The Evanston reparations program was a historic moment. The first reparations initiative titled the Restorative Housing Program acknowledged the harm done to Black families, but as time has passed, the cracks in the foundation have begun to show. Evanston’s plan to provide reparations to its Black residents — including housing grants for a fraction of the city’s black families — raises the question of whether these reparations can truly be considered reparations for the ‘community’.
Reparations cannot be limited to housing alone. The wealth gap created by systemic racism extends beyond homeownership. The program only applies to descendants of Black residents who lived in Evanston between 1919 and 1969 and were harmed by discriminatory housing policies. While this acknowledges a real historical injustice, it also leaves out many Black families who came later but still face systemic barriers. An NBC News article published in December of 2024 titled “Where Evanston’s reparations payments are going” stated that since the start of the program in 2022, Evanston has awarded $25,000 checks and in-kind financial assistance to more than 200 people. With the number of Black residents in Evanston, this means that 1.8% of Black residents in Evanston have been positively impacted by the reparations placed in Evanston. The modest impact of the reparations program in the past 3 years indicates the lack of vitality when it comes to the voices and needs of Black residents in Evanston. We must ask ourselves: Are we committed to healing the wounds of racism for all, or just those who meet a specific set of criteria?
A step in the right direction for Evanston would be to start with an increase in the financial assistance for Restorative Housing reparations from $25,000 to $50,000 per household. $25,000 toward a home is not life-changing money in today’s market. It’s a gesture, but true reparations should be transformative. With an increase in the amount provided for Black households, families will be provided with greater financial support to secure housing and build generational wealth from the ground up.
Along with changes in the amount of financial assistance provided, Black residents in Evanston should gain free access to previously segregated recreational centers; more specifically the YMCA. In 1914, the Evanston YMCA denied entry to Black residents becoming fully segregated. With that being said, Black residents raised funds to start a new building for black people known as the Emerson Street YMCA. The Emerson Street YMCA provided a community for many black people who lived in Evanston. Several Black Northwestern Students often roomed at the Emerson Y since Northwestern did not permit Blacks to live in campus dormitories. By 1963, the Grove Street Y officially announced that it was fully integrated; allowing black people into their facilities. With the integration of the Grove Street Y came the shutting down of the all-black Emerson Street Branch in 1969. Its closing was met with hurt and disappointment from the Black community that is still felt to this day. Black residents were stripped of their recreational opportunities along with a sense of community for and by black Evanstonians. To repair the impacts of the actions made by the city, Black residents in Evanston should gain free access to both the YMCA with the freedom to use all facilities. A large part of the black community in Evanston was lost and it is important to rebuild and restore the bonds that.
Finally, scholarships and new educational opportunities for Black students residing in Evanston should be created to create an impact on tomorrow’s Black leaders. During the period from 1905 through the mid-1930s, Evanston schools were segregated. Foster School was the home to all-black elementary schools while all other elementary and middle schools were for white children. Black and White children went to separate schools because the District was organized according to a neighborhood school model that created de facto segregation– the segregation of people into separate areas by fact rather than by law or policy. Without being “segregated”, ETHS was still impacted by an immense racial divide between students and faculty. White and Black students were split into separate classes with white classes being more difficult and black classes lacking challenging curriculum. This not only impacted the image of Black students at ETHS during that time but also created a detrimental educational gap there for impacting the opportunities provided for Black students. To repair these impacts, every year ETHS should support housing for 20 selected black ETHS graduates who meet certain required criteria. The selection process will consider students’ financial needs along with letters of recommendation from teachers. To qualify, students must have attended all four years at ETHS and plan to pursue post-secondary education. By offering scholarships to black students at ETHS, Evanston would be directly addressing the long-term inequalities in education limiting Black students’ resources while also breaking the cycle of economic disadvantages, ensuring students can have support transitions into higher education and careers.
If Evanston is serious about reparations, it must be an ongoing commitment, not a one-time initiative. Reparations are not charity. They are a debt owed. As we celebrate Black History Month, we should honor our past by demanding more for our future specifically for both old and new Black Evanston residents. We need more funding, broader eligibility, and an approach that truly addresses the depth of harm done. Otherwise, this isn’t reparations—it’s just another program. It’s time to take accountability for how these reparations have fallen short and ensure that Black residents are receiving equal access to the resources, opportunities, and support they deserve. The fight for justice doesn’t end with a single policy. It continues with every conversation, every demand, and every Black resident like me who refuses to accept anything less than full restoration. Evanston, we can do better. This is only the beginning.
