INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
- TRUTH, RECONCILIATION AND REPARATIONS: Seeking a deeper understanding of history and the question of how to approach reparations in Providence and beyond
- POETRY BY LLC MEMBER PAUL WORTMAN: We Are One
- UMASS DARTMOUTH CLAIRE T. CARNEY LIBRARY ASSOCIATES ANNUAL AUTHORS' BRUNCH: Featuring Barbara Delinsky, Jacquelyn Mitchard and Steven Manchester to be held Sunday, October 23 at noon
Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations
by Sheila Brush
How can the City of Providence – and, moreover, the State of Rhode Island and the United States of America – begin to redress the impacts of the four-century history of enslavement, land seizure and race-based discrimination to which African-heritage and indigenous peoples have been subjected in the United States? Since mid-2020, Mayor Jorge Elorza’s administration, working with the African American Ambassadors Group and multiple community organizations and individuals, has undertaken an ambitious initiative to begin to answer that question. The City’s Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations process, launched by a July 15, 2020, Executive Order, has documented little-known historical facts, engaged communities in discussion, and recommended initial steps for the City to take.
Many Lifelong Learning Collaborative members are undertaking their own exploration of this difficult question. Through LLC classes, participation in religious and social justice organizations, and individual study, they are seeking a deeper understanding of history and the very challenging question of how to approach reparations.
To support LLC members who want to learn more and to do more, the LLC’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee is launching a series of webinars based on the City’s Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations work. The first webinar – to be held on Wednesday, October 26, from 4-5 pm – will be a conversation with Raymond Two Hawks Watson. As a member of the African American Ambassador Group, a mayoral appointee to the City’s Municipal Reparations Commission and Founder/CEO of the Providence Cultural Equity Initiative, Mr. Watson has played an integral role in the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations process from the beginning. The DEI Committee encourages members to bring your questions to the webinar and to let your friends and colleagues know about the webinar.
The Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations initiative has produced several important publications, all of which are available online. A Matter of Truth: The Struggle for African Heritage and Indigenous People Equal rights in Providence, Rhode Island (1620-2020), published by the Rhode Island Black Heritage Society and the 1696 Heritage Group, documents the treatment of African-heritage people and indigenous peoples in Providence and Rhode Island across more than four centuries and continuing today. It also illustrates the resiliency of the African American community in the face of enslavement and racial discrimination.
The reconciliation phase of the initiative calls for on-going community education and engagement to ensure that people throughout Providence are aware of the truths on which the initiative is based. The Providence Cultural Equity Initiative and Roger Williams University interviewed community residents and involved student interns to produce Truth-Telling and Reconciliation: Proposing A Framework for the City of Providence, an exciting plan for a multi-media approach to on-going community education and engagement.
The City and the African American Ambassadors Group next tackled the important and difficult question of how the City should approach reparations. In February 2022, Mayor Elorza signed an Executive Order establishing the Providence Municipal Reparations Commission. Six months later, on August 22, the Reparations Commission submitted a comprehensive report recommending an 11-Point Investment Plan to advance reparations. The full report can be accessed online here.
The question of what should constitute reparations is a difficult one. Many people have called for direct payments to the descendants of enslaved and indigenous peoples. The Providence Commission decided to define reparations as “closing the present-day racial wealth and equity gap.” The plan outlines eleven specific steps the City should take to begin to implement reparations.
- Recognition of Harm
- Equity Building for African Heritage and Indigenous Communities
- Creation and Development of African Heritage and Indigenous Media, Technology and Communication Companies
- Creation of African Heritage and Indigenous Development Programs
- Review and Reformation of Laws and Policies that Harm African Heritage and Indigenous People and Communities
- Movement Towards a More Equitable Healthcare System for African Heritage and Indigenous People
- Creation of Neighborhood Incubator(s) Focused on African Heritage and Indigenous Communities
- Accelerate the Evolution of the African American Ambassadors Group (AAAG) into an African Heritage Public Policy Institute Model
- Creation of an “African Heritage and Indigenous Survivors and Descendants of Providence Urban Renewal Displacement” Fund
- Expanded Representation of African Heritage and Indigenous People in Governing
- Expansion of Cultural Engagement and Educational Opportunities for African Heritage and Indigenous Communities
In releasing the report, Providence Reparations Commission Chairperson Rodney Davis said,
“The Municipal Reparations Commission’s report aims to build an understanding of how the City of Providence’s treatment of nonwhite people evolved, which people and institutions benefited, who was left behind, and how these legacies still influence society today. Our recommendations are centered in the objective of moving people, institutions, and businesses in a similar direction towards universal equity. While we recognize that the City alone cannot advance reparations, we hope this report will guide the City in advancing policies and programs to begin repairing harm and that outside institutions will step forward to have maximum impact.”
