Reparations have finally arrived for some Black Americans.

The city of Evanston, Illinois, began its historic reparations program by providing compensation to its many of its Black residents.

Checks and vouchers in the amount of $25,000 have been sent this week to eligible residents, a move that backs up the city’s 2019 promise to pay as much as $10 million over the next decade in reparations.

Approved in March 2021, the program targets Black residents who resided in Evanston between 1919 and 1969 or experienced housing discrimination due to the city’s policies.

It’s a similar program which officials in San Francisco currently are grappling with, as that California city also considers reparations by the harms suffered by Black residents denied fair housing, job and educational opportunities, and other hardships that were unfairly inflicted upon African American communities.

One Evanston recipient, Louis Weathers, an 88-year-old retired postal worker and Korean War veteran, shared his personal experience with racial prejudice during his interview with the Wall Street Journal.

He recounted his time at an integrated junior high school, where a white teacher consistently marginalized Black students.

He explained that the teacher would purposely ignore their raised hands to undermine their capabilities.

“We got onto that, though. When we didn’t know the answer, we raised our hands,” Weathers recounted.

Weathers counted among the first to receive a $25,000 check from the city. He told the newspaper that he gave his reparations check to his son to reduce debt and make upgrades on his home.

The payments, which can be received as vouchers or cash, are funded through taxes on marijuana and real-estate transfers.

While Evanston has begun making reparation payments, similar proposals at the national level have faced challenges.

Although a federal bill calling for a national reparations task force has been introduced annually since 1989, it has yet to be voted on in Congress.

Evanston’s mayor, Daniel Biss, said his city remains committed to change.

“Our job here is just to move forward and to continue being that example, to continue illustrating that a small municipality can make real tangible progress,” he stated.

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Gabby Douglas, the first Black woman to win the Olympic all-around gymnastics title, is taking aim at the 2024 Games in Paris.

Douglas announced on her Instagram page Thursday that she is making a comeback attempt, a dozen years after her triumph in London in 2012 and eight years after her last competition, the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

“I wanted to find the joy again for the sport that I absolutely love doing,” Douglas posted. “I know I have a huge task ahead of me and I am beyond grateful and excited to get back out on the floor.”

The now 27-year-old Douglas also posted video of herself practicing uneven bars, her signature event.

Douglas is the second Olympic champion in recent weeks to say they are pointing toward Paris.

Simone Biles, who won the all-around gold in Rio and was teammates with Douglas on the five-woman U.S. squad that cruised to the team gold in Brazil, is returning to competition at the U.S. Classic in Chicago in early August.

Douglas has yet to outline a timeline for when she might be ready to join what will be a very crowded field to make what could be a loaded American team under the rings next summer. Douglas could petition USA Gymnastics for a spot at the U.S. Classic. She had not done that as of Thursday afternoon but still has ample time to do so. There is no petition deadline for the event, set for Saturday, Aug. 5 at NOW Arena in the Chicago suburbs.

Douglas became one of the faces of the 2012 Olympics after her brilliant performance in the all-around final helped her become the third straight American woman to claim the biggest title in her sport. She became a crossover star in the aftermath, winning AP Female Athlete of the Year in 2012, writing her autobiography and having her life story turned into a TV movie.

She took a couple of years off after London but returned to competition in 2015, eventually finishing second to Biles in the all-around at the 2015 world championships and making a second Olympic team, helping the U.S. claim gold for a second straight Games.

Douglas never formally announced her retirement after Rio de Janeiro, instead dabbling in reality TV and becoming a motivational speaker, among other things.

Her return comes at a time when America’s top female gymnasts are competing into their 20s and sometimes beyond. Biles is 26. Chellsie Memmel, the 2005 world all-around champion and 2008 Olympic silver medalist, was in her early 30s when she made an unexpected comeback in 2021. Memmel is now the technical lead for the U.S. Gymnastics women’s elite program.

Douglas, who is currently training out of World Olympic Gymnastics Academy in the Dallas, Texas area, will have considerable work ahead of her. The relaxation of name, image and likeness rules have allowed several members of the 2020 Olympic team — including all-around champion Suni Lee, floor exercise champion Jade Carey and world and Olympic medalist Jordan Chiles — to extend their elite careers.

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2024 Paris Olympics at https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

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Bronx Borough President Vanessa L. Gibson hosts a screening of “The League,” a documentary celebrating the journey of the Negro National baseball league, on Wednesday at the Concourse Plaza Multiplex Cinemas.

The documentary, which premiered last month at the Tribeca Film Festival, was directed by Sam Pollack and executive produced by Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson .

Nearly 100 Bronxites attended the screening along with CEO & Founder of First and Pen, Yussuf Khan and Head of Publicity for Magnolia Pictures, George Nicholis. 

“Being able to showcase culturally impactful stories through films like ‘The League’ continues our mission at First and Pen of informing, inspiring and connecting communities through voices of color in sports,” said Khan

The film features archival footage and never-seen before interviews with legendary players and pays tribute to Hall of Famer Andrew “Rube” Foster, who founded the Negro National League in 1920 with his fellow team owners. 

“The Negro National League serves as an example of perseverance as they experienced unprecedented racism during their prime but yet were still able to overcome these systemic barriers to achieve greatness in American baseball history,” said Gibson.

“The League” opens nationally on July 14.

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