FirstRepair

Monthly Reparations Strategy Session - March 2023: Dr. Obari Cartman, Health & Wellness
2023-03-30 12:30 - 13:30 (America/Chicago)
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR ZOOM
DR. OBARI CARTMAN’S BIO
Dr. Cartman is a father, son, brother, uncle, thinker, writer, therapist, photographer, drummer, and grassroots mental health advocate. He is a Chicago native, where his cultural and educational foundations were cultivated by several African-centered institutions. He received his undergraduate degree from Hampton University and a PhD in clinical & community psychology from Georgia State University. His recent work includes being a trauma focused clinician, restorative justice coach and program evaluator with H.E.L.P., LLC (Healing, Empowering, and Learning Professionals). Dr. Cartman has served as a professor of psychology at Georgia State University and the Carruthers Center for Inner City Studies at Northeastern University. Dr. Cartman recently created a male rites of passage curriculum called MANifest that is being implemented in juvenile detention centers, schools and in private community settings. Dr. Cartman is the former program director for Real Men Charities, Inc. where for 3 years he facilitated weekly men’s wellness and African drumming circles and was the associate editor of the South Side Drive magazine. Dr. Cartman is the current President of the Chicago Association of Black Psychologists and curator of a directory of Black mental health providers. As a consultant Dr. Cartman facilitates trainings for adults and workshops with youth about maintaining good mental health, critical analysis of hip-hop and media, racial and cultural identity, developing authentic manhood, and healthy relationships.
Dr. Cartman’s first book is called “Lady’s Man: Conversations for Young Black Men about Manhood and Relationships.” It is a critical thinking guide that addresses historical trauma, hip hop, emotional intelligence, intimacy, communication, power, purpose and a variety of other topics. Its conversational tone makes it an easy and enjoyable read for young men. It has been received with great critical acclaim: “.Cornel West referred to him as ..one of the wise and visionary writers of his generation.” The book is called “…penetrating, poignant and personal…” by Na’im Akbar, and an “instant classic” by Jessica Care Mooore. Jawanza Kunjufu says is does a “brilliant job in empowering Black males to reach their full potential”. The book is a tool for families, teachers, mentors, and coaches to help young men think critically, and build character, discover their purpose, love themselves and each other, communicate with clarity and intention, understand the need for proper education, relate to women with integrity, express their emotions, understand their place in history, develop healthy coping strategies, and learn how to build a world where all people are truly free.
WWW.DROBARICARTMAN.COM

HBCU Reparations Debate Series in North Carolina
2023-03-20 08:00 - 2023-03-24 17:00 (America/Chicago)
NC 10 Schools

The Big Payback: Texas Town Hall Debate
2023-03-14 18:00 - 19:00 (America/Chicago)
Join Independent Lens, Texas PBS, Houston Public Media, KERA, and Black Public Media for a virtual Texas Town Hall Debate on the future of reparations in America, inspired by the new PBS film The Big Payback. Filmmakers Erika Alexander and Whitney Dow, along with film participant Robin Rue, Texas-based change-makers, and Historically Black College and University (HBCU) students will come together to address these controversial and pressing questions:

Is restitution warranted, and on what basis?
What forms might repayment take?
Can disparate local standards lead to equitable national repair?
What consequences might their implementation have for American race relations?
Can monetary reparations resolve centuries of injustice that extend beyond economic condition?

The Conscious Lee will open the event and moderate a debate conducted by students representing HBCUs.
Attendees will have the opportunity to participate in a Q&A session with filmmakers, panelists, and student debaters through polls and the interactive chat. ASL interpreters will be present during the panel discussion and debate, and the film trailer will be closed captioned.
The event will feature:

Erika Alexander, influencer, activist, actor, and co-director of The Big Payback
Whitney Dow, co-director of The Big Payback
Eddie Robinson (moderator), host of I SEE U on Houston Public Media
The Conscious Lee (debate host), social media influencer, educator
Robin Rue Simmons, featured in The Big Payback, founder and executive director of FirstRepair
Jerry Hawkins, executive director of Dallas Truth, Racial Healing & Transformation

The Big Payback is part of Stories for Justice, a public media partnership made possible with the generous support of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, Ford Foundation, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Wyncote Foundation and Park Foundation.
Event Partners:

