In the U.S., two federal reparations bills have stalled. States, cities, and institutions have taken steps on the issue, though even these relatively small-scale programs have often been met with outrage and disdain. In 2021, Evanston, Ill., moved first, launching a $10 million reparations program. Phase 1: a lottery aiming to give about 16 Black families homeownership assistance of up to $25,000 each, less than 10% of the city’s median home value. That generated significant misinformation and complaints of racial discrimination against non-Black residents. A San Francisco committee released a proposal in January calling for lump-sum payments of $5 million to eligible individuals, spurring instant backlash. Since May, a statewide California task force has made public its own reparations recommendations—40 chapters of research on resolving vast inequality—while the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice has launched a council to conduct a study of the impacts of slavery, and New York lawmakers have approved something similar.