Illinois city’s reparations plan was heralded – but locals say it’s a cautionary tale

Evanston was the first city to implement a plan to repair the harm caused by slavery - and what occurred there could set the tone for what may happen at a national level

In March, Evanston, Illinois, beat the federal government to become the first to pass a reparations plan in America. It gained national attention, heralded by celebrities such as Danny Glover, who called the debate over reparations the most intense conversation that we're going to have in the 21st century". But just months ahead of putting it in action, local residents are warning national advocates to view Evanston as a cautionary tale as much as a historic first.

There's still so much misinformation or lack of information that Black residents here in Evanston still don't understand what this program is. And there are plenty of Black residents that still believe that they're going to be getting direct cash payments, because that's how the reparations program was framed when it was first introduced in 2019," said Sebastian Nalls, a Black Evanston resident and one of the founders of Evanston Rejects Racist Reparations, a group formed in February 2021 to draw attention to community concerns with the reparations plan.