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Equity And Transformation

@eatorgchicago

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Our mission is to build social and economic equity for Black workers engaged in the informal economy.

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HB 4443 just got an upgrade. Meet HB 5815. 😏

If you’ve been following our fight for Guaranteed Income, you know we’ve been pushing hard for HB 4443. But as campaigns grow, they evolve. We are proud to announce that our legislation has officially leveled up to HB 5815 #WHATIFF

The bill number changed, but the reality on the streets hasn't. People criminalized for cannabis are still locked out of the billions in profit it now generates. HB 5815 is our path to Drug War Reparations—$500/month funded by cannabis tax dollars. Same mission, better legislation, stronger coalition.

Why the change? Because we listen to our community. HB 5815 takes everything we loved about the first bill ($500/month direct cash from cannabis revenue) and adds specific legal protections for our nonprofit partners. It is now written into law that this program will NOT take away funding from existing R3 grantees. We are building with nonprofits, not competing with them.

The House votes soon. Tell your legislator to vote YES on HB 5815. (check the last slide 🤜🏽🤛🏽) taken in Chicago, Illinois by @eatorgchicago

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19 days ago

Society finds a way to fund the things it values most...

That's it. That's the post.

#WHATIFF

Make it make sense 🤨 by @eatorgchicago

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5 months ago

How EAT turned a broken promise into a movement.

Illinois made a promise in 2019. Then broke it in 2020.

When cannabis became legal, lawmakers said 25% of tax revenue would help communities harmed by the drug war. Instead, the money flowed to corporations and nonprofits... not to the people who were criminalized.

EAT didn't accept that.

In 2021, they launched the Chicago Future Fund: the first guaranteed income program in the U.S. designed exclusively for formerly incarcerated people. 30 residents. $500/month. No strings.

The results and EAT's argument were undeniable: There is no excuse not to pay survivors directly.

This isn't theory. This is proof.
Chicago Future Fund data proves reparative justice works.
The door is open. Now we push through.
HB 4443 is the Illinois Future Fund. $500/month guaranteed income from cannabis revenue for people the system criminalized.

Email your rep: https://actionnetwork.org/letters/email-to-state-representative?source=direct_link&

Sign the petition: https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/we-demand-reparations-in-the-form-of-guaranteed-income

Read the full Chicago Future Fund report: https://www.eatchicago.org/reports/cffround2evaluation.pdf

House votes by March 27. Your legislator is counting on your silence. Don't stay silent.
#HB4443 #DrugWarReparations #GuaranteedIncome #ReparativeJustice #Illinois by @eatorgchicago

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7 months ago

Stop letting institutions dream for us. 🗣️🔥

Real base building isn’t handing community members a pre-packaged policy and asking them to parakeet it at a press conference. True organizing means having an idea, opening it up to the community, and being willing to move the line based on their real, lived input.

Too often, grasstops organizations and corporate interests pull old policies out of a folder, call it "community input," and use our faces to legitimize it. But if we don't do the hard work of building consensus with our people, we’re just letting elites set the terms.

And when it comes to transforming our neighborhoods, Rich breaks down a critical truth every movement must hold: Abolition is a two-part commitment—we have to DISMANTLE and REBUILD

If all we do is talk about what we’re tearing down without a clear, concrete picture of what we’re building in its place, we create a vacuum. And right now—whether it’s corporate developers sweeping into fire-damaged neighborhoods, private equity taking over public land, or reactionary politicians pushing for new prisons—that void gets filled real fast on the right with fear, chaos, and control.

If we leave the dreaming of what replaces harmful systems to the same people who built them, we’re doomed to repeat the cycle.

It’s time to take back the narrative, center direct material repair, and build what comes next together.

---

🎙️ Episode: AirGo Ep 402: How to Build a Movement with Rich Wallace @itsrichwallace
📻 Hosts: @damon_af & @airgokiss for @AirGoradio
🔗: https://youtu.be/pDQvS5TQCpE?is=ovZwFhg5TJUL-e3M taken in Chicago, Illinois by @eatorgchicago

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3 days ago

Rich Wallace is a solid dude (not gaseous, not liquid) and brilliant organizer who has built EAT Chicago, a non-profit, community-led organization founded by and for post-incarcerated people, to build social and economic equity for Black workers engaged in the informal economy.

