A Chicago suburb has officially been recognized as the first reparations program in the country funded by the government. The program has made payments of reparations to over 193 black residents.
The Chicago suburb of Evanston has been running its program for over two years since 2022 paying out over $5 million. The lawsuit was filed by a conservative advocacy group claiming that the program was favoring only the suburb’s black residents. The lawsuit is one of the subsequent cases that came shortly after the Supreme Court ended college’s affirmative action in 2023.
Consequently, conservative groups are now attempting to make the federal Minority Business Development Agency available to White business owners. According to Tom Fitton, the said program reshares tax money by race. Sutton is the president of Judicial Watch. They were the group that filed the case against Evanston, calling it a law violation.
The manager of Evanston’s communications and engagement Cynthia Vargas committed to the lawsuit. Vargas assured that the city will strongly defend its reparations program although she refused to comment on the specifics.
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The program’s supporters are concerned that the lawsuit may affect the program’s ability to serve its purpose. On Monday, June 3, 2024, a U.S. Court of Appeals ruled that the Fearless Fund should momentarily stop paying out grants to Black businesswomen. They said that if the grant continues it would discriminate against non-black business women.
According to reports, over 12 states, including Boston and New York, are researching the idea of paying reparations to its black citizens. In California, state legislators are considering passing are bill for the same purpose. According to Judicial Watch’s lawsuit, Six non-Black citizens claim that the program’s racial criterion violates their 14th Amendment rights.
The argument gained momentum when the conservative majority of the Supreme Court invalidated affirmative action in college admissions in June 2023.
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According to Horace Cooper, the verdict ended the possibility for other race-based programs. Cooper is a former constitutional law professor and the chairman of Project 21. Project 21 is a group known for its conservative approaches to the problems facing Black Americans.
Black persons who either resided in the city or whose immediate ancestors did between 1919 and 1969 are eligible to apply for Evanston’s $20 million initiative. Officials from Evanston have admitted that at that time, the city implemented housing laws that discriminated against Black citizens and prevented them from achieving financial success.
The reparations program initially awarded a $25,000 payment to persons who met eligibility requirements to purchase or renovate a property. However, local authorities added a $25,000 cash reward option to the scheme last year. There are still hundreds of individuals on the waiting list.
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Robin Rue Simmons, a former city councilman who supported reparations, has been promoting Evanston’s program since its inception and collaborating with local activists in over twenty communities to duplicate it throughout the nation. The Big Payback, a documentary that debuted at the Tribeca Film Festival, likewise focuses on the endeavor.
According to the complaint, Evanston’s program should only be open to those who can demonstrate that they were the victims of discrimination in the city since it is discriminatory against non-Black inhabitants of the community. White people make up around 60% of Evanston’s population, while Black people make up 17%. Together, Asian and Hispanic citizens make up little less than 10% of the total population.
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