Rev. Kevin C. Peterson, the founder of the New Democracy Coalition and the Faneuil Hall Race, delivered remarks at a press conference in Roxbury in Feburary 2024 to announce a proposal on how the City of Boston should implement reparations. (Rev. Kevin C. Peterson)
"We call sincerely and with a heart filled with faith and Christian love for our White churches to join us and not be silent around this issue of racism and slavery and commit to reparations," Rev. Kevin Peterson said.
Peterson is a minister and is trying to rename Faneuil Hall because of its ties to the slave trade in the 18th century.
"We point to them in Christian love to publicly atone for the sins of slavery and we ask them to publicly commit to a process of reparations where they will extend their great wealth — tens of millions of dollars among some of those churches — into the Black community," said Peterson.
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu announced in January that they have established teams that will play a role in their reparations task force. (AP Photo/Mary Schwalm, File)
"That is not enough," Gibbons said. "Somehow we need to move with some urgency toward action and so part of what we’re doing is to prod and encourage white churches to go beyond what they have done thus far."
King’s Chapel senior minister Rev. Joy Fallon said the congregation at the church is establishing a memorial to people who were enslaved while also working to establish a fund to support social justice and reconciliation.
The Globe reported last year that the church paid for research which identified 219 people who were owned by ministers and members of the congregation.
Fallon, as well as representatives from Trinity Church and Old South Church did not immediately respond to inquiries from Fox News Digital about the reparations.
In February, the commission held a news conference, where Peterson demanded full monetary compensation for wages and lost lives through slavery and anti-Black institutional oppression.
During the conference, Peterson reportedly advocated for the $15 billion to come in three distinct types of payments.
SAN FRANCISCO'S PROPOSED REPARATIONS PLAN COULD COST CITY $100 BILLION: REPORT
Embrace Boston released a 146-page report detailing the lasting harms caused by slavery. ((Photo by: Michael Siluk/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images))
One form of payment would be $5 billion of cash payments to Boston’s Black residents, another would be $5 billion to invest in new financial institutions, and the remaining $5 billion would go toward addressing the racial disparities in education and anti-crime measures.
The amount is more than three times the annual budget in Boston, which was set at $4.28 billion for fiscal year 2024.
Before the press conference last month, Peterson released a statement claiming the "debt must be paid in dollars."
On Saturday, Danielle Williams, the director of a social justice group called Prophetic Resistance Boston, reportedly said her great-great-grandmother was taken into slavery in Africa and shipped to North Carolina.
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Williams also spoke about the holy tradition of Jesus washing his disciples’ feet.
"Black people, the descendants of slavery, have been washing the feet of our oppressors for well over 400 years," Williams reportedly said. "Now it’s time for you to wash our feet. The descendants of slavery, we want our reparations. We want it now."
Fox News Digital's Joshua Q. Nelson contributed to this report.
Greg Wehner is a breaking news reporter for Fox News Digital.
Story tips and can be sent to Greg.Wehner@Fox.com and on Twitter @GregWehner.
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