We seek to create a more perfect union
to benefit every American
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Hello Friends,
In the summer of 2020, we were overcome by feelings of hopelessness. In the wake of the murders of George Floyd, Ahmaud Abery, Breonna Taylor, the Founders of Reparation Generation, eleven Black and seven white Americans, came together to acknowledge, reflect, debate, and chart a new path, from problem to possibility. Our mission is to advocate for the day when federally funded reparations for Black American descendants of chattel slavery is realized; but, we are not waiting, we are modeling programs of “reparations in real time” that can help inform and advance the reparations movement.
Rep Gen launched our first Pilot Program on November 1, 2021 in Detroit to Black Americans that were buying a primary residence in any of the three counties that comprise Metro Detroit. There were ten $25,0000 Reparative Transfers available. Applications were submitted through our website, and applicants learned the steps and process. Within a very short period, we were fully subscribed. Applicants went through the Rep Gen home buying processes. Some applicants did not complete the process, and then new applicants were started. At the end of eight months, six applicants were able to buy their new home and receive a Reparative Transfer Grant. Yet, we were observing that for all applicants the program and the act of home buying was not easy. Based on the information garnered, in the early fall of 2022, the Pilot Project was paused, and the 4 remaining grants were set-aside for future Grants. Rep Gen then commenced looking at information gathered by Tasha, the operations staff, and information from Rep Gen’s evaluation Team of Karen Hughes, MPH and Erika Weissinger, PhD. Through written and interview evaluation tools, Grantees and Applicants were able to describe their experience of the program and we could measure this against our intent and core values. After lots of discussions and efforts, Reparation Generation has made important iterative changes to the program, and modifications, include providing additional time, the addition of a team of outside volunteer realtors and advisors to “coach” applicants, and providing trained genealogical support to help document ancestry and facilitate healing from lost identity. We are happy to announce we are planning to reopen the Reparative Grant Program in 2023 once the full program improvements are made. We will keep you posted in our newsletter announcements and various media outlets. Stay tuned.
David Mayer, Co-chair
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Rep Gen Profile: Jessica Eiland Anders
Growing up in Southfield Michigan, during high school Jessica Eiland Anders volunteered doing home repair and clean-up for community members in Detroit and found herself impressed by the power of a house as something more than “a place you lay your head down.” That was the beginning of a persistent question that has moved her: “How does your home become your sanctuary?”
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After high school, Jessica studied Psychology, African American Studies, and Urban and Community Studies at the University of Michigan; her volunteering turned into internships in community organizing. But it wasn’t until she enrolled in grad school at Washington University in St. Louis that she really understood that her passion for placing people into their own homes could become a professional career. She remained in St. Louis for eight years after receiving her MSW degree, working for three housing and community development organizations, among them Northside Community Housing, where she was president: “I designed and developed a lease purchase program… that ended up allowing some of our residents who lived in low-income, tax-credit housing as renters to go on to purchase their homes and become first-time homeowners.”
When Jessica returned to Michigan in 2019 she worked in the Office of the President of The Skillman Foundation; it was there she first heard of Reparation Generation. Now she works at Enterprise Community Partners, one of the largest low- and middle-income community housing providers in the country. “I think the overlap between the work that I'm doing at Enterprise and the work that Rep Gen is doing is a similar interest in supporting community members buying homes that they can call their own, while also being a form of reparation at the same time.”
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The time is always right to do what is right.
--Dr. Martin Luther King
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In the Bay Area? Please Join Us -- In Person!!!
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Monday April 24th at 7pm
We're excited to host our next Bay Area house meeting at
Farley's East 33 Grand Avenue, Oakland
Join us for dessert and a conversation about reparations in real time.
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The Big Payback, Documentary
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Grab yourself a cup of coffee and settle in to watch, The Big Payback, a new documentary about the efforts, struggle and status of efforts in Evanston, Illinois to provide tax-funded reparations for Black Americans. This highly watchable documentary casts an objective lens on how Alderwoman Robin Rue Simmons led the fight for passage and implementation of the resolution creating reparations. The documentary features an array of community members, some holding sometimes unexpected points of view.
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ACT NOW! For a limited time only you can get your coffee quota and support RepGen! Farley's Coffee, with cafes in Oakland and San Francisco, has a strong commitment to community but you don't need to be local to enjoy their delicious brew. Farley's Coffee Shop is donating $5 dollars to Reparation Generation for every bag of their Give Back blend sold before June 30, 2023.
Here’s what RepGen’s Operations Manager Tasha Ortloff has to say about the Give Back Blend. "As a long-time coffee connoisseur with strong preferences, it was a beautiful surprise to find out that I LOVE this coffee, more than my old favorite! This is a strong and robust coffee that leaves me wanting more with each cup, a delicious problem to have, to be sure!"
Act soon to enjoy this wonderful coffee and support Reparation Generation!
To find out details and you can purchase online: LINK HERE
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"Reparations are ultimately about respect and reconciliation — and the hope that one day, all Americans can walk together toward a more just future. We owe it to those who were ripped from their homes those many years ago an ocean away; we owe it to the millions of Americans- yes they were Americans – who were born into bondage, knew a life of servitude, and died anonymous deaths, as prisoners of this system. We owe it to the millions of descendants of these slaves, for they are the heirs to a society of inequities and indignities that naturally filled the vacuum after slavery was formally abolished 154 years ago".
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Congresswoman, Sheila Jackson Lee
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