CBH Talks: A Look at Reparations
Across the nation, institutions, local governments, and individuals are adopting solutions to repair the inequalities wrought by slavery. From state programs to university stipends, and direct cash payments to homegrown person-to-person Venmo’s, restitution for this open wound in our history is taking shape in many ways. Yet as the movement for reparations builds, as many questions as answers arise: Who qualifies? Where do the funds come from? What constitutes ‘fair’? Are all solutions appropriate? And how do we navigate the growing backlash?
Join us for a panel discussion with three individuals on the front lines: Robin Rue Simmons, former Alderwoman of Evanston, Illinois, and newly appointed commissioner of the National African American Reparations Commission (NAARC); Georgetown University Professor Marcia Chatelain who served on the University’s Working Group on Slavery, Memory, and Reconciliation; and David Ragland of the Truth-Telling Project who brings a faith-based perspective to the conversation. The program is moderated by Aaron Morrison, award-winning multimedia journalist and national race and ethnicity writer for The Associated Press.
This program is part of Center for Brooklyn History's major public history initiative, Brooklyn Resists.
Participants
Marcia Chatelain is a Professor of History and African American Studies at Georgetown University. The author of South Side Girls: Growing up in the Great Migration, she teaches about women’s and girls’ history, as well as black capitalism. Her most recent book, Franchise: The Golden Arches in Black America, examines the intricate relationship among African American politicians, civil rights organizations, communities, and the fast food industry. She is a current co-host of the Slate podcast, “The Waves,” which covers feminism, gender, and current events. Chatelain has received numerous awards and honors from the Ford Foundation, the American Association of University Women, among others. In 2016, the Chronicle of Higher Education named her a Top Influencer in academia in recognition of her social media campaign #FergusonSyllabus, which implored educators to facilitate discussions about the crisis in Ferguson, Missouri in 2014. In 2021, Franchise won the Pulitzer Prize in History.
Robin Rue Simmons is the Founder and Executive Director of FirstRepair, a new not-for-profit organization that advocates for local reparations, nationally. She is the former 5th Ward Alderman for the City of Evanston, IL, where she led, in collaboration with others, the passage of the nation’s first and only municipal funded reparations legislation. Born and raised in the 5th Ward, Rue Simmons was alderman from 2017-2021, serving on multiple committees and chairing several, prioritizing improving the lived experiences of and expanding opportunities for Black residents in Evanston. She is a commissioner of the National African American Reparations Commission (NAARC), a member of the Legislative Committee of the National Coalition of Blacks for Reparations in America (N’COBRA), and previously served as a board member for the National League of Cities’ National Black Caucus of Local Elected Leaders and the President of the Evanston Black Business Alliance. Photo by Bob Meade.
David Ragland is one of the co-founders of the Truth Telling Project and the director of the Grassroots Reparations Campaign. He is also the Reparations Director at Jubilee Justice and Impact Investment and Education Firm, and a founding member of Kibilio Community and Farms Collective, a Queer Black Led Intentional community focused on healing and reparations. A writer, scholar and activist he currently teaches at Pacifica Graduate Institute and leads their grassroots reparations campaign's online course "Building a Culture of Reparations." He is a Research Fellow at George Mason's Mary Hope Center for Reconciliation where he supports emerging truth processes around the country, and was recently inducted into Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Collegium of Scholars at Morehouse College. He has taught at Bucknell University, Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville and Juniata College. Dr. Ragland lectures on Ferguson, Black Lives Matter, Truth Telling and Reparations around the world.
Aaron Morrison is an award-winning multimedia journalist based in New York City, where he is a national race and ethnicity writer for The Associated Press. Before that, he was a senior reporter at The Appeal and an on-air correspondent and senior writer for Mic. His work typically focuses on race, civil rights, criminal justice reform and grassroots social movements. He has embedded himself with activists to document developments in the Movement for Black Lives. Aaron is a longtime member of the National Association of Black Journalists and has served on the board of the organization's New York City chapter.
