Athens Reparations Action latest news and updates

March 2023

Hello Alys,

It's been a busy month for ARA. We are moving toward our goal of raising $110,000 by June 2024. Our newsletter mailing list and attendance at our events are growing too. Thank you for your interest and advocacy!

Visit our Website

Save the date, APRIL 14

Join us at our April 14 Percentage Night at Athentic Brewing Company. We'll have music featuring the Athens Mountain Singers, tacos from Homy's Kitchen and of course all the beverages you could ever want. We'll kick off at 5pm, with music starting after 7pm. Ten percent of every Athentic purchase will go toward reparations for Linnentown first descendants. See you there!

A word from our donors

One Athens family donated $10,000. This is how they reached that decision:

As high school students, we were thrilled to be accepted into UGA and move into the freshman dorms to begin our education. However, what we did not know at the time, was the history of Linnentown and the families that were forced off of their land so that we could have a cozy place to start our college careers. We have continued to enjoy activities in and around Athens and UGA, including living in Athens with our family. After learning about this history, we were determined to find a way to make reparations in some way.

When ARA set the goal of $10,000 for each family displaced by the University, it was an easy decision for us to make. While this will not fix the problem, we hope that with continued education and pressure, UGA will formally acknowledge this past so that we can begin to repair what was broken.

Join our monthly Reparations Conversations

We welcomed about 20 folks to our March Reparations Conversations gathering. Ms Geneva Johnson shared her memories of Linnentown and how the experience of displacement affected her life trajectory. We talked about how this harm can be repaired,with local and national action.

Geneva remembered:

"Both my parents worked at UGA. Dad worked in the Fine Arts building. The white people called him Snowball. My mom worked in Snelling Dining Hall. There were 8 of us children. Dad built our home from materials UGA discarded during construction, a nice house with a carport. When I was 15 Daddy broke the news. They told us we had to move. What they were really saying was, 'you’re in the way.'"

Get Ready for ARA Swag!

We are working with Satisfactory Printing to design merch. Be the first to get your ARA t-shirt, stickers, and other swag at our April 14 percentage night! You'll also be able to order online. More information coming soon.

Reparations in the news

According to a Pew Research Center poll, 68% of Americans oppose the idea of reparations. Why? Because the very existence of a racial wealth gap goes against the core tenet of the American dream. Read more here.

California is considering a proposal made by its Reparations Task Force that economists estimate could top $800 billion. The reparations are meant to compensate for harm done through property seizure, devaluation of Black-owned businesses, housing discrimination, mass incarceration and over-policing, and other polices and practices. Read more here.

Relationships with Linnentown

We have been privileged to visit first descendants in their homes, share meals with them, learn more about Linnentown and the experience of displacement under Urban Renewal, and explain our mission and vision. We will continue to center these relationships in all that we do.

Watch the Linnentown Documentary