Black Public Media
KERA
Houston Public Media
Texas PBS

ABOUT THE FILM
Rookie Alderwoman Robin Rue Simmons of Evanston, Illinois, led the passage of the first tax-funded reparations bill in U.S. history for Black Americans. What follows is grief and debate as she and her community struggle with the burden to make repair and restitution for its citizens, while a national racial and social crisis engulfs the country. Meanwhile, Texas Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee faces a 30-year battle to pass H.R. 40, a national bill to study reparations and make recommendations. Both women are met with racism and resistance, as well as help from allies and abolitionists within. Together, they pressure the government to deliver monetary justice and appropriate remedies for Black Americans harmed by centuries of chattel slavery, state-sponsored terrorism, systemic injustice, and corporate exploitation. Will the debt ever be addressed, or is it too late for a reparations movement to finally get the big payback? The Big Payback is streaming now through April 16, 2023, on the PBS App.
ABOUT INDEPENDENT LENS
INDEPENDENT LENS is an Emmy® Award-winning weekly series, airing on PBSMonday nights at 10:00 p.m. ET. The acclaimed series, with Lois Vossen as executive producer, features documentaries united by the creative freedom, artistic achievement, and unflinching visions of independent filmmakers.Presented by ITVS, the series is funded by the Corporation for PublicBroadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people, with additional funding from PBS, Action Family Giving, the John D. and CatherineT. MacArthur Foundation, Wyncote Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts. For more visit pbs.org/independentlens. Join the conversation onTwitter, Facebook, and Instagram at @independentlens.
GET TICKETS!

Jewish Christian Dialogue
2023-03-02 13:00 - 14:00 (America/Chicago)
United Church of Christ & National Council of Churches Zoom Dialogue

The Big Pay Back - Conrad Worrill Community Reparations Movie Fundraiser
2023-02-25 17:00 - 19:30 (America/Chicago)
“The Big Payback” Private Movie Screening co-hosted by N’COBRA Chicago Chapter and the Conrad Worrill Community Reparations Commission
Come out and enjoy an evening at the Chatham Emagine Theater on National Reparation Awareness Day, February 25, 2022, at 5:00pm as the Conrad Worrill Community Reparations Commission and N’COBRA Chicago Co-host a private screening of “The Big Payback”.
The purpose of the evening fundraiser will allow the CWCRC to continue its work educating and organizing the community and elected officials toward creating, passing and funding reparatory proposals for local reparation efforts.
Watch the Movie Trailer: “The Big Payback”
Special Thank You to the Directors of the film Erika Alexander and Whitney Dow, Independent Lens and the Big Payback, LLC for giving us permission to show the film. As well as our Sponsors the Chatham Emagine Theater, Co-host N’COBRA Chicago Chapter, Alderman Roderick Sawyer, Alderman Stephanie Coleman (pending confirmation) and Alderman Michael Scott (pending confirmation).
All Guest will receive popcorn and a drink which is included with the purchase of their fundraiser ticket. VIP Guest and annual members will receive the same in additional to a Reparations T-shirt or Sweatshirt and annual membership.
Doors will open promptly at 4:30 pm. You should be in your seat no later than 4:45 pm. We will begin programming promptly at 5:00 pm CST.
Seating is provided on a first come first served basis. Seating is limited; therefore, it is suggested that you purchase your tickets in advance.
Check-In. A Guest list will be available upon arrival for this event. If you are not able to attend and want to transfer your ticket(s) a physical ticket must be in presented. Guest will not be permitted to attend the screening without a registered ticket. Please keep your tickets in a safe place.
Social Distancing Pandemic/COVID 19 related Laws will be strongly encouraged. Everyone is welcome to wear a mask to attend. Proof of Vaccination is not necessary. If you are sick or have Covid-19 symptoms please be respectful and stay at home.
This is an educational fundraiser hosted by a 501C3 organization. Please consult your tax advisor for tax deductibility. All sales are final. No refunds will be provided.

Reparations: Past, Present and Future Models of Healing and Liberation
2023-02-25 13:00 - 15:00 (America/Chicago)
Earthseed Black Family Archive Project & Blackroots Alliance presents Reparations: Past, Present and Future Models of Healing and Liberation. Join us Saturday February 25 from 1-3pmCT as we speak with thought leaders, cultural workers and activists about the movements for reparations for black folks living in America – specifically in the Chicagoland area.
Blackroots Alliance will share their research and political framework on reparations followed by discussions from our esteemed panel. Participants are invited to bring their own thoughts on reparations, thus contributing to the vast well of knowledge and extensive framework as we attempt to answer the question – what does reparations mean for Black people?
Where: [Hybrid]: New Zion M.B. Church (5015 West Ferdinand Street Chicago, IL 60644) or Register on Zoom

The Big Payback: Film Screening and Discussion with Robin Rue Simmons, Erika Alexander, and Whitney Dow at Northwestern University
2023-02-23 16:00 - 18:30 (America/Chicago) | McCormick Foundation Center, 1870 Campus Drive, Evanston, IL, 60208, United States
We invite you on this journey to breathe new life into the discussion about reparations and help communities across the U.S. reimagine what justice and equality can look like.
FREE EVENT – CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS!

