Black churches in Boston are ramping up pressure on white Christians, demanding reparations for the historical injustices of slavery.

Rev. Kevin Peterson, spearheading the initiative through the Boston People’s Reparations Commission, highlighted the deep-seated ties between prominent white churches in downtown Boston and the brutal legacy of the slave trade. In a bold move, sixteen religious leaders joined forces, urging churches in the area to cough up financial compensation for the enduring impacts of slavery.

“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,” Peterson declared.

Peterson, a minister dedicated to social justice, is also pushing for the renaming of Faneuil Hall due to its historical association with the slave trade. Emphasizing a message of Christian love, he implored white churches to publicly acknowledge their complicity in the sins of slavery and to allocate a portion of their vast wealth — amounting to tens of millions of dollars in some cases — to uplift the Black community.

This call for reparations echoes similar demands made in other parts of the country, such as Minnesota, where several churches have already made substantial payments to black and indigenous communities as restitution for past wrongs.

However, critics argue that this approach contradicts a fundamental tenet of Christianity, which emphasizes individual responsibility for one’s own actions rather than collective guilt for the sins of previous generations.

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