Robin Rue Simmons
Robin Rue Simmons is the Founder and Executive Director of FirstRepair, a not-for-profit organization that informs local reparations, nationally. She is the former 5th Ward Alderman for the City of Evanston, IL, where she served from 2017-2021 and led the passage of the nation’s first municipal funded reparations legislation. She laid the foundation for her life’s work in 1998 when she became a residential real estate broker helping young adults begin to build wealth through homeownership. Rue Simmons has also launched and operated multiple businesses, including a construction company that employed Black tradespeople and developed dozens of affordable houses throughout Evanston. Most recently, Rue Simmons was the Director of Innovation and Outreach for Sunshine Enterprises, a not-for-profit which has supported over one thousand entrepreneurs to launch or grow their businesses. Rue Simmons is a commissioner of the National African American Reparations Commission (NAARC), a member of the Legislative Committee of the National Coalition of Blacks for Reparations in America (N’COBRA), a member of the Evanston City Council’s Reparations Committee, and a board member of the Evanston not-for-profit Connections for the Homeless. Rue Simmons has received numerous awards for her reparations and other public service work and has been featured in numerous national and international publications including The New York Times, The Washington Post, National Public Radio, The Guardian, Nightline, and CNN. Rue Simmons was born and raised in Evanston’s segregated 5th Ward, where she lives and serves today.
In March 2021, Evanston, IL, became the first city in the United States to approve a plan providing reparations for Black residents harmed by the city's past discriminatory housing policies. Robin Rue Simmons played a significant role in developing the strategy that facilitated the bill's adoption. Simmons will share many lessons learned regarding coalition building, community engagement, and establishing trusting relationships as she ushered through Evanston's historic reparations bill. The board believe the City of Decatur can learn much from Robin Rue Simmons as we work to become a more antiracist city. We hope you will join us as Robin Rue Simmons helps us to become better together.
Resources
National Coalition of Black for Reparations in America (N'COBRA)
National African American Reparations Commission (NAARC)
Evanston Reparations Community Fund
