We continue the Faces of Reparations series in episode 8. In this episode we were lucky enough to interview Ashley Drakeford. We learned about her profession, passion for urban gardening, and why she is a strong supporter of reparations.

In this episode we even learned about the fact that her family lineage can be traced all the way back to the Capitol Heights, MD area where she grew up and currently lives. Her family was enslaved, freed, and ultimately remained in the area that they currently reside in generation after generation.

Another topic of discussion centered around the idea of giving land in big cities to Black American descendants of slaves who could live on and farm the land as urban gardeners. 

While the push continues for reparations in America, we feel that it is very important to discuss other situations where reparations were actually paid to a group of people. In this episode we interviewed   University of Connecticut Professor Thomas Craemer. 

Professor Craemer was born in Germany, and was able to see firsthand what positive impact reparations being paid to Jewish people had on German society overall. It is this experience that fuels the work he does on  advocating for reparations to be paid to Black Americans who descended from slaves. 

We hope that this discussion will lead to continued momentum on the reparations front. No steps backwards! 

The City of Evanston has been in the headlines of late. The reparations conversation is heating up, and this Illinois city is taking a crack at what they call a reparations proposal.

Growing opposition to the reparations bill is taking shape, as many believe a true reparations program must include cash payments and not be so narrowly targeted that it only helps a small number of Black Evanston residents.

Evanston activists Rose Cannon, Kevin Brown, Sebastian Nalls, and Jersey Shabazz join us for this episode to break down what is going on, and why the current reparations plan is severely flawed. The conversation about how to define reparations and how it should be structured is an important one. We hope that you enjoy the episode.