Northwestern undergraduate researchers investigate how reparations ordinance affects Evanston citizens

Fountain Square Evanston, ILThe Center for the Study of Diversity and Democracy’s Evanston Reparations Research Collaborative will examine the ordinance’s impact on public sentiments about race relations within the Evanston community and the functioning of municipal government.

A team of Northwestern undergraduate researchers will conduct a yearlong study on the City of Evanston’s reparations ordinance. Their study aims to better understand how the public has reacted to the ordinance and its effect on race relations. The effects will also serve to inform future policies in Evanston and potentially help researchers examine the discourse on reparations across the country.

The students will be working for Northwestern’s Center for the Study of Diversity and Democracy (CSDD) and led by its founding director, Alvin B. Tillery.

“My hope is that cities thinking of following Evanston’s lead will take a similarly introspective approach — looking at where the government caused or facilitated harms and making a direct effort to repair them,” Tillery said.

Tillery is a professor of political science at the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences. His research in American politics focuses on racial and ethnic politics, American political development, and social movements. His research in political theory focuses on American political thought and critical race theory.

Learn more in Northwestern Now’s article, “Northwestern scholar establishes Reparations Research Collaborative.”