After meetings held in Buffalo, Albany, Rochester, and Southeast Queens, the Bronx is set to host the nextNew York State Community Commission on Reparations Remedies (CCRR) hearing.
The public event, scheduled for April 10 from 5 to 9 p.m. at Co-op City’s Dreiser Community Center (177 Dreiser Loop, Bronx), will provide Bronx and other New York City residents the opportunity to give testimony about the lasting impacts of African enslavement and current systemic discrimination affecting Black people in New York State.
Momentum for reparations for slavery has been gaining across the country among local and state governments. In 2023, Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a bill that established the CCRR; its mandate is to examine the legacy of slavery in New York, which was one of the last states in the North to abolish African enslavement. The enslavement of Black people was legal in New York state from the mid-1620s until July 4, 1827.
The CCRR is tasked with documenting the discrimination people of African descent have faced since slavery, and looking at the ongoing impact of race-based injustices today.
Community hearings and the testimony submitted to the CCRR will be included as part of a final report to be submitted to the state legislature.
The Bronx April 10th evening event will begin with a public hearing from 5 to 8 p.m. and end with a commissioner’s business meeting from 8 to 9 p.m. Those who want to speak at the public hearing don’t have to show up with documentation or other evidence of the race-based discrimination they have experienced. “People can talk about what they’ve learned from their ancestors, about the impact of slavery,” CCRR Commission Chair Seanelle Hawkins told the AmNews. “Typically, we’ve done three to four hours of testimony. When we went to Albany, there were individuals who had artifacts –– they had evidence; they had stories. They had facts to demonstrate the harm. But our educators also come with facts so, whether it’s talking about redlining or urban renewal projects that have certainly harmed our communities, we have the data to demonstrate that. People can just come with their stories, their lived experience, and if they can, their facts. If they have that, we’ll copy it; we’ll take pictures of it. But also, if you can’t come, we want community members to go to our website, ny.gov/reparations, and they can submit their testimony either by telephone or by email, or they can call and verbally leave their testimony. All of that will form part of the data that we will use to perform this study.”
The CCRR hearings are designed to allow the public a chance to testify, but they also provide education for those attending. At the Bronx hearing that’s coming up, there will be discussions about the Great Migration and the lasting effects of post-Reconstruction harms that residents of the Bronx can still point to. Fordham University Professor of African American Studies Dr. Mark Naison and Lehman College Professor Susan Watson Turner will be in attendance to talk about the once-notorious Bronx slave market and the impact –– in terms of lasting systemic harm –– it still has on the community today.
Those who want to speak at the Bronx hearing are encouraged to sign up in advance. If you are unable to sign up online, you can still come to the meeting and sign up in person. The hearings are designed to keep the public informed about New York state’s reparations for slavery work and allow the voices of community members to be heard.
Following the meeting in the Bronx, the next CCRR public hearing will take place at the Recital Hall in Long Island’s Old Westbury on May 6th.
Those who want to speak at the CCRR public hearing are encouraged to register, but even if not registered the hearing will try to schedule a time for you to talk. You can also leave testimony for the CCRR by phone at 518-473-3997, or you can fill out the contact form or send an email to ReparationsCommission@reparations.ny.gov.