The Illinois city of Evanston approved a reparations program Monday night for black Americans, making it the first city in America to carry out a program that seeks to redress past discriminatory practices.

The $10 million measure will be funded from annual cannabis taxes.

Passed by a vote of 8-1, the first phase of reparations makes $400,000 available in $25,000 homeownership and improvement grants, plus mortgage assistance, for black residents who can prove they’re direct descendants of Evanston residents between the period of 1919 and 1969.

An Illinois city has become the first in America to embark upon a reparations program for its Black residents after its local council approved the implementation of its first such initiative to tackle the legacy of slavery.

Late on Monday night aldermen in Evanston – a suburban community in Chicago – voted to approve the Local Reparations Restorative Housing Program, a $400,000 housing grant program.

Evanston aldermen Monday evening approved the first expenditures in the city’s landmark municipal reparations program designed to compensate Black residents for codified discrimination.

Officials in the suburb say the initiative, which has been in the planning stages since 2019, is designed to address the discriminatory housing policies and practices faced by Black residents. The $10 million program — the first of its kind in the nation when approved in 2019 — will be funded through marijuana sales tax revenue along with some donations.