Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson announced the creation of a reparations task force and an agenda aimed at addressing historical injustices against Black people in the United States, while citing systemic racism and other policies he said They have harmed people of color.
The working group will develop a definition and framework for reparations, which would be delivered in the form of improvements in housing, education, employment and criminal justice. The group will also conduct a study to catalog policies that have harmed African Americans in Chicago, including controversial real estate practices like redlining and restrictive covenants.
“Reparations will be an investment in our neighborhoods and our people,” Johnson said Monday during a Juneteenth celebration. “It will open the doors of prosperity to flow fully through neighborhoods that have been disinvested in for decades…we must never forget our goal of ensuring that reparations become a reality for the Black residents of this city.“.
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Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson announced the creation of a reparations task force during a Juneteenth celebration Monday. (WFLD)
The City Council’s Black Caucus will also participate in the task force’s hearings and recommendations.
Councilman Nick Sposato, a Johnson critic, said chicago fox The $500,000 planned to fund the task force could be better spent elsewhere.
“It’s too divisive, it will divide us even more,” Sposato said. “I don’t know what the justice would be in that. Maybe the report says it’s unnecessary, but I highly doubt it.”
Reparations have been a thorny issue as some cities have attempted to create a path for descendants of black slaves to collect compensation for their ancestors’ free labor.
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During his speech, Johnson said Chicago still bears the scars of “systemic racism and the injustices that have been inflicted on our communities.”
“We’ve seen them on highways that run through black neighborhoods and in industries that, of course, flock to these neighborhoods and often contribute to increased pollution and poor health outcomes,” he said.
“The disinvestment in our community has been intentional,” he added.
He also cited previous mayors’ mismanagement and school closures and anti-black and anti-business policies. Chicago has long been a Democratic stronghold; The last time it elected a Republican as mayor was in 1927, when William H. Thompson served until 1931.
Councilwoman Stephanie Coleman praised the reparations initiative as an important step forward.
“I thank the Johnson Administration for its continued support and commitment to addressing the deep wounds inflicted by centuries of injustice against the Black community,” Coleman said. “We will not be ashamed of who we are or what we have overcome.”
