Reparations Finance Lab
Organizational Overview
2023
Prepared for:
Enith Martin WIlliams
Chief Executive Founder/Executive Director
Framing the Moment
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Introducing Reparations Finance Lab
Who We Are
A financial services non-profit dedicated to encouraging and facilitating private sector allocation of reparative capital to the descendants of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade globally
Our Vision
Approaching an Inflection Point for Large Scale Action
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Increasing momentum behind diverse reparations programs is moving the
issue toward a critical tipping point
Southern Homestead Act
Ex-slaves were given 6 months to purchase land at reasonable rates without competition from white southerners and northern investors
1865
1866
1969
1974
2001
2016
2019
2020
Sherman’s Special Field Order 15
Mule & 40 acres of land provided for ~10,000 Black residents
The Black Manifesto
Launched in Detroit as one of the first calls for reparations in the modern era and penned by James Forman, the manifesto demanded $500 million in reparations
Tuskegee Settlement
A $10 million out-of-court settlement was reached between the U.S. government and Tuskegee victims, black men who had been unwitting subjects of a study of untreated syphilis, and who did not receive available treatments
Greenwood OK Reparations
Oklahoma legislature approves reparations for the destruction of the Greenwood, Oklahoma, in 1921. Includes scholarships, an economic development authority, a memorial, and medals to known living survivors
GU Acknowledges Slaves Sales
Georgetown offers preferred admission to descendants of slaves who worked at university
$419M settlement w 17 Native Tribes
Settlement to resolve lawsuits alleging federal mismanagement of tribal land, resources, and money
Virginia Theological Seminary commits $1.7M for reparations
Princeton Theological Seminary commits $27M for reparations
Evanston, IL allocates $10M per year for reparation programs
HR 40 a Bill To Establish Commission to study and Develop Reparations for African Americans is introduced in the US House of Representatives.
University of Mississippi apologizes to 1970 Protesters
Asheville, NC approves reparations program
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Baseline Constructs for Measuring Harm & Repair
1526
Unpaid Wealth Creation
Social / Economic Infrastructure Disinvestment
Social / Economic Development Loss
Funding for Repatriation to Africa
Harm
Repair
Indigenous Peoples Development Program
Establishment of Cultural Institutions & Return of Cultural Heritage
Psychological Rehabilitation
The Right to Development Through the Use of Technology
Debt Cancellation and Monetary Compensation
Assistance in Remedying of Public Health Crisis
Illiteracy Eradication & Education Programs
Enhancement of Historical & Cultural Knowledge Exchange Programs
Full & Formal Apology
Human Life Destruction
Time
RFL Overview
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Shifting the Reparations Conversation Paradigm
Using capital market innovation and multi-sector engagement, RFL aims to shift large-scale reparative action from a “zero-sum” to “win-win” proposition
1. Data Collection
Broad and deep collection methods to maximize evidentiary foundation for repair initiatives
2. Harm Measurement
Cutting edge analysis methods to calculate multidimensional harm created by slavery and its downstream activities
3. Policy / Program Development
Program and incentive design to maximize reparative impact of intervention(s)
4. Capital Mobilization
Innovative instrument and investment vehicle design that maximize transparency and minimize transaction costs
5. Repair Measurement
A nationwide index scoring multiple social, civic and economic participation indicators
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How our Solution Offerings Accelerate the Reparative Action
Reparative Action
Data best practices, benchmark indexes and repair checklists standardize and open-source emerging best practices
Data Center of Excellence
Capital market-centered, data-informed research drive multidisciplinary repair strategy development and execution support
Strategic Advisory
Cutting edge analytical methods enables robust harm measurement and forecast policy impact analysis
ML / AI Development
Data visualization tech development empowers harm & repair centered dialogue with community stakeholders, private actors and electeds
Custom Tech Development
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Expansive Data & Analytics Toolset Drives Evidence-Based Execution
Sources
Methods
Hygiene
Measurement
Validation
Research and Publications in the public domain
Semantic Data Scraping
Image Processing
Pattern Recognition
Natural Language Recognition
Sample Testing / Benford Law Analysis
kNN Imputation
Stochastic Regression Imputation
Log Transformation / Min-Max Scaling
Time Series Forecasting, incl:
