The Cost of Inheritance: An America ReFramed Special

1 00:00:01,436 --> 00:00:03,133 Viewers like you make this program possible. 2 00:00:03,264 --> 00:00:05,440 Support your local PBS station. 3 00:00:12,447 --> 00:00:15,841 ♪ 4 00:00:22,892 --> 00:00:25,808 ♪ [woman vocalizing] 5 00:00:27,157 --> 00:00:29,203 LOTTE LIEB DULA: My mother had died. 6 00:00:33,381 --> 00:00:36,819 I was opening up a whole bunch of boxes. 7 00:00:38,908 --> 00:00:42,172 Each box was like a time capsule. 8 00:00:43,260 --> 00:00:46,133 I found a little black book, 9 00:00:46,263 --> 00:00:48,570 and I started paging through and I realized 10 00:00:48,700 --> 00:00:53,140 this is a plantation, and here is a list of enslaved people. 11 00:00:53,270 --> 00:00:59,668 They're listed by name, age, and value. 12 00:00:59,798 --> 00:01:01,713 ♪ 13 00:01:01,844 --> 00:01:07,589 Cornelius, age eight, $500. 14 00:01:07,719 --> 00:01:12,811 John, age 20, $1,100. 15 00:01:12,942 --> 00:01:15,466 [fading]: Jack, 15... 16 00:01:15,597 --> 00:01:18,208 SARAH EISNER: I have known that my ancestors 17 00:01:18,339 --> 00:01:21,603 were enslavers since as long as I can remember. 18 00:01:21,733 --> 00:01:27,348 What really struck me was seeing names. 19 00:01:27,478 --> 00:01:30,525 DULA: Tom, 13, $700. 20 00:01:30,655 --> 00:01:33,354 July, age ten, $600. 21 00:01:33,484 --> 00:01:34,964 TA-NEHISI COATES: We recognize our lineage 22 00:01:35,095 --> 00:01:36,835 as a generational trust... 23 00:01:36,966 --> 00:01:40,012 DULA: Jake, age ten, $600. COATES: ...as inheritance. 24 00:01:40,143 --> 00:01:41,840 And the real dilemma posed 25 00:01:41,971 --> 00:01:44,104 by reparations is just that: 26 00:01:44,234 --> 00:01:46,236 a dilemma of inheritance. 27 00:01:46,367 --> 00:01:48,412 DULA: Joe P., 24, $1,200. James... 28 00:01:48,543 --> 00:01:49,979 MARY FRANCES BERRY: By 1900, 29 00:01:50,110 --> 00:01:51,676 there was something like a million Black people 30 00:01:51,807 --> 00:01:54,984 who had actually been slaves who were still around. 31 00:01:55,115 --> 00:01:58,509 If the government had given reparations 32 00:01:58,640 --> 00:02:01,730 to those small number of people, 33 00:02:01,860 --> 00:02:04,036 perhaps the question would not have come back 34 00:02:04,167 --> 00:02:07,692 to bite them later on that nothing had been done. 35 00:02:07,823 --> 00:02:10,260 MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.: Now, when we come to Washington, 36 00:02:10,391 --> 00:02:14,177 we are coming to get our check. 37 00:02:14,308 --> 00:02:16,136 CHERYLLYN BRANCHE-BAKER: We speak the names 38 00:02:16,266 --> 00:02:19,182 of those who came before us: Verana. 39 00:02:19,313 --> 00:02:20,705 ALL: Ase. 40 00:02:20,836 --> 00:02:23,099 BRANCHE-BAKER: Barts. ALL: Ase. 41 00:02:23,230 --> 00:02:25,710 BRANCHE-BAKER: Blacklock. ALL: Ase. 42 00:02:25,841 --> 00:02:27,190 BRANCHE-BAKER: Blair. ALL: Ase. 43 00:02:27,321 --> 00:02:29,018 COATES: The matter 44 00:02:29,149 --> 00:02:30,933 of reparations is one of making amends. 45 00:02:31,063 --> 00:02:32,543 I can't breathe. 46 00:02:32,674 --> 00:02:33,849 COATES: But it is also a question of citizenship. 47 00:02:33,979 --> 00:02:35,111 MAN: Say her name! 48 00:02:35,242 --> 00:02:36,895 EISNER: Seeing those names, 49 00:02:37,026 --> 00:02:39,159 it humanized it for me. 50 00:02:39,289 --> 00:02:41,857 Why didn't somebody do something more 51 00:02:41,987 --> 00:02:44,207 to stop this within the family? 52 00:02:44,338 --> 00:02:49,430 There are 44 souls listed in this ledger. 