The Evanston Municipal Reparations Symposium Communique (DOC)

December 9-11, 2021, at a moment of unprecedented national and international racial reckoning, scores of community-based stakeholders, advocates, elected officials and scholars converged on Evanston, IL for a National Symposium on Municipal and Local Reparations. Convened by the National African American Reparations Commission (NAARC) and Hosted by FirstRepair, these leaders journeyed to Evanston because of the conception and adoption of the first city-wide Municipal Reparatory Justice Initiative in this city.  Building on the groundbreaking work of former Fifth Ward Alderman and Circuit Court Judge Lionel Jean-Baptiste, the courageous and visionary Alderman Robin Rue Simmons inspired her colleagues on City Council and the Mayor to adopt a resolution to allocate $10 million over 10 years to establish a Reparatory Justice Initiative. Read more inside.