Northampton council sets structure for new reparations commission

NORTHAMPTON — The City Council revealed on Thursday some details on how the city’s joint commission to investigate racial harms against Black residents and workers will be structured.

The City Council unanimously passed a resolution in February to create the commission, and calls on the city to acknowledge and apologize for past actions and legislation that entrenched systems of racial discrimination and segregation in the city. Other communities, including Amherst, have created their own reparations initiatives in recent years.

The commission will consist of between nine to 11 members, at least 50% of whom will be Black. Members will be appointed by a review process from both the mayor and the council, the elements of which have yet to be announced.

“The first thing is we wanted to balance this idea of a manageable group size, that would be able to maintain a quorum and maintain its composition throughout the whole process,” said councilor Marissa Elkins, one of the resolution’s co-sponsors. “For that reason, we wanted a bit smaller number than some of the other [commission] bodies.”

In addition, two members of the commission will be appointed from the Northampton Human Rights Commission and the Northampton Youth Commission. One member will be appointed among the community organizations that advocated for its creation, and another will be from a Northampton historical organization. The city can also appoint up to two council members to serve on the commission.

The council currently has two Black members, Garrick Perry and Jamila Gore. The Northampton Reparations Committee, a seven-member group that pushed for the resolution, has one Black member, Sarah Patterson.

Patterson, along with the other members of the committee, were present in person for Thursday’s council meeting. Patterson spoke during public comment, praising some of the requirements for the makeup of the commission.

“I am very happy to see an interest in appointing people from community organizations, particularly the Northampton Reparations Committee, as well as organizations that specialize in historical research,” she said. “I am appreciative of a commission that has a charge of being at least 50% black. I think that’s powerful and needed.”

Northampton residents interested in applying for the commission must send a letter of interest to the mayor or council by mail or email by April 21. The appointment process is expected to be completed by May 5, with the commission’s first meeting to be held by May 31.

Once formed, the commission must issue a preliminary report detailing what initiatives to ameliorate past racial harms should be funded by May 24, 2024 with a final report to be submitted by Oct. 5 of the same year.

Alexander MacDougall can be reached at amacdougall@gazettenet.com.