Black and Indigenous people aren’t the only ones who stand to benefit from Providence’s racial reparations plan.
As proposed by a city panel, the services and programs intended to atone for centuries of racism and race-based discrimination would also be open to residents who live in low-income neighborhoods or make very little money, regardless of their race.
That’s because the $10 million in federal stimulus dollars paying for the sweeping set of recommendations – homeownership programs, workforce training and small-business support – comes with strict guidelines about how the money can be used.
Some who worked on the reparations proposal acknowledge they didn’t initially envision the program being open to white people. But they insist the constraints of the federal funding do not dilute the intent.
“If we are able to achieve the goals of the plan ... we are going to see the African and Indigenous people of this community benefit,” said Rodney Davis, chairman of the Providence Municipal Reparations Commission. “If there is spillover to other communities, that’s fine.”
Raymond Two Hawks Watson, one of the commissioners, is counting on people’s moral compasses. If someone who is not African or Indigenous “lacked the integrity or was malicious enough” to try to get money or services through one of the city reparations programs, he dismisses them as “not a good person.”
Dwayne Keys, another commission member, says he preferred to have a goal for how much of the money was spent on Black or Indigenous people.
Even then, he struggles with deciding who deserved it most. Should there be distinctions between Black people who descended from slaves and those who did not? What about those who were wealthy and didn’t need financial support?
“Where do you draw the line, I just don’t know,” Keys said. “There’s a lot of nuance in race and identity.”
Without a clear answer among the 13-member commission, it is ultimately left up to the City Council and Mayor Jorge O. Elorza to iron out the details. The council is expected to take up the matter this month, with discussion before a vote, according to a spokesperson for Elorza. After that vote, the mayor would have to sign it.
Elorza, who unveiled plans for a reparations program two years ago, isn’t committing to separating specific funds for Black and Indigenous people but notes that most of the residents of eligible neighborhoods are people of color. He also stresses that regardless of who benefits, the important thing is that the recommendations came from the Black and Indigenous community.
City Councilwoman Mary Kay Harris is waiting for the council to discuss the report before drawing conclusions. However, Harris struggles with the same questions Keys raises about how to define race, particularly in the modern age.
“Reparations is no longer about 40 acres and a mule,” Harris said. “We need to think about, what does this look like in a new society?”
Indeed, an interpretation of racial reparations to mean direct cash payments to slaves’ descendants is being recast by cities and states nationwide, some of whom are also considering using federal stimulus funds for their own programs, which would also force them to expand eligibility.
Davis stresses that Providence’s vision is going to cost a lot more than $10 million. He hopes that future, unidentified funding would come with no caveats, letting the city focus solely on its Black and Indigenous residents.