He talks about his winding path to this revolutionary work, the joyous days as a member of legendary Chicago rap crew BBU, how to keep the work grounded toward reparation and healing, and how these nonprofits can screw up that work for everyone. Plus, we break down the challenge of pants in this economy and ecology.

📺 Watch the episode on our Youtube! @RespairMedia Link in bio 📺

🎧 Find the linktree in our bio to hear it on the podcast - we’re AirGo everywhere 🎧 by @eatorgchicago

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4 days ago

"Being able to see how it was experienced by a previous cohort filled in my imagination and connected directly to this idea of reparations was powerful." - @rogerbonair

During our EAT Film Festival, incoming Restore Fellow Roger from Cohort 2026 shared how watching The Big Payback and The Restore Fellowship Documentary expanded his vision for reparative justice.

For Roger, seeing how local campaigns like Evanston can metastasize into a federal movement showed that local efforts are never isolated. Just as vital was seeing how physical, bodily, and spiritual healing in the Restore film connects directly to the broader fight for complete repair.

True reparations require full healing, spiritual reconnection, and economic power back home.

That vision is why Equity and Transformation is pushing for House Bill 5815 (HB 5815). By passing HB 5815 and establishing the Illinois Freedom Fund, we channel cannabis tax revenue directly into system impacted Black communities across Illinois.

📽️: @differ.ent.media + @kyleameeks taken in Chicago, Illinois by @eatorgchicago

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6 days ago

"To know who you are is to know who you were." - @daeskigotbanned

During our festival feature talkback, director Ken Williams Jr. (@kenctures) talked with the inaugural Restore Fellows to reflect on their life changing journey from Chicago to Benin, West Africa.

Fellows Nicole (@brown_suga0216), Shabazza (@sewinmonster), Malcolm (@malcolmlondon), and Dae Dae shared how returning to ancestral land transformed their perspective on entrepreneurship, spiritual reclamation, and history. As Malcolm London shared during the panel, this documentary is far more than cinema. It is a revolutionary project dedicated to cultural preservation and resistance.

Fellows not in attendance:
@dr_quiqui78
OG No IG Greg

The Restore Fellowship Documentary has officially been nominated for a Midwest Emmy Award! @chi_natas

You can watch and support the film across multiple platforms:
• Currently streaming globally on @kwelitv
• Making its official television premiere on CAN TV on October 16

Watch the full talkback on YouTube, stream the documentary on kweliTV, and follow @restorefellows for updates and future Fellowship stories 🧘🏽‍♂️

📺: https://youtu.be/hl8F6-ldN6c
📽️: @tlntd.mp3 + @kyleameeks + @kenctures taken in ACX Harper Theater by @eatorgchicago

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9 days ago

"There is no version of the hyper local reparations that we are doing that will suffice... we need a federal bill."

During our feature talkback panel, N'nanba (formerly Alderwoman @robin_5th_ward) sat down with @crimsclasspod to break down the evolving fight for reparative justice.

While federal redress remains our ultimate North Star, local victories like Evanston proved the concept nationwide. Yet as these initiatives succeed, they face aggressive legal pushback and lawsuits designed to halt Black progress. Evanston responded by doubling down, expanding their commitment from $10 million to $20 million.

This legal climate is exactly why Equity and Transformation crafted House Bill 5815 (HB 5815) with strategic precision.

Unlike municipal programs facing racial blockers in court, HB 5815 anchors compensation directly to victims of the War on Drugs. By structuring the Illinois Future Fund around drug enforcement impacts and system impacted individuals, the bill creates a resilient legal model. It bypasses conservative constitutional challenges while funneling cannabis tax revenue directly to the Black working class communities that bore the brunt of systemic harm.

Local organizing sets the stage. Smart policy secures the future.

Watch the full talkback panel on YouTube and sign the HB 5815 petition today.

📺: https://youtu.be/HmSXqwG8CIw
📽️: @kenctures + @tlntd.mp3 taken in ACX Harper Theater by @eatorgchicago

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11 days ago

"You do not come back the same person. When you touch the land and stand where the ancestors stood, it is a different type of feeling." - @chiguy_jo

During our festival talkback, Restore Fellowship Cohort 2025 fellows Josiah and Jaleesa reflected on the transformative ripple effect of returning to West Africa. As Equity and Transformation Director Glenn Taylor shared, when one fellow completes this experience, they return home equipped to reach and impact ten more lives.

