Bill Owens: Boston’s Reparations Trailblazer What is Owed?

We look back at the history of efforts in Boston to explore reparations, particularly through the lens of Sen. Bill Owens, the first Black member of the Massachusetts Senate. At the end of the 1980s, Owens, inspired by activism he had seen in Detroit, introduced a bill to pay reparations to Black descendants of enslaved people. That bill is credited as being a model for national legislation introduced by Rep. John Conyers in every session of the U.S. Congress since 1989 to create a national commission on reparations.———Credits:Host, Producer and Writer: Saraya Wintersmith Senior Producer: Jerome Campbell Editor: Paul SingerEditorial Assistant: Mara Mellits Production oversight: Lee Hill Mixing and Sound Design: David Goodman & Gary Mott Theme Song and original music: Malik Williams Artwork: Mamie-Hawa Bawoh & Matt Welch Project Manager: Meiqian He Consulting Producer and Head of GBH Podcasts: Devin Maverick Robins