Family who funds reparations program for racism victims first got rich off of slavery

Your support helps us to tell the story Find out moreClose As your White House correspondent, I ask the tough questions and seek the answers that matter. Your support enables me to be in the room, pressing for transparency and accountability. Without your contributions, we wouldn’t have the resources to challenge those in power. Your donation makes it possible for us to keep doing this important work, keeping you informed every step of the way to the November election Andrew Feinberg White House Correspondent Each month, a dozen Louisiana residents get $1,000 in guaranteed income, thanks in part to a $1m donation by Deacon Leroy “Buck” Close and Gracie Close of South Carolina, descendants of a family that made much of its generational wealth from the labor of enslaved people. The payments are part of a highly unique program, which launched last December, to address the ongoing impacts of America’s racist past and the present-day inequalities of its criminal justice system. The intiative stands out from a growing number of similar pilots by blending the ideas of universal basic income and reparations. Janell Landry, 40, who lives outside of New Orleans, is one of the participants in the program called...