Germantown Quaker congregation funds reparations initiative to help Black families become homeowners

Well, now they have an idea and did what its organizers call spiritual repair. Since March, a Quaker congregation in Germantown has been handing out grants, five awards so far of $10,000 each to get black families into their first homes. They're called Pilgrims Grants, money raised by the congregation to right an historical wrong and repay what some there might call a debt of disservice. Mason Culture reporter Taronda Thomas has more tonight. We are in West Oak Lane. And Shamira Pilgrim's not just sitting on a stoop, she's sitting on her stoop. We are in front of my very own property. A home that she just moved into with her husband and five children. To have my own property has been a long time coming. It's something that we dreamed of for many years. But it almost didn't happen. Despite the fact that she worked three jobs, Pilgrim just couldn't come up with enough for the down payment. I didn't have the 10K that I needed for the closing. That's where Lucy Duncan comes in. She's founder of the Reparations Committee at Green Street Monthly Meeting. The Quaker congregation in Germantown is dedicating half a million dollars to reparations work. The work includes helping African Americans become homeowners. We wanted to understand how we could use our resources in alignment with our values, And so we came to Unity to make this commitment of $50,000 a year for 10 years. Recently, the congregation gave $50,000 to the non-profit Birdseed. Five families will get grants of $10,000 to help them purchase homes. The congregation has also helped people who were in danger of losing old family homes in tangled titles. And we stabilized $11.3 million in housing wealth. Duncan says the reparations initiative aligns with the centuries of history that Quakers have. as both enslavers and abolitionists. When people say reparations are impossible, it's like, no. Look here. Long term, we have generational wealth for our families. That's why for the Pilgrim family, this is more than a house. It's home. I'm just excited for the future that our family will have in this home. As part of its reparations initiative, Green Street Monthly Meeting has also given $50,000 to causes associated with black maternal health. Now their initiative focused on home ownership has also inspired other congregations to do the same. Taronda Thomas, Channel 6 Action News.