Past Resolutions.

In 2021, the Diocese of Virginia established a Reparations Task Force and a $10 million reparations fund through Resolutions 4a and 10a, adopted at its diocesan convention. Read the full text of the resolutions here.

In 2020, the Convention of the Episcopal Diocese of MA passed the resolution “A Call for Repentance and Reparations” nearly unanimously, stating:

Resolved, that the 235th Convention of the Diocese of Massachusetts directs Diocesan Council and invites the congregations and institutions of the Diocese of Massachusetts including the Trustees of Donations, Episcopal City Mission, the Boston Episcopal Charitable Society, and others -- in the name of repentance, reconciliation, and accountability to our siblings of color in our diocese -- prayerfully and purposefully to explore their historic involvement in and present wealth derived from the forced labor of enslaved people; […] and be it further

Resolved, that the Reparations Committee of the Racial Justice Commission is asked to explore models and best practices for the creation of a Reparations Fund, and to report to the next Diocesan Convention on their recommendations for remedies including the distribution of funds from our unrestricted endowments and from our restricted endowments as may be permissible in fiscal year 2022 and beyond in acknowledgment of and repentance for the sin and legacy of slavery; and be it further

Resolved, that the Bishop of the Diocese and the Chairs of the Racial Justice Commission are asked to report to Diocesan Convention next year and in every subsequent year to provide an update on how the diocese is progressing towards full disclosure of our history and actions as the process of reparations continues.

Also in 2020, the Diocese of Maryland passed a resolution committing $1,000,000 to the work of reparations and the Diocese of Connecticut passed Resolution 7, “Acknowledging & Confronting Systemic Racism, White Supremacy, & Anti-Black Bias.” Find the Diocese of Connecticut’s 2021 report on the reparations task force here.

At its annual convention in 2019, the Episcopal Diocese of New York established a task force on reparations and committed $1.1 million to a reparations fund. The Diocese also passed four resolutions, including:

Resolved: that the congregations of the Episcopal Diocese of New York commit to the exploration and creation of a permanent acknowledgment of their involvement in slavery; and further

Resolved: that in order to implement the above resolution, the Reparations Committee will prepare a toolbox that can be used by congregations of the Episcopal Diocese of New York to assist them in this effort

General Convention in 2006 passed Resolution 2006-CO11.  This resolution stated: 

Resolved, That the 75th General Convention, affirming our commitments to become a transformed, anti-racist church and to work toward healing, reconciliation, and a restoration of wholeness to the family of God, urge the Church at every level to call upon Congress and the American people to support legislation initiating study of and dialogue about the history and legacy of slavery in the United States and of proposals for monetary and non-monetary reparations to the descendants of the victims of slavery.

Concurrently, General Convention passed Resolution 2006-A123, which stated in part:

Resolved, That the 75th General Convention of The Episcopal Church through the Executive Council urgently initiate a comprehensive program and urge every Diocese to collect and document during the next triennium detailed information in its community on (a) the complicity of The Episcopal Church in the institution of slavery and in the subsequent history of segregation and discrimination and (b) the economic benefits The Episcopal Church derived from the institution of slavery; and direct the Committee on Anti-Racism to monitor this program and report to Executive Council each year by March 31 on the progress in each Diocese.

In 2007, then Bishop of the Diocese of Massachusetts M. Thomas Shaw, SSJE, representing then Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, testified in Congress on behalf of H.R. 40, calling for the establishment of a federal Commission to Study Reparations Proposals for African-Americans.  In his testimony, Bishop Shaw said: “The history that we are researching is essential to understanding our Church's role in the institution of slavery and its perpetuation.  With fuller knowledge will come true repentance that will then open us to reconciliation and remedies that we believe are yet to be revealed.” (1)

In 2008, a resolution was put before Diocesan Convention calling on the Diocese to implement the General Convention resolution A123, specifically to implement “a process for collecting and documenting detailed information on (a) the complicity of The Episcopal Church in Massachusetts in the institution of slavery and in the subsequent history of segregation and discrimination, and (b) the economic benefits The Episcopal Church and its parishes in Massachusetts derived from the institution of slavery, and we call on the Bishops to report the results of this inquiry, as requested, to the Executive Council of The Episcopal Church.”  A similar resolution came before Convention in 2009.  While important work was begun as a result, no significant study of the history was done, and what was done was not disseminated nor were any actions taken as a result of what was revealed. It speaks to the power of systemic racism that no material change resulted, and no funds were allocated for reparations or other remedies.  

We believe this critical and necessary work is long overdue, and must begin immediately.  The urgency of this moment and the continued evidence of white supremacy culture; the unreckoned-with legacy of slavery, genocide, and Jim Crow codes; the current anti-immigrant movements; ongoing red-lining and restrictive housing covenants; present voter suppression and regressive tax policies; increasing police brutality and mass incarceration all demand a response from our church.  We believe we cannot with integrity stand in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement and those who are calling for justice if we have not examined our past and held ourselves accountable for the history on which our church and its resources are built.