The city of Boston has been working on a reparations plan since early 2022, and two years later, Mayor Michelle Wu named two research teams to study the city’s history from 1620 to the present.

The groups include professors, historians, and community leaders who are reviewing old records and city policies.

Their work will be used by a Reparations Task Force that the city created to draft recommendations on how to compensate black residents for harm linked to slavery. The city set aside $500,000 for the project and expects a final report after the research is complete.

Supporters say this is an important step for justice. Others question the purpose, the cost, and whether the city should focus on problems facing residents today.

Here are five reasons why the city should disband its reparations task force:

1. The Beneficiaries Were Never Slaves

Massachusetts outlawed slavery in 1783, through court cases based on the state constitution. And the country outlawed slavery in 1865. That means slavery has been illegal here for more than two centuries. The people walking around Boston today were never slaves. Their parents and grandparents were never slaves. Trying to make them part of a problem that ended 160 years ago is dishonest and only harms race relations by pitting groups against each other.

2. The Payors Never Owned Slaves

No one alive today has ever legally owned slaves. No one in Boston is living off the profits of slavery. The idea that the city owes money for something that ended 160 years ago does not line up with reality.

The vast majority of people living in the United States now aren't even descendants of slaveowners.

One example: My grandparents came to the United States from Ireland in the 1940s — long after slavery ended.

But even those living today who are descended from slaveowners had nothing to do with slavery. Neither did their parents.

Current residents of the United States are responsible for how they treat people now, not for what people did in the 1800s. Boston has plenty of problems that need attention. This is not one of them.

3. Paid In Bloodshed

Hundreds of thousands of Americans died to end slavery. Most estimates say around 360,000 Union soldiers died in the Civil War. That included soldiers from Massachusetts. The country already paid the highest price possible to end that evil system. The Civil War was the reckoning. No commission can change that fact. The idea that today’s taxpayers should pay again ignores the sacrifice that already happened.

4. Modern Slavery

Yes, the United States outlawed chattel slavery, but that doesn't mean slavery ended.

Globally, there are still nearly 50 million slaves, according to the International Labour Organization.

And yes, that includes people in Massachusetts.

Whether it's human trafficking victims working in restaurants, massage parlors, or even nail salons, there are victims of slavery in our communities. Call me crazy, but I think that's where a city like Boston should focus its efforts.

5. Boston's Other Problems

Boston is dealing with a myriad of problems. Families are being priced out of their neighborhoods. Kids in the city cannot read at grade level. People are overdosing in the streets. These are the problems that deserve time and money. A reparations commission will not fix any of them. The city should focus on helping the people who live here now.