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[00:00:00]
Reginald Hardwick: From Illinois Soul, this is Dialogue. I'm Reginald Hardwick. Dialogue is an exchange about culture straight from the soul. In 2022, the city of Evanston near Chicago made history as the first U.S. city to implement a publicly funded reparations program for Black Americans. But should the relief go even further, perhaps statewide. The African Descent Reparations Commission is inviting you to take part in a state survey, which we have a link at IllinoisSoul.org. Joining me now is commission chair Marvin Slaughter Jr. Welcome to Dialogue in Illinois Soul.

[00:00:49]
Marvin Slaughter Jr.: Thank you so much for having me.

[00:00:49]
Reginald Hardwick: Chairman Slaughter, a little bit of background in case people aren't familiar. Tell me about the commission, who is on it and what is it hoping to accomplish?

[00:00:49]
Marvin Slaughter Jr.: Yeah, so the commission, the commission's work started in 2022, after an aggressive strategy by the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus Foundation to end systemic discrimination, post the murder of George Floyd. This commission has currently 13 members, a majority of which are verified descendants of U.S. chattel slavery. We have a few legislators as well, including Representative Sonia Harper, and basically the work of the commission is to educate the public and to engage the public around the issue of reparations — what are reparations, for whom would reparations go to — as well as what potential policy recommendations will we make to both the state legislature and to the governor regarding how to repair harms that the commission has found the state to be complicit in.

[00:02:06]
Reginald Hardwick: When I say the word reparations in the context of relating to Black Americans, what comes to mind for you?

[00:02:13]
Marvin Slaughter Jr.: Yeah, so when I initially hear the term reparations, I always think back first to America's original sin, which was U.S. chattel slavery. The funny part about having this conversation in the state of Illinois is that most individuals have been socialized and taught that this state was a free state. Unfortunately, that is untrue, and we have discovered that, and have published in our harm report, which was released this Black History Month of this year on our website, that the state did indeed have chattel slavery. That individuals were enslaved in the state of Illinois, that slave labor was utilized in the salt mines in Gallatin County and in other places, and that that labor contributed significantly to the Illinois economy. So when I think of reparations, I think of back pay or pay to individuals who are descendants of those folks, who are descendants of the individuals who have built this country that never received payment to begin with.

[00:03:25]
Reginald Hardwick: Well, let's talk about the survey. Is it online and what are some of the questions that it asks and what are you looking for?

[00:03:33]
Marvin Slaughter Jr.: So, yes, the survey is online at our website, ADCRC.illinois.gov. And we ask the general public to rank some of the policy prescriptions that we have developed to be able to repair individuals who are Black Illinoisans that are also descendants of — well, of U.S. chattel slavery. And we ask questions like, how do you feel about Illinois creating a state reparations program, what are your feelings on cash payments, or furthermore, we ask for individuals to rank policy ideas to address the harms that were caused by slavery in the state of Illinois, the harms that were caused by racial violence and terror against enslaved people and their descendants in the state of Illinois, the harms that were caused by unfair voting laws and the loss of political rights, the harms that were caused by stolen labor and hindered opportunity, the harms that were related to policing and an unjust legal system, addressing those housing-related harms that were experienced by descendants of enslaved individuals, addressing education-related harms and addressing harms that affected the Black family. We also have a few additional ones regarding health, specifically around physical health-related harms, environmental health-related harms, mental health-related harms, and finally an opportunity for individuals to share about any additional ideas for repair.

[00:05:18]
Reginald Hardwick: Do you have to be an Illinois resident or Illinois native or descendant of an Illinois resident to take part in this survey?

[00:05:27]
Marvin Slaughter Jr.: We are still figuring out the final touches and the details on eligibility, but what is very explicit and is written in our bill language is that this program will be for those who are American descendants of slavery. So you will have to trace your lineage back to an individual who was an enslaved ancestor here in the United States of America.

[00:05:55]
Reginald Hardwick: Are the answers confidential and how can you assure that?

[00:05:59]
Marvin Slaughter Jr.: Yes, the answers are confidential. We have gone through a painstaking process to ensure that all responses are de-identified, that we don't ask for any information that would allow for the re-identification of an individual. I think the most discreet information that we request is zip code. We don't ask for name, we don't ask for email addresses, we ask if you are currently a resident of Illinois, if you've ever lived in Illinois, and what your zip code is. And those are the pieces of information that we'll utilize to be able to kind of break into categories and cross-tab these survey results.

[00:06:45]
Reginald Hardwick: How long will this survey be up and how will the contents be tabulated and what will be done with that information after?

[00:06:52]
Marvin Slaughter Jr.: Yes, indeed. So this survey will be up until midnight of Sept. 6, 2026. We will conduct our survey analysis after the close of the survey. And ultimately the responses that we receive, both the positive and the negative and even the indifferent, will be utilized to help us determine what our final agenda and recommendation list will look like to the legislature and to Governor JB Pritzker.

[00:07:25]
Reginald Hardwick: Chair Marvin Slaughter Junior of the African Descent [Citizens] Reparations Commission, thank you for joining us.

[00:07:32]
Marvin Slaughter Jr.: Thank you so much for having me.