Mayor Brandon Johnson launches Repair Chicago reparations initiative
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CHICAGO — Some Black Chicagoans say they’re ready for reparations and are calling for local and federal government to take action to right slavery and other historical wrongs in one of the hottest topics of debate in modern America.
“It should be like an incentive. Everybody sign up and everybody get a deposit,” William, who lives in Chicago, told Fox News Digital.
Fox News Digital took to the streets of Chicago last week to talk to advocates and residents as the city and state try to implement some form of potential reparations.
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Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson launched a community engagement effort called “Fix Chicago” to collect Black Chicagoans’ experiences of harm as part of an effort to implement reparations. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
“I think the federal government should do this. Because as a government, with slavery and other things, this is not just a city issue, it’s a whole government issue,” William added.
Leonte Fraley, a native of Chicago’s Englewood neighborhood and a graduate of Kennedy King College, said the money could help Black people who have been left behind financially by past government policies.
“I can go and take this money and buy this house that I can’t afford. I don’t have to live in a certain community just because I’m not financially able to afford it,” Fraley said.
“This is the change for us,” he said.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson launched a community engagement effort called “Fix Chicago” to collect Black Chicagoans’ experiences of harm as part of an effort to implement reparations.
Evanston, Illinois, not far from Chicago, paid $25,000 in compensation to some Black residents who are descendants of those affected by housing discrimination in the past. The best case for reparations is to target housing discrimination, the city said.
Donna Walker, an Evanston native and business owner of Cutting Edge Hair Gallery, told Fox News Digital that the Black residents who received the money deserved it.
“So the people who got it deserved it. I mean, our ancestors and our ancestors definitely went through this. So I think they deserve it,” Walker said.
Evanston resident and business owner of Cutting Edge hair salon Donna Walker told Fox News Digital that black residents of Evanston who received compensation money deserved it.
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Ivan, a physical education teacher in Chicago Public Schools, believes giving cash is not a good idea.
“I really believe that reparations should only come in the form of opportunity. Giving people money has never been proven to be good for the cause, you know, but you give opportunity,” said Ivan, a resident who just moved to the Windy City two years ago.
On Tuesday, chair of the social sciences department at Kennedy King College in Chicago, Dr. Ted Williams III led a panel that addressed questions about reparations.
Kennedy King College student Grace told Fox News Digital that her professor, Dr. He said he would like to see Daniel Davis speak about reparations at an event at the school on Tuesday. (Fox News Digital)
Williams, a illinois The African Descent Compensation Commissioner (ADCRC) told Fox News Digital that the United States has the capacity to provide compensation because the country has money for war, referring to the country’s conflict with Iran.
“I think part of my job, not just as an educator but as a commissioner, is to really go around the state and the country and help people understand the urgent need, the dire urgency of this problem right now,” Williams said.
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Evanston, Illinois, not far from Chicago, paid $25,000 in compensation to some Black residents who are descendants of those affected by housing discrimination in the past. (Getty Images)
At the event where Kennedy King College discussed reparations, ADCRC President Marvin Slaughter Jr. said that slave labor contributed “seven quadrillion dollars” to the United States.
Slaughter told Fox News Digital that the “seven quadrillion” figure was due to enslaved people being underpaid 24 hours a day because “they had no time freedom.” His research in 2022.
The ADCRC released a report in March laying out the state’s history of harm against Black Illinoisans; This report is described as the “first comprehensive, evidence-based” report examining “how slavery and its remnants have caused historical harms and continue to create inequities for Black Illinoisans.”
Dr. D., who teaches African-American studies in the social sciences department at Kennedy King College. Daniel Davis said the cash was necessary, but the compensation was bigger than that.
“Some people think we just want a big check. No, the cash component is required as part of the package, part of the compensation, as well as mortgage assistance, home down payments, tax deductions, training breaks for financing,” Davis told Fox News Digital.
Dr., a faculty member in the social sciences department at Kennedy King College. Daniel Davis teaches African American studies.
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Davis was one of four speakers on a panel held to provide information about reparations to the crowd of students in attendance.
“But the cash part – liquidity is required,” he said.
“Cash is king, right?” he continued. “So while we can develop institutions and other things in terms of reparations, we have the money to take action and help offset some of those harms and some of the inequities in those gaps.”
