Chicago Mayor Launches Black Reparations Task Force

Black of Chicago, residents could see reparations in the near future after the city’s mayor signed a executive order Monday aimed to create a task force that will analyze the massive undertaking.

The Black Reparations Co-Governance Task Force “will conduct a comprehensive study and examination of all policies that have harmed Black Chicagoans from the era of slavery to the present day” and then write recommendations for reparations, the office said from Mayor Brandon Johnson in a statement. Press release. Johnson signed the order after $500,000 from the city’s 2024 budget was set aside to study reparations.

The mayor highlighted the task force during a festive Juneteenth flag-raising ceremony on Monday.

“Like many cities in this country, Chicago still bears the scars of systemic racism and injustices that have been inflicted on our communities,” Johnson said during the ceremony. “The disinvestment in our communities was intentional. And, of course, that’s why it’s imperative that now is the time to deliver good reparations to the people of Chicago, especially Black people.”

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Johnson said highways that cut through predominantly black neighborhoods, gun violence, health disparities and lack of job opportunities were just a few examples of the lasting impact racist policies have had on the black community in Chicago. The mayor apologized on behalf of the city for the “historic wrongs committed against black people in Chicago.”

Chicago joins several U.S. cities that have explored a reparations program to address the impact of slavery and segregation. In 2019, Evanston became the first city in the country to enact a government-funded reparations program.

Nearly 30% of Chicago residents are black, according to the US Census Bureau. During the Great Migration— which is considered one of the largest movements of people in US history — around six million black people moved from the South to cities in the North, Midwest and West, including Chicago.

Johnson said moving forward with reparations will allow Chicagoans to “begin moving toward complete liberation.” He added that reparations will benefit “the entire neighborhood where black people live,” creating inclusive opportunities for the community.

Over the next three months, Johnson will work with the Chicago Aldermanic Black Caucus– which is made up of councilors who represent predominantly black communities – to define how the members of the task force will be chosen, according to the executive order. After its first meeting, the working group will have one year to write a report that will include “a series of recommendations that will serve as appropriate solutions and restitution for past injustices and present harms,” as well as identify issues that may need “reparations.” . action,” such as housing and mass incarceration.

“Reparations will be an investment in our neighborhoods and our people. Reparations will open the door for prosperity to fully flow through neighborhoods that have been disinvested for decades,” Johnson said during the Juneteenth flag-raising ceremony. “And as we face the challenges and hard-won victories to get to this point, we must never forget our goal: ensuring that reparations become a reality for this city’s Black residents.”

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