40 Acres: The original promise

Fabiola Cineas talks with Nkechi Taifa, the founder and director of the Reparation Education Project, about the history of the fight for reparations in America. Though they came to the forefront during the 2020 election in the wake of George Floyd’s murder, activists have been fighting for repayment for slavery since the practice was abolished. This is part of 40 Acres, a four-part series examining reparations in the United States.

This series was made possible by a grant from the Canopy Collective and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. To provide feedback, please take our survey here: https://forms.gle/w9vYsfFGvdJLJ3LY9

Host: Fabiola Cineas, race and policy reporter, Vox

Guest: Nkechi Taifa, founder and director of the Reparation Education Project

References:

WMUR, 2019: Joe Biden discusses China-US trade talks, gun violence

The N'COBRA movement and HR 40

Henry Louis Gates, Jr.: The Truth Behind “40 Acres and a Mule”

Summer of Change: The Civil Rights Story of Glen Echo Park

Los Angeles Times, 1995: Inspired by Marcus Garvey, Audley Moore has struggled to lift up African Americans

The Republic of New Africa

The Atlantic: Martin Luther King Makes the Case for Reparations

HR 442 — Civil Liberties Act of 1987

HR 40 — Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans Act

Pew Research Center: Black Americans Have a Clear Vision for Reducing Racism but Little Hope It Will Happen

Gallup polling on American attitudes and race

Belinda Sutton and Her Petitions

No Pensions for Ex-Slaves: How Federal Agencies Suppressed Movement To Aid Freedpeople

Wall Street Journal, 2019: "Reparations Ray" Blazed Lonely Trail

Associated Press, 2019: New Orleans mayor to apologize for 1891 lynching of 11 Italian Americans

NPR, 2009: Senate Apologizes For Slavery

ABC News: Advocates call on Biden to act on reparations study by Juneteenth

NPR, 2006: COINTELPRO and the History of Domestic Spying

Washington Post, 2000: In Aetna's Past: Slave Owner Policies

New York Times, 2016: Insurance Policies on Slaves: New York Life's Complicated Past

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This episode was made by:

Producer: Jonquilyn Hill