53 00:02:50,431 --> 00:02:53,477 If our family enslaved others, 54 00:02:53,608 --> 00:02:56,567 then I've got some repair work I've got to do. 55 00:02:57,525 --> 00:03:00,963 ♪ 56 00:03:02,000 --> 00:03:08,074 Watch Online Movies and Series for FREE www.osdb.link/lm 57 00:03:11,713 --> 00:03:13,280 WOMAN: Ase. 58 00:03:13,410 --> 00:03:16,065 Ase. Ase. 59 00:03:16,196 --> 00:03:20,852 [woman vocalizing] 60 00:03:20,983 --> 00:03:22,071 Good morning, everybody. 61 00:03:22,202 --> 00:03:24,204 Underground Tours? - Yeah! 62 00:03:24,334 --> 00:03:25,944 PATT GUNN: Well, you know, we Gullah Geechee people, 63 00:03:26,075 --> 00:03:27,772 we don't say good morning, what we usually say is, 64 00:03:27,903 --> 00:03:30,427 "How y'all be?" CROWD: We be fine. 65 00:03:30,558 --> 00:03:31,950 Well, thank you so very much. 66 00:03:32,081 --> 00:03:34,518 And I am Gullah Geechee, Roz is Gullah Geechee. 67 00:03:34,649 --> 00:03:36,825 Gullah Geechee people 68 00:03:36,955 --> 00:03:38,218 are direct descendants 69 00:03:38,348 --> 00:03:39,828 from those enslaved West Africans 70 00:03:39,958 --> 00:03:41,438 that came here during 71 00:03:41,569 --> 00:03:43,484 the transatlantic slave trade. 72 00:03:43,614 --> 00:03:45,529 On this tour, we're gonna take you on a journey 73 00:03:45,660 --> 00:03:47,357 from slavery to freedom. 74 00:03:47,488 --> 00:03:50,969 I'm gonna do truth-telling, I'm gonna do reconciliation, 75 00:03:51,100 --> 00:03:54,669 I'm gonna do healing, and I'm gonna push for repair, 76 00:03:54,799 --> 00:03:57,889 which means I'm going to push for reparations. 77 00:03:58,020 --> 00:04:00,283 Can I get an amen? CROWD: Amen. 78 00:04:00,414 --> 00:04:02,807 ♪ 79 00:04:02,938 --> 00:04:07,116 [seabirds squawking] 80 00:04:08,422 --> 00:04:12,513 This is where the story really starts for me. 81 00:04:14,166 --> 00:04:17,431 I was born and raised in California, 82 00:04:17,561 --> 00:04:20,172 but I would come every summer to Savannah 83 00:04:20,303 --> 00:04:22,871 in the Hilton Head area to visit my grandparents, 84 00:04:23,001 --> 00:04:25,352 and we would visit the family cemetery. 85 00:04:25,482 --> 00:04:27,136 [insects buzzing] 86 00:04:27,267 --> 00:04:30,226 And that's where my knowledge of family history started, 87 00:04:30,357 --> 00:04:32,141 just walking in that cemetery 88 00:04:32,272 --> 00:04:35,057 and being told the truth about history. 89 00:04:36,232 --> 00:04:40,628 My family first came here around 1770. 90 00:04:41,846 --> 00:04:44,588 The first people that my family enslaved 91 00:04:44,719 --> 00:04:46,677 came to them through marriage. 92 00:04:48,331 --> 00:04:51,073 My family had owned thousands of acres, 93 00:04:51,203 --> 00:04:56,600 and then between, uh, 20 and 40 humans that were enslaved. 94 00:04:56,731 --> 00:04:59,516 Seeing the names of those that particularly 95 00:04:59,647 --> 00:05:01,083 George Adam Keller had enslaved, 96 00:05:01,213 --> 00:05:03,607 because he is the father of all these children 97 00:05:03,738 --> 00:05:05,087 that then became, 98 00:05:05,217 --> 00:05:06,828 you know, me-- 99 00:05:06,958 --> 00:05:09,134 it humanized it for me. 100 00:05:10,222 --> 00:05:12,050 I really wanted to do 101 00:05:12,181 --> 00:05:15,619 more research into who were these enslaved people 102 00:05:15,750 --> 00:05:17,229 and did they have descendants in the area? 103 00:05:17,360 --> 00:05:19,275 ♪ 104 00:05:20,407 --> 00:05:22,060 When I came here as a little girl, 105 00:05:22,191 --> 00:05:24,411 this corner of the cemetery 106 00:05:24,541 --> 00:05:27,675 wasn't quite as overgrown as it is today. 107 00:05:27,805 --> 00:05:31,156 In the corner, there's a tiny little headstone. 