In an unprecedented move, Evanston, Illinois will be the first city to approve a $10 million package that will pay each Black resident $25,000 in reparations.
Yet, some don’t think it’s enough.
Rev. Michael Nabors, the president of Evanston NAACP, called the $25K payout a “drop in the bucket.”
“When it’s all said and done, however much money is raised for reparations… will only be a drop in the bucket for the suffering and the oppression that Black people experienced in this nation,” he told Newsweek on Friday.
“When we talk about that being a drop in the bucket, that’s what we’re talking about.
“There is no amount of money in the world that can take the place of the pain and the suffering that was caused emotionally, that was caused psychologically.
“The only thing that we can do to try to make up for that is by building a beloved community in Evanston, and I think that reparations is a part of that effort.”
According to The Sun, the $10 million fund was raised from a 3 percent tax on the sale of recreational marijuana as it tries to address inequity in housing.
"The first phase gives $400,000 towards $25,000 grants to eligible recipients, which is supposed to help them out with ownership, mortgage assistance and making improvements to their homes."
Evanston residents who lived in the city between 1919 and 1969, and can prove they were discriminated against, will qualify for the amount.
Other residents who are direct descendants of those who faced discrimination will also be eligible.
President Biden has shown his support for the creation of a special federal commission to “study Black reparations.”
The official name of the legislation is ‘Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African-Americans Act’ and is described as follows:
"This bill establishes the Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African-Americans. The commission shall examine slavery and discrimination in the colonies and the United States from 1619 to the present and recommend appropriate remedies. Among other requirements, the commission shall identify (1) the role of the federal and state governments in supporting the institution of slavery, (2) forms of discrimination in the public and private sectors against freed slaves and their descendants, and (3) lingering negative effects of slavery on living African-Americans and society."
Although this exact bill has been passed around for decades without any progress, it is looking more and more like a reality during the Biden administration.
In a Facebook post, account ‘Evanston Rejects Racist Reparations’ expressed its reasoning for opposing the proposal:
“The current bill proposed by the city of Evanston never went through a racial equality, anti-capitalist process. As a result, historically racist financial institutions like banks, corporations and various individuals, will profit from the this proposal. Reparations should not be monetized.
“We are demanding a name change to the current proposal. The current proposal is inherently anti-Black, and we reject this bill as any form or reparations.”
From The Sun:
"The group noted that 'racial harm deserving of repair did not begin or end in those windows of time' when it came to the eligibility requirements."