For Jaleesa, the journey brought an overwhelming sense of safety, ancestral connection, and deep peace. For Josiah, it was a personal fulfillment of his late grandfather's lifelong guidance to go home, allowing him to bring back generational wisdom and open new doors of opportunity for his family and friends.

Restoration is not just an individual journey. It is a collective movement. When we heal our people, we rebuild our entire community.

That same commitment to holistic restoration drives our fight for House Bill 5815 (HB 5815). By establishing the Illinois Freedom Fund, we ensure that direct economic resources and cash transfers go straight into the hands of system impacted Black communities across Illinois.

Full talkback panel on YouTube and sign the HB 5815 petition today.

📺: https://youtu.be/J8Fvung8wJo
📽️: @kenctures & @tlntd.mp3 taken in ACX Harper Theater by @eatorgchicago

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12 days ago

"If you saw anything that you can replicate tomorrow, please do that. That is my invitation." - @sarahohwow

During our festival talkback for @wecalleachother, filmmaker Sarah Oberholtzer shared a powerful observation on how the festival curated different elements of healing and reparations.

Sarah highlighted the full arc of liberation presented on screen:

First, confronting the raw impact of the carceral system on Black families and youth.

Second, illustrating restorative alternatives where communities navigate conflict through love and mutual care.

Third, returning to Africa to reclaim ancestral relationships, culture, and collective strength.

Reparations and healing are not just policy demands for the future. They are everyday actions we can build right now. This holistic vision is what powers our fight for House Bill 5815 (HB 5815). By passing HB 5815 and establishing the Illinois Future Fund, we put economic resources directly into our neighborhoods to fund real, lasting community restoration.

Link in our comments to watch the full talkback panel on YouTube and sign the HB 5815 petition today. 💪🏽

📽️: @kenctures & @tlntd.mp3
📺: https://youtu.be/fgFeS_f_Zmg taken in ACX Harper Theater by @eatorgchicago

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12 days ago

"Every time my dad got out, it would be a program that the state would have... It felt like it was just putting a band aid on a bigger wound." - @theeedwinwalker

For decades, government programs have offered temporary band aids for deep systemic wounds.

During our festival talkback for @afightfortimefilm, filmmaker E. Micheaux highlighted how history continually repeats itself when state initiatives bypass the communities they claim to serve. From Lyndon B. Johnson to Reagan and Bush, top down policy systems were engineered without the input of formerly incarcerated people, leaving the wrong people in charge and leaving our neighborhoods stuck in cycles of trauma.

As Edwin noted during the panel: "We need more of us leading the program so that we are not regurgitating the traumas and the issues."

That is why Equity and Transformation is organizing for House Bill 5815 (HB 5815).

HB 5815 cuts out the middleman and shifts power directly back to our people. Instead of funding bureaucratic state programs that fail to meet real needs, the Illinois Future Fund places direct economic resources into the hands of system impacted individuals who know best how to rebuild their own lives.
Real policy change requires leadership from those with lived experience.

We must stop regurgitating old systems and start funding real alternatives.

Watch the full talkback panel on our YouTube and sign the HB 5815 petition today!

📽️: @kenctures + @tlntd.mp3
📺: https://youtu.be/fgFeS_f_Zmg taken in ACX Harper Theater by @eatorgchicago

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14 days ago

“We know what’s broken. The real question is: can we build the alternative?” — Executive Director Richard Wallace @itsrichwallace 💡

When Equity & Transformation (EAT) was founded in 2018, it was born out of a clear gap: traditional movement spaces weren't holding or representing people with our lived experiences—specifically folks operating in the informal economy.

Instead of just critiquing a system built to fail us, we chose to construct our own channel.

From launching the nation’s first guaranteed income program for formerly incarcerated individuals to cultivating global healing through the Restore Fellowship, EAT exists around four core pillars:

1️⃣ Build Alternatives: Meeting immediate needs on our own terms
2️⃣ Empower: Prioritizing wellness, free therapy, and somatic healing
3️⃣ Build Power: Organizing people power to challenge systemic forces
4️⃣ Inform: Sharing our truths and elevating community wisdom

The inaugural EAT Film Festival wasn't just a night at the movies—it was a hybrid space to celebrate the alternatives we’ve built and inform our people that a new path isn't just possible... it's already being constructed.
Keep building. Stay Black. ✊🏿

📽️: @differ.ent.media @kyleameeks taken in Chicago, Illinois by @eatorgchicago

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17 days ago