On August 25, 2022, Mayor Elorza took the first steps in the reparations process by signing an Executive Order that constituted a formal municipal apology for African enslavement, urban renewal policies and practices and acknowledgement of the harms to African Heritage and Indigenous communities caused by racial discrimination. The Mayor also signed a second order that committed the City to continuing support for the African American Ambassadors Group. Finally, he released a plan to allocate $10 million for the COVID-19 Inequities Fund as part of the City’s approved American Rescue Plan Act budget. The plan, entitled “Closing the Racial Wealth and Equity Gap: A Proposed Budget for Municipal Reparations,” provides for investments in a number of categories including homeownership and financial literacy, education and healthcare. The full budget proposal can be found here.
To maintain this momentum, in the months to come interested Providence residents will need to continue to focus attention of the incoming mayor and city council, as well as private businesses and organizations that also have an important role to play, on the reparations recommended by the Commission.
Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations: A Conversation with Raymond Two Hawks Watson, J.D., M.C.P.
Wednesday, October 26, 2022
4-5 PM
Live via Zoom
This event is free and registration is open to all. Please share this invitation with your friends and colleagues.
This is the first in a series of Webinars on Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations that the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee will present over the coming months.
Click to register.
September 26, 2022: Dear Friends -----
As we celebrate the Jewish New Year, I wish you a L'Shanah Tovah.
In the ecumenical spirit that is so desperately needed in these times of religious strife and imposed dogma, I am attaching a poem I wrote, We Are One, that is my credo.
May you bask in the spirit of peace & enlightenment. Paul
We Are One
by Paul Wortman
The compass spins madly
eternally seeking the
one true direction.
Museums overflow
weary with fragments
scattered by legions of men
who hacked their way
through history
claiming to follow
the one true path.
Verily, when we see clearly
that all drink from a spring
of the one pulsing artery,
then shall it be said
We are one.
We carry with us
the ancient banners
of the gods that sheltered us.
From Artemis to Zoroaster
they encompass
the alphabet of soul
that spells
the one true word.
Hallelujah! It is revealed:
We are the Alpha and Omega.
Before the last trumpet of time
will all sin be cast aside
by compassion?
Will all revenge be annulled
by love?
Will all salvation be sealed
by peace?
For surely we will only bathe
in that pure river when
we are One.
From afar dancing
on golden rays
twirls the one blue ball
where we cling to the
one true dream
of all men and gods.
From Thebes to Rome,
from Lhasa to Kyoto,
from Jerusalem to Wittenberg
from Babylon to Mecca,
let the word go forth.
Hear O nations of the world,
We are the Lords your Gods;
We are One.
We gather now
sons and daughters
as the world's
one true congregation
to face the fear
of our differences.
O my brothers and sisters,
when we have banished blame,
conquered craving, and put aside pity,
then will darkness become light
as emptiness becomes non-emptiness
and suffering surrenders to
the noble truth of nirvana's path.
Here, and only here,
annealed in
the scars of our ancestors,
we can live together when
We are truly One.
The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth
CLAIRE T. CARNEY LIBRARY ASSOCIATES
presents the
ANNUAL AUTHORS’ BRUNCH
On Sunday, October 23, 2022 at noon, the Claire T. Carney Library Associates will be presenting its 14th annual authors’ brunch at the Woodland Commons at UMass Dartmouth. Parking is available on campus. The cost of the brunch is $50.
The Library Associates are delighted to feature three outstanding authors, Barbara Delinsky, Jacquelyn Mitchard and Steven Manchester.
Barbara Delinsky is an American novelist whose books focus on family drama, marital issues and women in the workplace. She is the author of over 20 New York Times bestsellers.
Jacquelyn Mitchard is an American journalist and author. Ms. Mitchard is best known for her first novel, The Deep End of the Ocean, which was an Oprah Winfrey book selection.
Steven Manchester is the author of the national bestsellers, Ashes, The Changing Season and Three Shoeboxes. He is the winner of the 2017 Los Angeles Book Festival Award and the 2018 New York Book Festival Award. He teaches workshops on how to get published.
FOR TICKETS, contact Diana Grady at [email protected] or online at https://bit.ly/authorsbrunch22.