Reparations Activists to Host National Reparations Rally in Washington, D.C. on May 17, 2025 Commemorating the 100th Anniversary of Malcolm X: National Black Cultural Information Trust Joins as Media Partner
Reparations activists will host the National Reparations Rally in Washington, D.C. National Black Cultural Information Trust, Inc. will join as a media and community outreach partner.
Washington, D.C. – The National Black Cultural Information Trust, Inc. will officially join the National Reparations Rally as a media partner. On Saturday, May 17, 2025, the National Reparations Network, in close collaboration with the Reparation Education Project, will host the National Reparations Rally in Lansburgh Park, Washington, DC, from 11 am-5 pm. Reparations activists from across the nation will gather for the National Reparations Rally, advocating for federal and local reparations for Black communities harmed by chattel slavery, Jim Crow, and modern-day systemic racism.
The National Reparations Rally will celebrate key advancements in the movement, including the nationwide growth of state and local reparations task forces and continued advocacy for federal reparations. The National Reparations Network and the rally were endorsed by over 200 organizations, including the National Black Cultural Information Trust, Inc.
The rally will also commemorate the 100th birthday of Malcolm X (El-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz), celebrating his enduring influence on liberation while featuring music, cultural performances, spoken word, and calls to action. May 19, 2025 is the 100th anniversary of Malcolm X’s birth. The rally will also feature an African Marketplace with vendors offering cultural products, gifts, and memorabilia.
Attendees will hear from activists, scholars, and community leaders speaking on the historical context of slavery, the ongoing impact of systemic racism, and the need for reparatory justice through reparations. Current and former leaders from Congress and state legislatures are among the invitees.
Featured speakers include (virtual) Erika Alexander, Actress and Co-founder of Color Farm Media; Dr. Maulana Karenga, Professor and Chair of Africana Studies at California State University-Long Beach; Executive Director of the African American Cultural Center (Us); and Dr. Ben Chavis, president and CEO of the National Newspaper Publishers Association and co-author of the new book The TransAtlantic Slave Trade: Overcoming the 500-Year Legacy.
In-person: Adjoa Aiyetoro, Founding Member & Chief Legal Consultant, N’COBRA & Director of the National Conference of Black Lawyers Reparations Research Project, Robin Rue Simmons, reparations leader and founder of FirstRepair, Omali Yeshitela, Chairman of African People’s Socialist Party, Anthony Browder, Cultural Historian, Director of IKG Cultural Resources, Rev. Mark Thompson, political commentator and host of Make It Plain, Miranda Alexandria Queen AF USA, Co-Chair N’COBRA Chicago Chapter, and Salim Adofo, ANC Commissioner.
Featured musical performances include Ras Kass, Afi Soul, Ayanna Gregory, Free Benjamin, Randi Payton, Laini Mataka, Luci Murphy, the Black Workers Center Chorus, and African dancers and drummers. Zayid Muhammad, founder of the Malcolm X Commemoration Committee, and Ayo Handy-Kendi, founder of the African American Holiday Association, will speak to the importance of the Malcolm X Centennial and the need to acknowledge and celebrate events significant to the Black Experience. Libation will be led by Nana Malaya.
“The National Reparations Rally is a historic testament to how far we’ve come — from seeds sown by pioneers like Queen Mother Moore to today’s surging, unstoppable wave for reparatory justice. As someone who’s been in the trenches for over 50 years, I’m overjoyed to witness the reparations movement rise from the margins to the mainstream. And how fitting that it also honors the centennial of Malcolm X, whose legacy still lights our path to liberation,” said Nkechi Taifa, Executive Director of the Reparation Education Project and National Reparations Rally convener.
“The National Reparations Rally has evolved into more than just a rally, like the Millions For Reparations March 2002 and Million Man March 10th Anniversary 2005. Those national events increased the growth and unity of the Reparations Movement, and this rally is doing the same,” explains Wautella Ibn-Yusuf, Chair of the Reparations Leaders Assembly.
“The demand for reparations is a demand for justice for the descendants of those brutalized during slavery and those upon whom injuries were inflicted due to its continuing legacies. The movement for reparations is more likely to be successful if those in the movement discuss our differences, accept them, and unite around what we can agree upon: the importance of obtaining reparations for the injuries inflicted on our people,” said Adjoa Aiyetoro, Founding Member & Chief Legal Consultant, N’COBRA & Director of the National Conference of Black Lawyers Reparations Research Project.
According to Miranda Alexandria Queen AF USA, Co-Chair of the N’COBRA Chicago Chapter, “The National Reparations Rally represents our unified demand for justice that spans generations. As a Chicago representative, I’m honored and proud to stand with our collective community from around the country as we reclaim what was taken and strive to build a future that is anchored in true justice and acknowledgment of historical harms which continue to persist to this day regardless of the current political climate.”
The National Reparations Rally is free and open to the public on Saturday, May 17, 2025, from 11 am to 5 pm at Lansburgh Park, 1098 Delaware Ave SW, Washington, DC. Additional information is available at https://www.nationalreparationsnetwork.org/.
The rally sponsors include Decolonizing Wealth Project, iF, A Foundation for Radical Possibility, BLIS Collective, Liberation Ventures, National African American Reparations Commission, National Black Cultural Information Trust, Inc., Reparation Education Project, and Reparations Stakeholder Authority of Asheville.
Media sponsors include the National Black Cultural Information Trust, Inc. and WPFW 89.3 FM.
To learn more about the National Reparations Rally or arrange interviews with the organizers, contact the National Black Cultural Information Trust, Inc., at info@nbcit.org.
The National Black Cultural Information Trust, Inc. is a nonprofit organization that provides cultural news, information and resources for the collective freedom of Black communities.
