The film follows Evanston’s Rookie Alderwoman & Founder of FirstRepair, Robin Rue Simmons in her fight to pass the first tax-funded reparations bill for Blacks.
March 12, 2021
On a December day in 2019, hundreds of Evanston residents sang, cheered and cried together in the pews of the First Church of God in celebration of the first funded Black reparations program in the city â and in American history.
âIt was a special moment for our city,â said Ald. Robin Rue Simmons (5th), who has led city reparations initiatives. âThat meeting was really the convening of what is a lifetime of work ahead of us.â
Evanston City Council had just passed a resolution allocating $10 million dollars over 10 years from cannabis city tax revenue to a Black reparations fund. The legislation was the first in the country â on a local, state or federal level â to commit public funding to reparations for Black Americans. Upon its passage, Evanston garnered national attention for its commitment to addressing over a century of discrimination.