Massachusetts to create advisory council focused on Black empowerment

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February 24, 2023

By Emma Sánchez, NBC News

The president of the NAACP Boston chapter Tanisha Sullivan will co-chair the The Advisory Council on Black Empowerment. (Pat Greenhouse / Boston Globe via Getty Images)

Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey announced Friday an upcoming executive order to create a council to advise her office on a range of issues related to improving Black life in the state, including workforce development and education.

“Massachusetts’ Black residents make tremendous contributions to our state, but far too often they face systemic barriers that hold them back from opportunity,” Healey said in a statement Friday. “Our administration is committed to bringing people together and centering equity in all that we do, and that requires ensuring that those who are most impacted by our policy have a seat at the decision-making table.”

The Advisory Council on Black Empowerment will be composed of more than 30 Black leaders from across the state in fields such as state government and advocacy organizations. Members of the council will include president of the NAACP Boston chapter, Tanisha Sullivan, and Rep. Bud Williams.

The announcement comes just weeks after the city of Boston established a Reparations Task Force to study the effects of slavery and generations of discrimination against the city’s Black residents.

Discover the changes spearheaded by the state’s governor.

Reparations are designed to help combat generations of inequality stemming from slavery.

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