Interfaith Leaders Pledge Support for Reparations

by | Jun 16, 2022 | Featured | 0 comments

June 15, 2022

Greetings all,

On Monday, June 13th, sixteen faith communities in Evanston came together at Fountain Square in downtown Evanston to acknowledge the role that these mostly White congregations have played in the racism in Evanston, both past and present.  This interfaith group, as individual entities and as a collective, have agreed to educate and raise funds for the Evanston reparations efforts in 2022.

At the event on Monday, the clergy from the sixteen churches, synagogues and ministries, along with lay representatives, signed a document agreeing to actively support our community’s reparations efforts this year, culminating in an announcement on Martin Luther King Jr. Day in 2023, announcing the results of the education and fundraising effort.  This is exciting progress!
U.S. House Representative Jan Schakowsky shared a message, Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss spoke, and leaders from the Evanston reparations work shared their support.

As a member of First Church, I am proud that we led the way in fundraising for Evanston reparations, and I pray that we continue, and serve as a leader in this interfaith effort to raise more funds.

Last year we received support from 91 First Church Members.  I hope we can far exceed that number this year as we continue to learn and speak out against systemic racism in our community and beyond.

Please consider supporting this year’s interfaith effort, and our 2022 reparations gift from First Church.
Thank you all!
Matt Johnson, First Church Member and Reparations Representative
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Crowd gathers at the Interfaith Community Event to Support Reparations