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IBW21

IBW21 (The Institute of the Black World 21st Century) is committed to enhancing the capacity of Black communities in the U.S. and globally to achieve cultural, social, economic and political equality and an enhanced quality of life for all marginalized people.

Chi Oriji leads a group in dance during the Juneteenth MusicFest and Parade, recognizing the end of slavery in America in Philadelphia on June 23, 2018.

Activists Are Pushing to Make Juneteenth a National Holiday

By News & Current Affairs

Here’s the History Behind Their Fight. By Olivia B. Waxman, Times — When President Donald Trump announced last week that he would hold a campaign rally in Tulsa on June 19, the backlash was swift. The speech was to take place near the site of a 1921 race massacre, and June 19 is celebrated each year as Juneteenth, in honor of the day in 1865 when enslaved men and women in…

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Former slaves harvesting for their own profit.

Land loss has plagued black America since emancipation – is it time to look again at ‘black commons’ and collective ownership?

By Reparations

Black farmers own far less land than they did in 1910 and the racial gap in homeownership is at the highest level for 50 years. By Julian Agyeman and Kofi Boone — Underlying the recent unrest sweeping U.S. cities over police brutality is a fundamental inequity in wealth, land and power that has circumscribed black lives since the end of slavery in the U.S. The “40 acres and a mule” promised to…

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The Chicago City Council on Wednesday passed a resolution creating a council subcommittee to deal with the issue of reparations.

City Council approves reparations resolution

By Reparations

Two white aldermen — Nick Sposato and Anthony Napolitano — voted “no,” ignoring an appeal from Ald. Jason Ervin, chairman of the council’s Black Caucus. Napolitano called slavery “the worst thing ever,” but said it “was done in the past. We can’t rewrite it.” By Fran Spielman, Chicago Sun Times — The long and winding road for Chicago to find a way to make amends for the impact of slavery…

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Assemblywoman Shirley Weber, D-San Diego, wears a face mask as she calls on lawmakers to create a task force to study and develop reparation proposals for African Americans, during the Assembly session in Sacramento, Calif., Thursday, June 11, 2020. The Assembly approved the bill that now goes to the Senate.

African American reparation bill passes California Assembly

By News & Current Affairs, Reparations

By Cuneyt Dil, Associated Press — A proposal to establish a task force to study and prepare recommendations for how to give reparations to African Americans passed the California Assembly on Thursday. The bill advanced with a 56-5 vote as protests nationwide over police brutality re-energized the movement for racial justice and activists pressed for sweeping reforms. It is a top priority for California’s Legislative Black Caucus. If the bill…

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