RepGen is thrilled to announce that following a nationwide search, Christian Harris has accepted the newly formed position of Executive Director.
Harris is an energetic champion for social justice that began when he captivated audiences at the early age of nine by speaking at his school’s Martin Luther King Jr. assembly. Since then, he has spent much of his professional career supporting nonprofit organizations and advocating for the transformative power of reparations. As the Co-Founder and Chair of the Oak Park IL Reparations Task Force, Christian has worked closely with elected officials, grassroots organizers, philanthropic institutions, and everyday citizens to confront our nation’s troubled legacy of structural racism and create programs to uplift the lives of all Americans. Christian also brings a wealth of experiences from entrepreneurship, political campaigning, elected board service, executive leadership, racial equity work, and more, which will serve him well in this new role.
“This is a game-changer that allows us to move our mission forward,” David Mayer, Co-Chair and Founder of Reparation Generation exclaims. “In a few years, we have shown that reparations are not only possible, but they are happening, and Christian is the perfect leader to accelerate and expand this iterative model across the country as we push for a federal program.”
Over a hundred qualified applicants were considered, but Christian stood out for his enthusiasm and expertise said Kiko Davis, Co-Chair and Founder of Reparation Generation, “We couldn’t have asked for a better person to guide RepGen into the next chapter. Christian knows this community and his collaborative approach will bring more people into this growing movement.”
But perhaps no one is more excited than Christian when he says that “helping this nation do right by my ancestors and their descendants is something I work at daily, and I am thrilled at the opportunity to grow an organization with the same goal.” In particular, Christian encourages folks to remember that “Although the journey toward national reparations may seem long, our country’s history shows us that there have always been pioneers who guided us toward a brighter future, even amidst uncertainty. I often reflect on the generations of abolitionists who fought to end slavery against immense opposition, the activists who championed women’s suffrage without knowing if their voices would ever be heard, the freedom fighters of the 1960s who believed this nation had a place for them too, even though history told them otherwise. Today, we are those trailblazers for our generation—the Reparation Generation—striving to fulfill the promises of our founding documents through the principles of reparative justice and I am so excited to embark on this journey with all of you as we heal our nation together.” We invite you to learn more about Christian’s background and vision by listening to his personal message to the RepGen community.
This is an exciting time for RepGen that would not be possible without your ongoing support. Studies show that most nonprofits collapse within the first two years, and despite the fact that DEI initiatives and accurate representations of American history are under attack, you have helped truth and healing to prevail. With every difficult conversation, honest reckoning, and reparative wealth transfer, you are helping to heal our nation. Now more than ever, RepGen is positioned to execute Reparations in Real Time, as we continue to imagine Federal Reparations becoming a defining part of our national legacy.
We would like to thank the volunteers involved in the successful search for an Executive Director, and all that contributed financially to supporting this essential growth in RepGen’s organizational capacity. As Christian settles into this important role in the coming days and months, we welcome him to the RepGen community and look forward to his leadership in spreading the good word of reparations and expanding the RepGen model.