New York, New York - Racial justice advocates have released a new report calling for reparations for Black New Yorkers for the ongoing legacies of enslavement.

"New York’s wealth was built in large part on the labor of enslaved Black people, while they were simultaneously denied access to primary sources of wealth. The result is one of the widest racial wealth gaps in the nation, an outcome shaped by policy, not personal failure," reads a new report released Tuesday by the New York Civil Liberties Union and Legal Defense Fund.

Entitled The Other New York: The Legacy of Slavery and the Case for Reparations Now, the document lays out the harms that have impacted Black New Yorkers, starting with the arrival of the first enslaved Africans in 1626 through the present day.

Though New York outlawed slavery in 1827, the report details how state and local governments continued implementing discriminatory laws, policies, and practices against Black New Yorkers.

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Harms outlined in the report include the systematic destruction of Black neighborhoods, school segregation, environmental racism, over-policing, mass incarceration, and more.

NYCLU and LDF note that the median wealth of Black New Yorkers today is $18,870, as compared to $276,900 for white New Yorkers, adding that the racial wealth gap is greater than that of the US as a whole.

The New York State Community Commission on Reparations Remedies was officially launched in 2024 to document and address these injustices. The body is slated to release its final report and recommendations in 2029.

"The harms of slavery and its lingering impacts shape the opportunities and challenges Black New Yorkers face today. Supporting reparations is about more than compensation; it is about acknowledging harm, restoring dignity, and creating pathways for communities to thrive," the NYCLU and LDF report explains.

"It is time for all New Yorkers to rally behind this initiative, not only to repair the past but to build a stronger, fairer future for everyone. When Black communities thrive, all of New York thrives."