Kenneth Wideman, 79, a lifelong resident of Evanston, Illinois, has a deep connection to the 5th Ward neighborhood where he grew up. His parents relocated from South Carolina during the Great Migration, a period when millions of Black individuals left the Jim Crow South seeking better opportunities. By the time Wideman was born in the 1940s, Evanston had become the state’s largest Black suburb, with 95% of the Black population residing in the 5th Ward.
The high concentration of Black residents in the 5th Ward was not by chance. Starting in 1919, the city implemented zoning policies to push Black residents out of other neighborhoods. This, combined with racially restrictive housing rules and banking discrimination, created a segregated environment that persisted for decades. Despite the federal Fair Housing Act of 1969 and subsequent local fair housing ordinances passed by Evanston, disparities in property values, income levels, and access to essential services like grocery stores persisted in the 5th Ward.
In response to this history of racial discrimination, Evanston established the nation’s first reparations program in 2022. The program has provided financial assistance to over 200 recipients, including Wideman, who received a $25,000 check. However, the program faced legal challenges in 2023 when a conservative group sued the city, arguing that it was unconstitutional and discriminatory.
Wideman, who was among the first recipients of reparations, reflected on his experiences growing up in the 5th Ward and the impact of the program. Despite facing segregation and discrimination in his youth, Wideman expressed his appreciation for the reparations he received. He acknowledged that while the program could have been more substantial, he is grateful for the support.
Now living alone and dealing with chronic health issues, Wideman looks back on a time when his mother had to give birth in a segregated hospital and his family navigated a segregated society. Despite the challenges he faced, Wideman remains positive about his hometown of Evanston, describing it as a great town with a complex history of segregation and resilience.
Wideman’s family, like many other Black families at the time, resided in a multigenerational home in the 5th Ward with 14 people. He shared a room with four individuals, but Wideman cherished growing up with his grandmother, describing it as the best experience of his life. He fondly remembers sleeping with his head on his grandmother’s stomach, emphasizing that nothing else compared to that bond despite the various experiences he has encountered in his life. Wideman currently resides in an apartment situated between Northwestern University’s campus, where he worked as a facilities manager for thirty years, and the community center where he applied for the city’s reparations program upon hearing about it through word of mouth. City employees assisted applicants in providing evidence of residency in Evanston during the specific period by laying out high school yearbooks and phone books, and they also aided seniors in completing the electronic application. Wideman expressed his belief that people deserve reparations and hopes that others will have the opportunity to receive them, ideally receiving more than he did. Despite being well-aware of its history, Wideman holds a deep affection for Evanston, stating that he proudly identifies himself as being from Evanston, Illinois wherever he travels, emphasizing that it is a remarkable town.
Animals. “I wanted to just stay there and enjoy that type of country lifestyle,” she said. Her parents relocated the family to a residence in the 5th Ward, a predominantly Black neighborhood. “They felt it would have been challenging to live elsewhere,” she explained. Encountering racism and segregation in Evanston didn’t faze her. “That’s on them. I let them deal with that,” she remarked.
Known for her outgoing and chatty demeanor, she often finds herself at the center of multiple conversations simultaneously as family members come and go in the living room. When the reparations program began issuing checks last year, she decided to apply.
Initially, Evanston’s reparations program solely offered in-kind financial assistance for mortgage payments, down payments on homes, or home improvement projects. A seasoned real estate broker since the age of 18, she had been advocating for the program to her clients. However, since she resided in an apartment, she did not qualify initially.
Upon receiving the funds, she used a portion to purchase a car and deposited the remainder in the bank for her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. While she continues her work as a real estate broker, the majority of her time is devoted to volunteering with juveniles in detention centers, aiding formerly incarcerated adults transitioning back into society, and caring for her family.
Describing Evanston as increasingly costly, she noted that $25,000 is merely a fraction of the expenses, echoing a sentiment shared by many in interviews. Robin Rue Simmons emphasized that the reparations program had to be developed from the ground up, stating, “We didn’t have a model to follow.”
Former city Alderman Robin Rue Simmons spearheaded Evanston’s reparations initiative in 2019. A product of the 5th Ward, she witnessed firsthand the disparities in living conditions between Black residents of Evanston and their white counterparts. Reflecting on the challenges faced in establishing the program, Simmons remarked, “Securing the political will and passing the reparations proposal was, in some sense, the easy part. Then came the task of constructing the program from scratch. We didn’t have a model to follow.”
Funded by the city’s cannabis sales tax and real estate tax, the $20 million program is slated to continue for another five years, with plans for expansion into economic development and education-based initiatives. Calls for reparations for slavery have persisted since the conclusion of the Civil War.
Federal legislation such as H.R. 40, proposing a commission to investigate reparations for slavery, has been reintroduced annually for the past 35 years. In the absence of federal action, various state and municipal reparations programs have emerged. Presently, over a dozen cities, three counties, and four states have enacted legislation to study or develop reparations proposals.
Evanston stands out as the first to implement a program and disburse actual reparations payments. Simmons, now heading a reparations consultancy organization, acknowledged the extensive.
