The first government reparations program for African Americans was approved in the city of Evanston, in the U.S. state of Illinois Monday.  The actions are intended to acknowledge and rectify the damages caused over the last century by slavery, segregation and housing discrimination in the city.   

The redress, voted on 8-1, will take the form of mortgage assistance for Black residents, homeownership and improvement grants, made especially to those who are direct descendants of individuals who lived in Evanston between 1919 and 1969.

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