Monthly Reparations Strategy Session - February 2023: Matthew R. Feldman
2023-02-23 12:30 - 13:30 (America/Chicago)
CLICK HERE FOR ZOOM REGISTRATION

'The Big Payback' Screening & Community Conversation on Reparations
2023-02-21 17:00 - 19:30 (America/Chicago)
CLICK HERE TO GET TICKETS

Making Reparations: Seeding a Just Future
2023-02-16 13:00 - 14:00 (America/Chicago)
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

www.centerforneweconomics.org

HBCU Reparations Debate Series Kick-off at Bennett College
2023-01-30 13:00 - 16:00 (America/Chicago)

The Big Payback, Reparations Documentary: Evanston Screening
2023-01-16 18:00 - 21:00 (America/Chicago) | AMC Evanston 12, 1715 Maple Avenue, Evanston, IL, 60201, United States
You’re Invited to the Evanston Screening of ‘The Big Payback’

PBS National Broadcast: 'The Big Payback' - Documentary on Reparations
2023-01-16
Click Here to Find Your Local Listing & Watch ‘The Big Payback’ on PBS on Martin Luther King Day, Available on Video App

Advocates for Action Community Coffee
2023-01-15 10:00 - 11:00 (America/Chicago)
Join The Advocates and our Super Producer Mr. Man as we stroll down memory lane to talk about our favorite moments, guests, and hear about what’s coming up in the New Year.

CLICK HERE TO STREAM!

Kabbalat Shabbat Services Honoring Martin Luther King Jr. Featuring Robin Rue Simmons
2023-01-13 18:30 - 19:30 (America/Chicago)
Tonight’s Martin Luther King Jr. Service will feature Robin Rue Simmons of First Repair and an update on the anti-racism and reparations work that Beth Emet is doing.
We will offer a special blessing to Lila Selch, as she travels to Israel to participate in this spring’s Heller EIE program. Lila is the recipient of the Dr. Richard I. and Marian Kaufman Leo Baeck Scholarship Fund of the Beth Emet Foundation this year, which has provided funding for students to participate in their study programs since 1980. Lila’s name will be added to a list of many distinguished Beth Emet alum.
Welcome Shabbat whether in the Sanctuary or online! Masks are no longer required and are encouraged. There will be a masks-required section for those that feel more comfortable in the Sanctuary.
To listen to the service dial 847-869-4230 and press 7

Union League Club of Chicago: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration and Luncheon
2023-01-13 11:30 - 13:30 (America/Chicago) | Union League Club of Chicago, 65 W Jackson Blvd, Chicago, IL, 60604, United States
On Friday, January 13, the Union League Club of Chicago will celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King, Junior’s birthday. This annual luncheon event will offer an opportunity to reflect on Dr. King’s legacy and the enduring relevance of the civil rights movement he initiated. This year’s keynote speaker is former Evanston Alderman Robin Rue Simmons. Her work on the Evanston City Council allowed Evanston to become the first city in the nation to approve a local plan to make reparations available to Black residents to address the harm they suffered as a result of the city’s past discriminatory housing policies.
Click Here to Purchase Tickets!

San Francisco: The Big Payback with Erika Alexander & Whitney Dow
2023-01-12 19:00 - 21:30 (America/Los_Angeles)
Actress-activist Erika Alexander (Living Single) and filmmaker Whitney Dow (Two Towns of Jasper) present a preview of their new PBS documentary The Big Payback, which looks at the first tax-funded reparations bill in the United States and at one local leader as she and her community struggle to realize restitution for its citizens.
Alexander and Dow are joined by FirstRepair founder and Executive Director Robin Rue Simmons and KQED’s Ariana Proehl to discuss how reparations for slavery are being devised and enacted at the state and local levels.
CLICK HERE TO GET DETAILS

Local Reparations Strategy Session: Special Kwanzaa Celebration
2022-12-29 12:30 - 14:00 UTC
Local Reparations Strategy Session
Local Reparation Certification
December 29, 2022
12:30 – 2:00PM CST
Local Reparations Strategy Session aims to support and expand the work of local and municipal reparations activists. Together we are creating a new broad consensus around racial redress and securing reparations across the country.
JOIN VIA ZOOM
FUTURE DATES/SPEAKERS
12/29/22 Special Kwanzaa Celebration

