The Inheritance of Inequality: How Systemic Racism Persists

The Trump administration is currently trying to rewrite history - accusing the Smithsonian and other museums of being too "woke" because they talk about slavery and racism... and you know - say that they are bad. Of course Republicans have been doing this for decades - most recently with their attacks on "Critical Race Theory" (or CRT) supposedly being taught in schools. They have been banning books that teach the history of systemic racism in America and eliminating DEI in the federal government (despite the fact that DEI also helps a whole bunch of White people).

The thing is - the history of how our legacy of racist policies impacts the opportunities of people today has never fully been taught... This history is invisible to most Americans. The Homestead Act, the GI Bill, low interest home loans, etc. - all gave significant advantages to white Americans (one might even call them privileges) that accrued benefits over time - building generational wealth... but the programs were not equally distributed. Through Jim Crow segregation, redlining, restrictive covenants, etc. these benefits were denied to Black people - and that inequality is passed down through the generations. The racial wealth gap is the same today as it was in the 1960s because of this intergenerational transfer of wealth for White people, and the passing down of poverty and systemic disadvantages for Black people.

And then when the Civil Rights Movement ended explicit legal segregation and discrimination... suddenly these government programs disappeared for everyone... You see - this is how racism hurts White people too.

And while while Trump and MAGA don't want people to learn this history (because all they care about is the billionaire class of owners and bosses) Mom and I are going to tell you all about it! It's time we finally addressed this inequity... and we can do it in a way that helps EVERYONE prosper.

These are selected clips from episodes 2 and 3.