Multiple Seasonality (Prophet)
Autoregressive Moving Forecast (ARIMA, SARIMA)
Dynamic Linear Models
Cross Validation
Analysis
Tornado Sensitivity Analysis
Monte Carlo Simulation
Collection
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Case Study, Our Approach in Action
Customer
City of San Francisco, Human Rights Division
Industry Vertical
Municipal Government
Customer Pain Point
Effective means to communicate with citizens and other stakeholders about emerging reparations policy initiatives
Delivered Solution
Scatterday & Associates designed and delivered an interactive data visualization software displaying movement of Black population from historical core neighborhoods to peripheral and suburban locations over time
City of
San Francisco
Data
Collection
Harm
Measurement
Tech
Enablement
Using advanced semantic collection and analysis, aggregated core population and economic datasets related to historically Black community in San Francisco subject to discriminatory redevelopment action from 1956-1972
Using statistical approaches including time series forecasting, modelled population and capital flows from historically Black community and its corresponding economic value
Data and statistical analysis visualized in intuitive user interface to enable and accelerate productive policy and program conversations with key private, public and non-profit stakeholders
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Reparative Impact Checklist
The Reparations checklist is meant to provide guidance to capital allocators including banks, asset managers, private equity funds, insurers and others a way to measure the impact of their allocation and capital in delivering reparative capital to communities harmed by systemic racialized denial of capital.
Used in conjunction with Slavery Disclosure Ordinances adopted by a number of major cities and municipalities, SDO requires that City Contractors disclose whether their company had any participation, investments, or profits derived from slavery during the Slavery Era prior to 1865.
As well the Reparations Checklist can be used by Real Estate developers who are now bound by a new federal rule, Affirmatively Further Fair Housing (AFFH) requiring jurisdictions receiving public federal funds to assess disparities based on the analysis, and target federal resources in a manner that solves chronic disparities in housing choices and access to fair housing.
Thank you
Artemest
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Enith Martin Williams
ewilliams@17assetmanagement.com�
Enith Williams is the Founder and Executive Director of the Reparations Finance Lab, (RFL), a financial services non-profit that seeks to engage the capital markets to design innovative financial products and processes that will deliver Reparative Capital to the descendants of the Transatlantic Slave Trade globally. RFL utilizes data to drive its understanding of the wealth destruction that has resulted from the legacy of enslavement, legal segregation, colonialism and modern-day racist policies and practices in the private and public spheres.
A graduate of Williams College with extensive graduate work and financial training at Fordham University, and the New York Institute of Finance., Enith is seasoned financial services executive and held senior positions as an international banker with Merrill Lynch in New York City and with the Government of Jamaica. She has also developed and led a range of programs to address pressing social issues including homelessness, community development and youth and adolescent engagement in the arts. She has also served as a member of the board of directors on public boards and on non-profits boards in the USA and in Jamaica.
She brings this diverse background and insights to RFL’s mandate of engaging private, public, and philanthropic capital to close the racial wealth gap. RFL works collaboratively with Scatterday & Associates, a data analytics firm, to map and quantify important new lens for understanding and designing financial interventions that are scalable, replicable, and measurable. RFL has designed a Reparations Checklist and Capital Mapping tool to drive its engagements and interventions.
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Key Project Capabilities
* metrics to be jointly selected and defined with JWN
** to be applied as applicable to the project scope
Appendix
Disclaimer
Artemest
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The information contained in this communication is for discussion purposes only. Information provided does not constitute or include professional, legal and tax or any other form of advice and should not be relied on as such. All communications, written or oral will be not understood to be an assurance or guarantee of results. This communication is provided by Reparations Finance Lab and/or Scatterday & Associates on a confidential basis. No warranty, express or implied, is made as to the accuracy or completeness of the information and nothing herein.