2022 Reparations Town Hall
2022-12-02 19:30 - 21:30 (America/Chicago) | Evanston Township High School, Evanston, IL, United States
FirstRepair & NAARC Presents 2022 Reparations Town Hall with State & Local Reparations Leaders featuring Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, Living Single’s Erika Alexander, and CNN’s Legal Analyst, Areva Martin.
Evanston Township High School
1600 Dodge Avenue
Evanston, IL 60201
December 2, 2022
7:30 PM – 9:30 PM

Local Reparations Symposium
2022-12-01 - 2022-12-03 | Hilton Orrington, 1710 Orrington Avenue, Evanston, 60201, United States

Local Reparations Strategy Session: Local Reparation Certification - Dr. Ron Daniels, NAARC
2022-11-24 12:30 - 14:00 UTC
Local Reparations Strategy Session
Local Reparation Certification
November 24, 2022
12:30 – 2:00PM CST
Local Reparations Strategy Session aims to support and expand the work of local and municipal reparations activists. Together we are creating a new broad consensus around racial redress and securing reparations across the country.
JOIN VIA ZOOM
FUTURE DATES/SPEAKERS
12/29/22 Special Kwanzaa Celebration

58th Freedom Fund Banquet of the Evanston/North Shore NAACP: Robin Rue Simmons, Honoree
2022-11-19 18:00 - 22:00 (America/Chicago)
Join us on Saturday, November 19, 2022 for Evanston/North Shore NAACP Annual Freedom Fund Banquet.
This year our guest speaker will be Dara Munson, President and CEO of Family Focus.
2022 Freedom Fund Banquet Awardees

Robin Rue Simmons (Executive Director and Founder of First Repair)
Dr. Eric Witherspoon (Retired District 202 Superintedent)
Timothy J. Evans and B.J. Jones (Northlight Theatre)
Krenice Roseman Ramsey (Attorney and Founder of Black & Lit.)
Jasmine Sebaggala (Abolition Coalition Activist)
Reverend Grace Imatheiu (Senior Pastor, First United Methodist Church)
Bushra Amiwala (Founder and CEO of Amiwala Foundation)

Subscription levels:

Gold Sponsor $3,500.00 (10 tickets)
Silver Sponsor $2,500.00 (8 Meals)
Bronze sponsor $1,500.00 (5 Meals)
Friend of NAACP $500.00
Supporter $250.00
Ticket $125.00
General Donation

All contributions include a choice of one entree.

Harvard University: Can Reparations Close the Racial Health Gap?
2022-11-03 08:00 - 17:00 (America/Chicago)
In partnership with Harvard Public Health magazine, the FXB Center for Health and Human Rights will host a free, in-person symposium at Harvard University’s Martin Center. Throughout the day, we will be examining the challenging question of how to redress centuries of anti-Black racism – and how to ensure that reparations are designed with the long-term health of Black communities and individuals in mind. Speakers will bring a wide range of expertise in law, policy, public health, history, media, and community organizing.
Register below to secure your seat at the Martin Center, at 77 Avenue Louis Pasteur, Boston, MA, 02115.This will be an interactive symposium, so bring your questions and ideas! Breakfast and lunch will be served.
Please note that the Martin Center is accessible by public transportation and near several garages, but there is no parking on site. Information on traveling to the center is available here. We are proud to work with several outstanding partners on this event, including Ujamaa Seeds and Sweet Teez Bakery.
11:15am – 12:30pm: Municipal, State and Federal Reparations Programs: Where is Health?
Featuring Our Executive Director, Robin Rue Simmons
Robin Rue Simmons is the Founder and Executive Director of FirstRepair, a not-for-profit organization that informs local reparations, nationally. She is the former 5th Ward Alderman for the City of Evanston, where she led, the passage of the nation’s first municipal funded reparations legislation. She laid the foundation for her life’s work in 1998 when she became a real estate broker. Troubled by wealth disparities and concentrated poverty she witnessed locally, she wanted to help families build wealth through homeownership. Rue Simmons has received numerous awards and has been featured in national and international publications for her public service work.

