LOCAL

Greater Lansing Black leaders seek $1 million in reparations by end of 2023

Krystal Nurse
Lansing State Journal
From left, Pastor Stanley Jenkins, director of congregational life and outreach Prince Solace and church member Willye Bryan photographed at Lansing First Presbyterian Church on Monday, Oct. 10, 2022, in Lansing, are working with the Justice League of Greater Lansing to offer faith-based reparations to the Black community.

A group of Black faith leaders, business owners and activists hopes to collect $1 million in reparations from white people to help start and fund Black businesses, mortgages and education.

Willye Bryan founded The Justice League of Greater Lansing in June of 2021 after white congregants at local churches said they wanted to make amends with the Black community. The league's all-Black board will be responsible for allocating reparations and hopes to have $1 million collected by the end of 2023, she said.

"The vision of the Justice League is to gain reparations for the 270,00 African Americans living within the capital area region," said Prince Solace, president of the league.

Likelihood of reparations low:Most Black people want reparations. They don't believe America will give them any

Solace said the money will help resolve the racial wealth gap and systematic oppression Black people face.

Bryan said she has asked churches that want to make financial amends to transfer funds to the Black community in the spirit of "repentance, reconciliation and reparations."

"Churches have been just as complicit in slavery as any other group in the country and sometimes even more so," Bryan said.

So far, First Presbyterian Church of Lansing pledged to donate $100,000 through various means, and Sycamore Creek Church in south Lansing pledged 1% of its endowment over the next three years. A link to donate is on First Presbyterian Church of Lansing's website.

From left, director of congregational life and outreach Prince Solace, church member Willye Bryan and Pastor Stanley Jenkins, photographed at Lansing First Presbyterian Church on Monday, Oct. 10, 2022, in Lansing, are working with the Justice League of Greater Lansing to offer faith-based reparations to the Black community.

Michigan State University Federal Credit Union donated $500 to the league's operations, Solace said. The University of Lutheran Church has plans to contribute toward the league's scholarship portion of reparations.

"It is a 300-year-old broken promise that we're trying to breathe new life into," Solace said.

He works at First Presbyterian Church of Lansing and said reparations fall in line with the church's new emphasis on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. Solace started a podcast in May at the church focused on how family structures impact lives.

Legislators and community leaders across the nation have been addressing the topic of reparations. California became the first state with a reparations task force that, earlier this year, called for extensive reforms in housing, education and the justice system.

Congress has introduced bills on reparations that saw little success such as Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, House of Representatives bill H.R. 40 to study and develop reparations for Black people. Her bill emulated proposed legislation from late Rep. John Conyers', D-Mich.

New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, a Democrat, introduced a similar bill in the Senate in 2021.

In Michigan, Detroiters overwhelmingly passed a ballot proposal in November for the Detroit City Council to create a task force that would address the harm racism has inflicted on Black residents in the city.

Detroiters Back Reparations:Detroit ballot proposals: Voters OK reparations measure, defeat change to spending

First Presbyterian Church of Lansing Pastor Stanley Jenkins said he preaches that racism and white supremacy are sins. The church has a predominately white congregation and staff. He hopes the strategy will convince people of other faiths to donate.

"One of the things I try and do with my congregation is to emphasize that these systems of oppression and white supremacy hurt us all," Jenkins said. "There's a price you pay with a diminished soul for not paying attention to these things."

From left, Pastor Stanley Jenkins, director of congregational life and outreach Prince Solace and church member Willye Bryan photographed at Lansing First Presbyterian Church on Monday, Oct. 10, 2022, in Lansing, are working with the Justice League of Greater Lansing to offer faith-based reparations to the Black community.

Not everyone is open to reparations, he said. But the Justice League already has about 10 religious organizations who expressed interest. The league is also focused on getting reparations from other sectors of the community.

Solace said education about reparations won't stop if they hit their $1 million goal. They'll still visit predominantly white houses of worship and teach those congregants about reparations, slavery and religion's participation in racism.

Bryan said the league is reaching out to the community with events about how they can either contribute or benefit from reparations.

The league scheduled a book discussion and signing with "Unbroken and Unbowed: A History of Black Protest in American" author Rev. Jimmie Hawkins from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday at Socialight Society Bookstore in the Lansing Mall. Hawkins will host workshops from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday at Capital Area District Library's Downtown Branch.

"We have made the connection between racism and the lack of equity in the entire community and we want to change that," Bryan said.

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Contact reporter Krystal Nurse at (517) 267-1344 or knurse@lsj.com. Follow her on Twitter @KrystalRNurse.