When RepGen contributors and House Meeting hosts Joni Tedesco and Marie Lowry tell their origin stories, themes familiar to so many white American families emerge: mobility through military service, migration bolstered by GI Bill home loans and education benefits, and the promise of wealth that could grow across generations. Joni and Marie have spent decades observing, experiencing, and reckoning with America’s complicated relationship with race and privilege. Today, they are both acknowledging the unequal systems that uplifted their ancestors, and working toward a more collective vision of success—helping our nation heal from injustice, institutionalized racism, and the legacy of slavery.
Growing up in Metro Detroit during the Civil Rights era, Joni recalls questioning racial disparities as a child, especially when she attended the predominantly Black Kettering summer school where her father was a counselor. Her father had spent his youth in the infamous Black Bottom neighborhood in Detroit. His family, along with thousands of others in the largely Black neighborhood, was forced to relocate when redevelopment initiatives razed their home to make way for a freeway. Enlisting in the military during the Korean War era started him on the path to greater prosperity—Joni’s father used his hard-earned GI Bill benefits to purchase a home in Hazel Park for his growing family and earn a teaching degree, later launching his educator career in Detroit’s Brightmoor neighborhood. However, his front-row seat to redlining and “urban renewal” targeting Black residents and neighborhoods made a lasting impression.
“My father championed Martin Luther King, Jr.,” Joni notes. “He brought Black colleagues to our home during the Civil Rights clashes of the 1960s, and exposed us to the ways non-white people were treated at the time. I witnessed the bussing of Black students in the 1970s, the rock throwing and conflict when they tried to integrate with white schools—all of it. I was always really conscious of racial issues.”
Marie’s exploration of racial justice came later in life, and helped her view years of racially influenced experiences from a new perspective. Marie’s father, a Korean War veteran, spent his post-war days building a career as an auto mechanic. In the 1960s, he used his GI Bill to purchase a home in the suburb of Redford, and Marie’s family became part of the infamous “White Flight” of white residents out of Detroit that altered the city’s trajectory for decades. Marie, like many children in the suburbs during the time, felt sheltered from the racial strife making headlines mere miles away.
“As a kid attending a private Catholic school at the edge of Detroit, I wasn’t particularly aware of racial issues or racism,” Marie says. “Today, I know how much of a safety net there was in being able to buy a house and build equity—things Black residents were barred from doing.”
As her awareness grew, scenarios typical for the time took on a new, racially charged significance as well: Notorious “Copper Canyon” neighborhoods flourished, nicknamed due to the high concentration of Detroit police officers and firefighters who fulfilled city residency requirements in these secluded enclaves. Concrete walls, like the Birwood wall, were built to separate Black and white neighborhoods in Detroit, creating physical barriers to match the social and economic ones Black residents experienced. Marie grew up among invisible lines that fueled gaps in wealth, opportunity, and security that would persist for generations, and has spent much of her adulthood pursuing reconciliation.
Today, Joni and Marie use their experiences and history to inspire action—starting conversations, raising awareness, and promoting healing through Reparations. RepGen’s House Meeting model provides a unique opportunity for them to tell their own stories and connect through collective memory—from nostalgia for neighborhoods and community landmarks to reflections on the racial conflict they witnessed. Offering a new lens for these experiences helps people understand the purpose behind organizations like RepGen—and the reason so many feel compelled to finally “do something” about racial inequity.
Joni and Marie have also leveraged their church, the Universalist Unitarian Church of Farmington (UUCF) congregation, to facilitate discussions about Reparations. Joni first encountered RepGen during a House Meeting that Marie organized at UUCF. Since then, the pair has made RepGen and Reparations the topic of a sermon, a focal point for the church’s Social Justice group, and the inspiration for additional House Meetings both at the church and within Joni’s home. They are also connecting their RepGen work with local racial justice organizations, positioning Reparations as an accessible “next step” to organizations like the Detroit-based Conversations on Race (COR), which hosts race-related discussions at community libraries.
In fact, Joni and Marie credit much of their success in advocacy to RepGen’s “Reparations in Action,” approach, and specifically the Detroit-based HORT program.
“Learning about RepGen, it made sense—the idea that something is working,” Joni says. “For a lot of white people, they don’t think about Reparations until someone brings it up, and then there’s the chance to say, ‘And here’s something you can do.’”
Marie, who currently chairs UUCF’s Social Justice committee, adds, “Once you get people beyond ‘Reparations will never work’ and can demonstrate success, it’s easy to talk to them.”
Even with several successful House Meetings behind them, Joni and Marie are continually surprised by their ability to create a platform for authentic sharing and engagement. To them, it’s even more proof that repair and healing between Black and white Americans is both wanted and possible.
“When people arrive, they may not trust us. But once we discuss who we are and why we support Reparations, they begin to let their guards down and share very personal things. The House Meeting model helps us quickly build that trust in us and in RepGen as an organization,” Joni notes.
As monthly financial contributors as well, Joni and Marie show potential supporters in their circles that RepGen is an organization worth the investment of time, money, and energy.
“My social justice journey started with a question: What can I do to make the world better?” Marie reflects. “Contributing to Reparation Generation is one of my answers. I feel like I am doing my part by bringing people together, helping them acknowledge how race and racism have harmed our communities, and calling on them to be part of the solution.”
If you are ready to take the next step and bring healing and repair to your own community, learn more about Reparation Generation at an upcoming event, attend a local House Meeting, and see how we are working to create a more perfect union for all. If you or your family has benefited historically from slavery and ongoing structural racism, you may choose to contribute financially toward a Reparative Transfer—a tangible and direct wealth transfer that acknowledges our nation’s unjust past. Our debt as a nation is both moral and financial, and Reparation Generation is demonstrating the power of Reparative Acts to heal and unite our communities. We’re grateful for your support.