Judicial Watch, a conservative legal group, argues that the reparations plan is unconstitutional because applicants qualify for payments based on their race.

A conservative activist group filed a class action lawsuit against a reparations program in Evanston, Illinois, claiming the initiative is unconstitutional because qualification for the program is based on an applicant’s race.

In 2021, Evanston became the first city in the U.S. to implement a reparations program, offering payments to Black residents affected by discriminatory zoning in place from 1919 to 1969. The group Judicial Watch is representing six non-Black people whose ancestors lived in the Chicago suburb at that time. They argue that the program aimed at ameliorating historic wrongdoings violates the equal protection clause. Judicial Watch claims that Evanston uses race as “a proxy for experiencing discrimination between 1919 and 1969.”

The lawsuit follows a series of cases brought forward by advocacy groups in the wake of last year’s Supreme Court decision to end race-conscious admissions for colleges — shifting the focus from universities to scholarship programs and local initiatives.

  • ThrowawayOnLemmy@lemmy.world
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    20 days ago

    This is a stupid argument they’re making… they had no concerns about race based decisions when they were redlining black people. But now, when it comes time to make amends, race doesn’t exist and we shouldn’t consider it a factor?

    These fuckin people think they’re so clever, but spend any time critically thinking about their position and you can immediately see how racist it is.

    Awfully convenient they want equal protections now, after they’ve removed the upward mobility of an entire race.