CHICAGO (WLS) — The Chicago Urban League released a new report Tuesday on community reparations for descendants of slaves on Chicago’s South Side.
Hundreds of interviews with Chicago residents and hundreds of years of American history have brought the city to this point.
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The Southside Community Reparations Coalition’s report is titled “Reparations are for individuals.”
“People know what they need in their communities and they know the steps they need to take, but what they need is a final push from government officials and those who have the money to actually put money into their communities. “It seems like it’s just that,” said researcher Chiara Hardin. Posted by.
The coalition has made clear that residents want reparations for individuals who are descendants of slaves, as well as changes to the system to improve the quality of life for descendants. They also ultimately want to improve Chicago’s communities.
The city of Evanston, north of Chicago, has distributed more than $5 million in compensation to descendants of residents who were victims of housing discrimination.
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Caitlin Johnson was among 200 people interviewed during the three-year study.
She can trace her ancestry back to slavery.
“Money in itself is not the solution. It has to be a menu of choices, even a buffet, where people can get what they need based on their family’s experience,” Johnson said.
Karen Freeman Wilson, president and CEO of the Chicago Urban League, said, “White families had homes, but black families didn’t have homes. “There is no wealth to leave behind for future generations.”
The city and state are considering possible compensation.
The report does not discuss how economic reparations will be financed.
But parts of the report recommend finding resources to take action to right historical wrongs.
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