch Hollins, Vice Chair of the San Francisco African American Reparations Advisory Committee, closed out the panel by noting the importance of California’s reparations work: “Reparations will happen in our lifetimes…So the work that's happening in each of our cities and in the State of California is critical because we have the opportunity to demonstrate for the rest of the country what it can, and should look like.”

“Trends in Federal, State, and Local Reparations Policies” panelists included Dr. Linda Mann, Co-Founder, African American Redress Network;  Katie Sandson, Program Director, Racial Redress and Reparations Lab; and Malcolm Clarke, Elizabeth Zitrin Justice Fellow, Civil Rights and Restorative Justice Project at Northeastern University School of Law. The panel applied restorative justice and transitional justice frameworks to the current landscape of reparations initiatives across the country. Speaking to the value of drawing upon international frameworks, panelist Clarke, said, “Reparations have occurred in a lot of different contexts and so there are lessons to be learned when you look at the Caribbean experience, the experience of African countries that have been colonized… There's so much to be learned from international human rights and international contexts.”

The third panel of the day, “The Role of Philanthropy in the Reparations Movement”, moderated by Lahr, explored the challenges and opportunities that lie at the intersection of philanthropy and reparations. Jennie Goldfarb, Director of Operations & Strategic Engagement, Liberation Ventures, highlighted how philanthropy can, and must, play a role in supporting reparations work because of the sector’s roots in the exploitation of Black Americans. 

“Reparations is going to happen and funders will look back at this moment and wish they did more, wish they stepped up and we will look back with disbelief that this was considered too radical, or too risky of an investment,” she said. “Reparations will help all people become more human, more embodied, and inhabit our lives with more intention and dignity. We will not get to where we need to go as a country without reparations, and philanthropy can help us get there a lot quicker.”

The conference closed with an interactive session of gentle movement, breathwork, and meditation titled “Joy and Wellness in Reparations Work.” Ciera B. Lewis, a Doctoral Intern at Michigan State University Counseling and Psychiatric Services, facilitated the session and the closing discussion about including room for joy, healing, and wellness in the reparations space. 

As reflection begins on insights from the conference and on next steps, the words of Conference Co-Chair Ashley Adams center the efforts that will flow from the conference:

“We crafted this conference based on what we heard in listening sessions,” she said. “What's happening in the field? What are you experiencing? What are the barriers? We want to be really intentional with this idea of public education and research gathering, and learning from people who are working on the ground.” 

Conference partners included Mills College Lorry I. Lokey School of Business and Public Policy; The Civil Rights and Restorative Justice Project; the Goldman School of Public Policy at UC Berkeley; and the Stupski Foundation.