Local Reparations Strategy Session: Reparations Community Education - Kamm Howard
2022-10-27 12:30 - 14:00 UTC
Local Reparations Strategy Session
Reparations Community Education
October 27, 2022
12:30 – 2:00PM CST
Local Reparations Strategy Session aims to support and expand the work of local and municipal reparations activists. Together we are creating a new broad consensus around racial redress and securing reparations across the country.
JOIN VIA ZOOM
FUTURE DATES/SPEAKERS
11/24/22 Local Reparation Certification, Dr. Ron Daniels – NAARC
12/29/22 Special Kwanzaa Celebration

Chicago Film Festival: 'The Big Payback' Documentary
2022-10-23 14:00 - 16:30 (America/Chicago) | AMC River East, Chicago, IL, United States
In 2021, Evanston, Illinois became the first city in the United States to approve a reparations program for some of its Black residents. How did it get there? Captivating and urgent, The Big Payback follows the dramatic journey of rookie Alderman Robin Rue Simmons as she fights to redress the wrongs of “redlining” and the legacy of slavery. Filmmakers Erika Alexander (John Lewis: Good Trouble) and Whitney Dow (Two Towns of Jaspar) chart Simmons’ emotional and political path from the onset of the pandemic through the racial protests of 2020, as she faces detractors who criticize her legislation for doing too little and supporters who herald the bill as an important first step into the future. An inspiring story of the early signals of seismic change, one citizen and then one city at a time.

Chicago Film Festival: The Big Payback Documentary featuring Robin Rue Simmons
2022-10-22 13:00 - 14:30 (America/Chicago)
The Big Payback
Dirs: Erika Alexander & Whitney Dow
In 2021, Evanston, Illinois became the first city in the United States to approve a reparations program for some of its Black residents. How did it get there? Captivating and urgent, The Big Payback follows the dramatic journey of rookie Alderman Robin Rue Simmons as she fights to redress the wrongs of “redlining” and the legacy of slavery. Filmmakers Erika Alexander (John Lewis: Good Trouble) and Whitney Dow (Two Towns of Jaspar) chart Simmons’ emotional and political path from the onset of the pandemic through the racial protests of 2020, as she faces detractors who criticize her legislation for doing too little and supporters who herald the bill as an important first step into the future. An inspiring story of the early signals of seismic change, one citizen and then one city at a time.

Evanston Reparations Townhall
2022-10-22 11:00 - 12:00 (America/Chicago) | Second Baptist Church, 1717 Benson Avenue, Evanston, IL, 60201, United States

Enterprise's 40th Anniversary National Conference
2022-10-20 07:30 - 17:00 (America/Chicago) | Omni Shoreham, Washington, DC, United States
We’ve been breaking barriers and building communities to make a good home possible for the millions of families without one for the past 40 years.
To celebrate, we’re bringing together the greatest minds in affordable housing. Join us as we tackle today’s most pressing issues and prepare for the next 40 years.

San Francisco Human Rights Commission - Pathway to Parity: Investing in Economic Rights for All
2022-10-06 - 2022-10-07
Be part of the conversation with some of the nation’s most forward-thinking policy experts on transformational economic empowerment strategy and related impacts. Discussions will address youth employment development pipelines, reparations, entrepreneurship, and other pathways to economic mobility and security.

Engage with thought leaders including Darrick Hamilton (The New School), Alicia Garza (Black Futures Lab), Pinky Cole (Slutty Vegan), Sheryl Evans Davis (San Francisco Human Rights Commission), Michael Blake (Fmr. New York State Assemblymember), Malik Henfield (Institute for Racial Justice, Loyola University Chicago), Shamann Walton(San Francisco Board of Supervisors), Malia Cohen (California Board of Equalization), Robin Rue Simmons (First Repair), and many more at this innovative, multi-site, live & virtual convening.

The conference is a follow up to November 2021’s Strategies to Advance Economic Inclusion, which can be viewed in full here.

Registration for all conference sessions, either in-person or virtually, can be completed here.
Interested in supporting the summit through a sponsorship? Contact devi.zinzuvadia@sfgov.org for more information about ways to engage.

University of Cambridge - Envisioning Reparations: Historical and Comparative Approaches
2022-09-30
In light of Cambridge’s exploration of its historical connections to colonialism and slavery, this conference proposes to bring together scholars of Africa and the African diaspora in order to generate a broad discussion on the concept of ‘reparation’ as it relates to Black history and Black movements for freedom and equality. Rather than focusing exclusively on the UK, the US, or English-speaking Caribbean countries, this conference invites the broadest possible discussion of the black populations throughout the Americas as well as the formerly colonised nations of Africa.
Sessions will specifically address the origins and evolution of reparations movements from the period of slavery until the present, and the conference invites debates on the horizons of possibility for this controversial and embattled cause. Calls for varying forms of reparations have raised questions about the place of morality, politics, economics and law in evolving interpretations of the past.
This conference proposes to contribute to the University of Cambridge legacies of enslavement inquiry through dialogue with world-leading scholars on Black history while also creating a forum to advance the rapidly evolving public debate on slavery’s long legacies and the idea of historical reparation.
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