New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has expressed his openness to the idea of paying reparations to Black residents, citing the city's historical complicity in the slave trade. Mamdani, who pledged during his campaign to support descendants of slavery by rectifying historical discrimination and repairing ongoing inequalities, stated that he would support cash reparations if the city's Commission on Racial Equity (CORE) recommends them.
"We often think about slavery and the complicity in slavery as being exclusively to certain geographic areas of the country. Here in New York City, we were very complicit," Mamdani said in a recent interview. He added that an honest assessment of New York City's role in slavery would show that its complicity is undeniable.
Slaves were first brought to New York in 1626. By the mid-18th century, approximately one in five people in New York City was enslaved, and nearly half of Manhattan households included at least one enslaved person, according to the New York City Parks Department. A slave auction market operated on Wall Street between 1711 and 1762. New York State abolished slavery in 1827, with complete abolition following in 1841.
The New York City Commission on Racial Equity was established in 2024 to create a public process for truth, healing, and reconciliation. The commission is tasked with submitting a report on reparations by January 1, 2027.
Earlier in July, civil rights groups including the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) and the Legal Defense Fund (LDF) released a report demanding reparations for Black New Yorkers. The report, titled "The Other New York: The Legacy of Slavery and the Case for Reparations Now," argues that decades of deliberate racial inequality require amends. It examines the legacy of slavery in the state, historical housing policies, zoning ordinances, criminal justice disparities, segregated schools, voting discrimination, and wealth discrepancies that have negatively impacted Black New Yorkers.
The organizations highlighted that even after slavery was outlawed, discriminatory housing policies intentionally confined Black New Yorkers to segregated and impoverished neighborhoods. The report cited Seneca Village, a Black community that was destroyed for the construction of Central Park, as an example of this historical injustice.
"Reparation is the act of making amends for a wrong or injury," the report stated. "In order to build a thriving economy and a resilient multi-racial democracy, New York must repair past harm and break down barriers to opportunity for Black communities."