Our Chicago: ABC7's Will Jones leads town hall on reparations, Evanston's historic plan
CHICAGO (WLS) -- ABC 7, Chicago's No. 1 station for news, explored the fight for reparations around the country, the historical context behind it, and efforts by the city of Evanston to implement a reparations plan. ABC 7 Chicago Race and Culture Reporter Will Jones moderated the town hall on abc7chicago.com Thursday, July 15, at 2:00 p.m.
During this forum, Will Jones dug deeper into the significant wealth gap between white and Black families that reparations are hoping to address. He will also examine Evanston, Illinois, and what certain members of their city council did to make history as the first city in America to implement a reparations resolution. Leaders from Evanston, including aldermen, will share their firsthand experience, discussing the process of implementation and the hope that their success may spark other cities to move forward with their own reparations plans. They will also offer insight on the misperceptions and controversy surrounding the Evanston resolution, determination of who is eligible and the financial source of the funds.
Guests included the following:
- Reverend Dr. Michael C.R. Nabors, pastor, Second Baptist Church and president of Evanston NAACP
- Robin Rue Simmons, FirstRepair.org and NAARC Commissioner
- Morris "Dino" Robinson Jr., Shorefront Legacy Center
- Peter Braithwaite, Alderman, Evanston City Council
The virtual town hall was also exclusively streamed live on ABC 7's Facebook Live, YouTube, ABC 7's app, and ABC 7's connected TV apps on Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Android TV and Roku.
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PREVIOUS TOWN HALLS:
Our Chicago: ABC7's Jason Knowles leads Pride Month discussion with LGBTQ+ youth
Our Chicago: Town hall celebrates Pride Month
Our Chicago: Town hall explores Chicago's diverse Asian communities
Our Chicago: Town hall focuses on mental health support for Black men
Our Chicago: Town hall focuses on mental health issues in children, adolescents
Our Chicago: Town hall addresses hate crimes against AAPI community
Our Chicago: Town hall celebrates Earth Month and efforts by Chicago's local community organizations
Our Chicago: Town hall on impact of climate change and weather on our environment
Our Chicago: Town hall celebrates women entrepreneurs, hosted by Tanja Babich
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Our Chicago: A Conversation About 'Black, Latino Houses Matter' Program
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ABC 7 Chicago hosts digital town hall on bullying prevention moderated by Karen Jordan
Do You Hear Me? A Discussion about Race on July 16, 2020: Hosted by Cheryl Burton, on violence
About ABC7/WLS-TV Chicago
ABC7/WLS-TV Chicago is the No. 1 local news source and most-watched television station in Chicago. With top-rated daily newscasts spanning decades and the largest social media presence in the market with more than 2.3 million Facebook followers, ABC7 Eyewitness News provides breaking news, investigative reporting, weather, politics, traffic and sports in the multiplatform space to Chicago, the suburbs and northwest Indiana. Named Best News Operation by the Associated Press for four consecutive years, the station produces 41 hours of local news weekly and Chicago's only local weekday entertainment talk show, "Windy City LIVE," as well as its highest-rated New Year's Eve special. ABC7's award-winning programs such as "Heart and Soul," "The Ñ Beat" and "Asian Influences" showcase the city's diversity, while being the only Chicago station producing and broadcasting parades representing Chicago's rich cultural history. In addition to producing town halls focused on current social issues, the station has a long and proud tradition of broadcasting political candidate debates keeping Chicago's electorate informed. ABC7's outreach efforts include annual partnerships with the Red Cross for life-saving blood drives and, most recently, spearheading an effort to raise more than $1.5 million for area food pantries.
