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<\/p>\n\t\t\t\tNew York State Community Commission on Reparations Remedies Seeks Input \u00a0<\/p>\n
7.30.2026<\/p>\n
By Jennifer Andrus <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The New York State Community Commission on Reparations and Remedies<\/a> is seeking input on the impact that slavery and discrimination has had on New York, Timothy Hogues, a member of the commission, said at a recent discussion hosted by the New York State Bar Association.<\/p>\n Many New Yorkers were never taught the benefits that communities and economies in the northern states realized because of slavery, Hogues said. Corporations, banks and residents of New York all profited from the enslavement of Africans.<\/p>\n \u201cReparations and repair is so much more than just the dollars,\u201d Hogues said. \u201cA people have been targeted, discriminated against, intentionally held back, intentionally killed. [Slavery] erased bloodlines, families and entire business districts. We understand why this conversation is important. We understand that this conversation creates uneasiness and harm but it is a necessary conversation.\u201d<\/p>\n In the three years since the commission was created, it has held 30 public meetings and collected over 200 hours of live testimony. Members of the public can email<\/a>\u00a0or call the commission at 518-473-3997 with their stories.<\/p>\n In addition to chronicling the impact of slavery on New York, the commission is researching the treatment of slaves, the destruction of culture, and the legacy of slavery.<\/p>\n How Attorneys Can Help<\/p>\n Hogues encouraged those attending to:<\/p>\n Share legal, historical or professional perspectives during commission public hearings. New York State History Uncovered <\/p>\n Deputy Chief Administrative Judge for Justice Initiatives Edwina Richardson<\/a> spoke at the event to offer perspective on how her office and the courts engage in the work of reparation and repair. Her office<\/a> touches many groups including child welfare in tribal nations, problem solving courts, and gender equality in the courts to name a few.\u00a0 Judge Richardson told the crowd how a recent program connected employers with formerly incarcerated people looking for work.<\/p>\n \u201cWe had 900 individuals at the Bronx criminal courthouse for a positive thing having nothing to do with crime,\u201d she said. \u201cIt was a beautiful moment, and our justice coordinators thought it through and supported the judges who led that endeavor.\u201d<\/p>\n Judge Richardson went on to detail a little known story of the lynching of a black man in the Adirondacks near Newcomb in 1932 and her office\u2019s efforts to have the story recognized. The unidentified man was building a homestead in the woods when he was spotted by local white men. A posse was formed, which chased the man and shot him dead. The story made national news with sensationalized media reports of the takedown of a \u201cdangerous lunatic\u201d in the woods, comparing the man to Big Foot.<\/p>\n \u201cHis personhood was denied to him in those final terror-filled days. Like countless other victims that we have heard of, of racial terror throughout our ugly parts of our American history. He was lost through history, only known through scattered records and fragments,\u201d Judge Richardson said.<\/p>\n Recently, the Office of Justice Initiatives, in partnership with the Adirondack Experience Museum, collected news accounts and other documents about the crime. A group hiked the one mile into the woods to the former campsite and held a memorial for the still-unidentified man. Judge Richardson is now working to install a permanent historic marker on the site that will share the man\u2019s story.<\/p>\n \u201cThinking about the past, examining it, sometimes with a brutal eye \u2013 a clear eye in order to make sure we have a future that our children and their children deserve,\u201d she said. \u201cThe experience was heavy, it was humbling, it was transcendent. And to me, it was repair. We will learn from our past, so the tragedies that we acknowledge fully will never be repeated.\u201d<\/p>\n How To Contact the Commission: <\/p>\n Phone: 518-473-3997<\/p>\n Email: ReparationsCommission@reparations.ny.gov<\/a>.<\/p>\n
\nSubmit written comments including research and legal analysis to the commission.
\nSupport historical research.
\nPromote public understanding of the commission\u2019s work to clients, students and colleagues.
\nEngage in professional dialogue on the issue through programs, CLEs or scholarly events.
\nFollow the commission\u2019s progress.<\/p>\n