This city led the way on reparations for Black people. Trump is trying to stop it

Evanston, Ill., became the first U.S. city to compensate Black people for historical discrimination. The Justice Department is trying to kill its program before other cities follow suit.

<img src='https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/4500x3001+0+0/resize/4500x3001!/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fb7%2Fad%2Fecff75644e249578576028649d75%2F2026-07-evanstonreparations-cchambers-040.jpg' alt='Kimberly Holmes-Ross was the first generation in her family to live outside Evanston, Illinois' 5th Ward, once the only part of the city open to Black people. She grew up there but eventually bought a house in the nearby 2nd Ward. Her family is using reparations money to turn the basement into an apartment for her son.'/><p>Evanston, Ill., became the first U.S. city to compensate Black people for historical discrimination. The Justice Department is trying to kill its program before other cities follow suit.</p><p>(Image credit: Candace Dane Chambers for NPR)</p><img src='https://media.npr.org/include/images/tracking/npr-rss-pixel.png?story=nx-s1-5869793' />