EVANSTON, Illinois (AP) – With the use of tax money from the sale of recreational marijuana, the Chicago suburb of Evanston has become the first city in the United States to make compensation available to black residents for past and long-term discrimination. consequences of slavery.
The city council voted 8-1 on Monday to grant its $ 10 million pledge over the next ten years, with the distribution of $ 400,000 to black households. Each qualifying household would receive $ 25,000 for home repairs, installments on property and interest or late fines on property in the city.
The move by the Illinois community comes as hundreds of communities and organizations across the country are considering offering compensation. In Evanston, in addition to the revenue from a 3% tax on the sale of recreational marijuana, a small portion of the money – $ 21,340 – comes to the city in private donations.
Qualifying residents must have been a direct descendant of a black person who lived in Evanston between 1919 and 1969, or a direct descendant of the person who was discriminated against as a result of city laws, policies or practices in the housing. Residents who experienced discrimination after 1969 due to the policies or practices of the city may also qualify.
Alderman Robin Rue Simmons, who proposed the program adopted in 2019, said compensation groups offered pro-bono legal aid if the program was challenged in court.
“It is set apart for an injured community that happens to be Black, which was injured by the city of Evanston because of the anti-black housing policy,” Simmons said.
At the same time, Simmons suggested that money is just a beginning to correct the injustices of the past.
“We all know that the road to recovery and justice in the Black community is going to be a generation of work,” Simmons said. “It’s going to be a lot of programs and initiatives and more funding.”
The city council acted after dozens of citizens addressed the body and the plan received some backlash from several.
Alderman Cicely Fleming, the one-time voter against the plan, said she supports support compensation, but what the city council is debating is a housing plan called compensation. She said the people should dictate the terms of their grievances. Fleming described the program as paternalistic, and it assumes that black people cannot manage their own money.
Other communities and organizations considering providing compensation range from the state of California to cities such as Amherst, Massachusetts, Providence, Rhode Island, Asheville, North Carolina, in Iowa City, Iowa; religious denominations such as the Episcopal Church; and prominent colleges such as Georgetown University in Washington.
The efforts, some of which have been going on for years, gained momentum after the death of George Floyd in police custody last May in Minneapolis. President Joe Biden has even voiced support for the establishment of a federal commission to study black compensation, a proposal that has lapsed in Congress for decades.