This is just the start of Color Of Change’s corporate reparations work.

Dear John,

When Pastor Dale Synder was faced with the people that stole the Bethel African Methodist Episcopal (AME) church’s land, he called on Color Of Change members to make Bethel AME whole.1 And together, we won! The city of Pittsburgh and the Pittsburgh Penguins hockey team returned the land to the church. 

This is just the beginning for Color Of Change’s broader campaign on corporate reparations—a set of committed repairs to harmed Black communities from the role of corporate entities. Will you make a contribution of $25 or more today to fuel our campaigns to return stolen land to Black communities? 

John, DONATE $25 TODAY!

Bethel AME is the oldest Black church in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, but it was more than just a house of worship. It was the site of Pittsburgh’s first Black elementary school and a stop on the Underground Railroad.2 It was a haven for residents and the center for organizing in the 1950s during the Civil Rights Movement.3 However, in 1957, the City of Pittsburgh used eminent domain to seize the Bethel AME church's original Hill District site in order to build Civic Arena and a highway system dividing the neighborhood from downtown Pittsburgh. As a result of having its land stolen and being forced to move into a smaller building, the church lost two-thirds of its congregation and subsequent funding for the programs serving Pittsburgh's Black residents. 

Color Of Change is proud to have fought for land reparations for Bruce family and Bethel AME and financial reparations for survivors of the Greenwood Massacre in Tulsa, Oklahoma.4,5 Reparations are not limited to the violence committed to Black people by government entities during the Transatlantic Slave Trade. Anti-Black policies and violence have spanned across eras from Reconstruction to Jim Crow to now. Reparations, and being made financially whole through a number of means, can ensure Black people are able to become empowered, autonomous and free. 

Color Of Change is continuing to fight for corporate reparations, but we need your help. Corporate reparations is a major undertaking; we are targeting more than 4,000 corporations that profit off land stolen from Black people and those who profit from the continuation of slavery through mass incarceration.6 Your $25 donation can fuel our ongoing fight to secure more corporate reparations and improve the material conditions for Black people.

JOIN US IN THE FIGHT FOR CORPORATE REPARATIONS!

Until justice is real,

— The Color Of Change Team

 

References

  1. Tony Norman, “Tony Norman: Great optimism and crushing disappointment at Bethel AME,” Next Pittsburgh, October 10, 2022, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/394588?t=9&akid=56495%2E4731121%2EKkH6z_. 
  2. “About,” Bethel AME Church, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/394589?t=11&akid=56495%2E4731121%2EKkH6z_. 
  3. Sandy Strauss, “A resolution supporting reparations for Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church of Pittsburgh,” Pennsylvania Council of Churches, September 30, 2022, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/394590?t=13&akid=56495%2E4731121%2EKkH6z_. 
  4. “Justice for Greenwood Foundation announces six-figure to gift to survivors of Tulsa Race Massacre,” Color Of Change, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/394591?t=15&akid=56495%2E4731121%2EKkH6z_. 
  5. “Color Of Change Commends Rightful Return of Manhattan Beach Back to Bruce Family,” Color Of Change, October 4, 2021, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/394591?t=17&akid=56495%2E4731121%2EKkH6z_. 
  6. “Policy Blueprint for Ending Carceral Profiteering,” Color Of Change and Worth Rises, https://act.colorofchange.org/go/394592?t=19&akid=56495%2E4731121%2EKkH6z_.