First 16 black Evanston residents chosen for housing reparations
Illinois is first to offer reparations to African-American families
Evanston’s Reparations Committee kept its word on continuing to review 122 applicants who qualified as “ancestors” for the Illinois town’s Local Reparations Restorative Housing Program. This month, WTTW reports that Evanston, Illinois has finally chosen its first group of 16 Black residents to receive reparations.
The program is reportedly set to distribute $10 million over 10 years using tax revenue from recreational marijuana sales. The $25K housing benefits can be used for several housing options — a down payment on a home, home repairs, or to cover interest and late penalties.
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In March 2021, the City of Evanston focused on discriminatory practices from 1900 to 1960 that affected African Americans’ housing options, employment, education and policing. As the first of its kind and established in 2019, only one out of eight City Council members voted against the housing funds.
This move is a particularly popular opinion among African-American citizens. In an NPR poll, 80% of African-Americans believe the federal government should compensate the descendants of enslaved people. Only 21% of white Americans did. However, 47% of white people said they support Black Lives Matter while 73% of black people do. To no one’s surprise, once money gets involved, those who claim to believe in equality may backtrack. Good to know Evanston did not.
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