12.5 Million: The Historical Weight Behind the Fight Over Local Reparations

A federal judge recently authorized the Justice Department to join a lawsuit challenging Evanston, Illinois, housing grants. The intervention marks a formal entry by the Trump administration into a dispute over how local governments distribute funds to Black residents. The city’s program, which provides $25,000 grants to individuals harmed by discriminatory housing policies, is the first municipal reparations initiative in the country.

The legal battle unfolds as the United States prepares to mark its 250th anniversary. President Donald Trump’s administration has intensified scrutiny of diversity, equity, and inclusion programs. This approach has prompted some institutions to pause or reduce reparations efforts. The move contrasts with recent international developments. In March, the U.N. General Assembly passed a resolution describing the trafficking of enslaved Africans as the gravest crime against humanity. More than 120 nations supported the resolution, which urged countries to consider reparations.

Robin Rue Simmons, who goes by N'nanba, helped design the Evanston program. She is now assisting more than 100 other communities in establishing similar initiatives. Simmons chairs the city’s Reparations Committee and served as a former city councilwoman. She stated that despite administrative barriers, the group remains focused on federal redress. The U.N. vote showed global support for the concept, with Argentina, Israel, and the United States voting against. England and 27 European Union members abstained.

The scale of the historical issue is substantial. An estimated 12.5 million Africans were forced onto ships bound for the Americas during the trans-Atlantic slave trade. Approximately 1.8 million did not survive the journey. About 388,000 were taken to the territory that is now the United States. Slavery in the U.S. ended in 1865, but systemic barriers continued to affect wealth accumulation for Black families.

William Darity, a co-author of a book on reparations, noted that no president has supported comprehensive Black reparations. He observed that while Trump mentions the topic, he does so with hostility. In a September speech, the president told supporters that critics want to steal money for reparations. He added that the effort is going nowhere.

The administration’s legal strategy relies on constitutional arguments. A lawsuit filed by Judicial Watch claims the Evanston program distributes funds by race without identifying specific harm. Michael Bekesha, the attorney for the plaintiffs, argued that the Constitution prevents governments from picking winners and losers based entirely on race. The Justice Department alleges the program violates the 14th Amendment’s equal protection clause and the Fair Housing Act.

Federal officials have communicated these positions to other regions. Last year, the department sent a warning letter to leaders in Asheville and Buncombe County, North Carolina. Those officials were considering their own local programs. Kiersten Pels, a Justice Department spokeswoman, stated that race-based government benefit programs are often unconstitutional and frequently violate federal civil rights law.

Higher education institutions face similar pressures. Georgetown University continues to offer admission consideration to descendants of enslaved people connected to its history. However, new research efforts have stalled. Richard Cellini, who previously led a project at Harvard to identify descendants, reported that his team found nearly 500 living relatives. Harvard fired the team days after the president’s January 2025 anti-DEI order. An outside firm continues the research, but Harvard has not provided redress.

Despite the federal pushback, some programs continue to operate. Juan Woolfolk, 36, is using a $10,000 scholarship from Georgetown to study museum studies at Southern University at New Orleans. Virginia Theological Seminary makes annual cash payments to descendants of people who labored on its campus. The endowment funding these payments grew from $1.7 million to $2.8 million since 2019.

In Evanston, recipient Joe Martin, a 46-year-old Delta flight attendant, said the historical promise of land did not materialize. He noted that when a legitimate program is created, the government often resists. The city’s $25,000 grants continue to be issued as the federal lawsuit proceeds in court.