Photo: Kendall Buhl
BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — Boston’s white clergy came together at the Arlington Street Church Friday to atone for their churches’ connections to slavery.
“White churches in Boston were founded really, in the colonial era, on the proceeds of the slave trade,” said Rev. John Gibbons.
The atonement statement was created to formally acknowledge and apologize for the churches’ complicity in slavery. Black faith leaders were there to sign the atonement statement as witnesses.
Rev. John Gibbons speaks at the event. Photo: Kendall Buhl
Rev. Kevin Peterson said this event is the first of its kind.
“This has never happened in this country where a number of white faith leaders, whose congregations were connected to slavery, are coming to the fore to say they’re sorry,” Peterson said.
While the atonement document is a step in the right direction, Peterson said there’s a lot more to be done.
“The second part is reparations, restoring what is owed to those who were harmed. And then the third part of this process is reconciliation of whites and Blacks,” Peterson said.
Gibbons agreed that reparations are necessary, even though it’s a long journey ahead.
“It is a long and complicated issue, there are examples throughout the country — movements towards reparations — that have been practical, and we think it’s time for Boston to move forward as well,” Gibbons said.
WBZ's Kendall Buhl (@WBZKendall) reports.
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