Illinois city to give monetary reparations to African-Americans for racism

Evanston, a suburb located on the northern shore of Illinois, is on the track to provide the Black residents of the city with monetary compensations in the form of reparations in an attempt to make up for the years of discrimination and racism they have faced in the United States. 

Even though the authorities are taking a small step, the City Council has already vowed to a total of $10 million in compensations over the next ten years. A round of voting is scheduled to begin on Monday, to finalise the $400,000 payments, It is set to provide eligible residents with $25,000 compensation to be used for paying mortgages, down payments and debts, reported Reuters. 

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With the death of George Floyd in 2020, a movement highlight the racial disparities in the US has successfully sparked similar initiatives in many US cities. Evanston is expected to set a benchmark for the cities willing to provide such monetary compensations, with a possibility of it turning into a nationally-adopted model in the US. 

The idea has already picked up pace in the United States Congress as 170 Democratic Representatives have already backed a bill, which aims to establish a body to investigate the issue, in the House of Representatives, reported Reuters. 

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However, the bill is not expected to hold up in the United States Senate as it currently runs at a Republican-Democrat stalemate. Due to the Senate block, supporters of the initiative plan to pursue the White House for taking executive action to remedy the situation. 

The chair of the National African American Commission, Ron Daniels said, “Reparations is the public policy prescription that addresses – and redresses – systemic racism,” while projecting support for the initiative, reported Reuters.