On Juneteenth, one man’s unwavering quest for reparations

Below the blazing sun on Juneteenth, Howard Ray flagged down cars stopped at a red light by a corner in Chicago’s Austin neighborhood. He stepped into the street and waved, clipboard in hand. “We’re working on a petition,” he started. A few rolled down their windows, intrigued. Most nodded politely before driving away. It’s the reality for a somewhat radical campaign — a petition to end all property taxes for Chicagoans descended from enslaved Africans. Ahead looms an Aug. 5 deadline to collect 100,000 signatures, which would place the referendum on the ballot. As of Wednesday, he’s only amassed a few hundred. Perhaps it is improbable. Yet Ray’s one-man quest is tinged with hope, grounded in a mission that he believes will outlive him. A movement, he said, that stretches beyond a signature count. “It’s about putting it out there,” Ray, 54, said Wednesday. He ambled back to a folding table, strewn with pens and colorful flyers. “People talk about reparations,” Ray said. “We’re actually doing it. We’re not talking, we’re doing it. This is something that we’re putting into action.” The petition, dubbed Reconstruction Era Reparations Act Now, or ReRan, calls for 3 cents from Chicago and Cook County...