The Other New York: The Legacy of Slavery and the Case for Reparations Now

For centuries, Black New Yorkers were exploited for their labor while being denied access to wealth and opportunity. From slavery through segregation and into the present day, exclusionary systems compounded across generations, producing persistent racial harm and a vast racial wealth gap.

This report lays out a clear and undeniable truth: racial inequality in New York is not accidental. It is the direct outcome of deliberate laws, policies, and government decisions that continue to deny Black New Yorkers access to the foundations of economic security — land, fair access to housing, healthy environments, education, justice under the law, and political power. Reparation is the act of making amends for a wrong or injury. In order to build a thriving economy and a resilient multi-racial democracy, New York must repair past harm and break down barriers to opportunity for Black communities.