North Cook News

City of Evanston Reparations Committee met Sept. 4

Here is the agenda provided by the committee:

1. CALL TO ORDER/DECLARATION OF A QUORUM

A. Ancestral Acknowledgement

With great humility and deep gratitude, we honor the strength, endurance, and sacrifice of our Black Ancestors. We honor those enslaved African people whose forced labor was exploited for generations to help establish the economy of our region and the United States. We honor those Black Ancestors who persevered despite the discriminatory laws and practices that created a racial caste system, legitimized anti-black racism, and continue to plague our community today. It is only by recognition and understanding of these errors, begun during our nation’s origins and continuing today, that we can hope to correct our path.

We acknowledge this exploitation of not only minds and labor but of our humanity. We grieve for those Black Ancestors who, despite their contributions to this city’s wealth and freedom, were never recognized, fairly compensated, nor allowed to fully realize their own  sovereignty. Because of their work, we are here and will invest in the descendants of that legacy, and through this process, we work to repair some of the harms caused by the City of Evanston. We also hope our focused attempts at reparations will serve as an example to the United States Government and prompt other institutional accomplices to begin the process of repair.

-Evanston Reparations Committee

2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES

A. Approval of the June 5, 2025 Reparations Committee Meeting Minutes.

B. Approval of the April 3, 2025, Reparations Committee Meeting Minutes

C. Approval of the February 6, 2025 Reparations Committee Meeting Minutes.

3. DISCUSSION

A. Report on Five Pillars of Reparations

1. Restitution

2. Compensation

3. Rehabilitation

4. Satisfaction

5. Guarantees of Non-Repetition

B. Update on Economic Harm Study - Dr. Twyla Blackmond Larnell

C. Progress update on Family Roots Pilot Program Family Roots Pilot Program (1) (3)

D. Reparations Working Group Updates

4. CONSIDERATION

5. COMMUNICATION

A. Direct Descendant Reparations Disbursement Update

Staff recommends that the Reparations Committee accept and place on file the Direct Descendant disbursement update.

For Action: Accept and Place on File

B. Ancestor Reparations Recipients Disbursement Update

Staff recommends that the Reparations Committee accept and place on file the Ancestor Reparations Recipients' Disbursement Update.

For Action: Accept and Place on File

C. Reparations Financial Report

Staff recommends that the Reparations Committee accept and place September's Financial Report on file.

For Action: Accept and Place on File

6. PUBLIC COMMENT

7. ADJOURNMENT

https://cityofevanston.civicweb.net/document/429148/?printPdf=true