108 00:05:31,287 --> 00:05:34,377 I remember asking, you know, "Who's Rachel Butler?" 109 00:05:34,508 --> 00:05:36,597 [voiceover]: Rachel Butler was favored 110 00:05:36,727 --> 00:05:38,294 and she was treated special 111 00:05:38,425 --> 00:05:42,080 and she was so well-loved by the family. 112 00:05:42,211 --> 00:05:47,303 She was buried here, away from her own family. 113 00:05:47,434 --> 00:05:51,002 You can't both love someone and enslave them. 114 00:05:51,133 --> 00:05:55,093 That always really struck me. 115 00:05:55,224 --> 00:05:57,400 I feel, I feel like this is probably the first place 116 00:05:57,531 --> 00:06:00,577 in my life that I felt shame. 117 00:06:02,753 --> 00:06:06,104 I have always been seeking for her descendants, 118 00:06:06,235 --> 00:06:09,760 and in that seeking 119 00:06:09,891 --> 00:06:13,329 is sort of how I found Randy and the Quarterman family. 120 00:06:13,460 --> 00:06:15,375 [drum playing] [woman singing indistinctly] 121 00:06:22,512 --> 00:06:25,515 ♪ Was a day of rejoicing... 122 00:06:27,299 --> 00:06:29,389 [continues indistinctly] 123 00:06:32,087 --> 00:06:33,480 [rhythmic clapping] [congregation singing along] 124 00:06:35,395 --> 00:06:37,745 RANDY QUARTERMAN: My family has been in this 125 00:06:37,875 --> 00:06:41,313 area since the mid-1800s. 126 00:06:42,837 --> 00:06:46,449 But my family history, whether it was slavery 127 00:06:46,580 --> 00:06:49,278 or Jim Crow, was not passed down 128 00:06:49,409 --> 00:06:53,282 because of the pain that they had to relive. 129 00:06:53,413 --> 00:06:55,980 I understand their way of surviving, 130 00:06:56,111 --> 00:06:59,897 but it stripped us of some of our identity. 131 00:07:01,072 --> 00:07:04,162 I was born in Okinawa, Japan, in 1975, 132 00:07:04,293 --> 00:07:07,557 my father was drafted into the Air Force for Vietnam. 133 00:07:07,688 --> 00:07:11,648 I stayed in Japan and then I came back here when I was 13. 134 00:07:11,779 --> 00:07:14,608 My father would just tell me I'm a man without a country. 135 00:07:14,738 --> 00:07:17,828 ♪ 136 00:07:17,959 --> 00:07:19,439 ROY QUARTERMAN: It was hard to look 137 00:07:19,569 --> 00:07:21,179 at the United States in-- 138 00:07:21,310 --> 00:07:23,181 as my country when I wasn't 139 00:07:23,312 --> 00:07:24,618 treated equally. 140 00:07:25,706 --> 00:07:27,316 During the Jim Crow law, 141 00:07:27,447 --> 00:07:30,754 we lived in a segregated area, 142 00:07:30,885 --> 00:07:33,191 a segregated high school. 143 00:07:33,322 --> 00:07:37,457 I'd been shot at by whites just for being Black. 144 00:07:37,587 --> 00:07:41,243 Okay? I had to run for my life many times. 145 00:07:41,373 --> 00:07:43,201 Okay, so... 146 00:07:44,115 --> 00:07:46,161 ♪ 147 00:07:55,475 --> 00:07:57,215 RANDY: On this road where we at now, 148 00:07:57,346 --> 00:07:59,566 Meinhardt Road, the right side, 149 00:07:59,696 --> 00:08:02,438 that's where the all the Black families lived. 150 00:08:02,569 --> 00:08:04,135 To the left side of the street, 151 00:08:04,266 --> 00:08:06,877 that's where all the whites lived. 152 00:08:07,008 --> 00:08:08,966 And my grandmother always told me, "Hey, 153 00:08:09,097 --> 00:08:12,579 when you go play, don't go down the left side of the road." 154 00:08:12,709 --> 00:08:14,145 To learn, at that point, 155 00:08:14,276 --> 00:08:18,759 of being inferior to somebody else, 156 00:08:18,889 --> 00:08:22,110 that built anger in me. 157 00:08:26,680 --> 00:08:29,160 EISNER: In 2019, 158 00:08:29,291 --> 00:08:31,511 I was speaking with my cousin Bill, 159 00:08:31,641 --> 00:08:34,122 who lives in the Savannah area. 160 00:08:34,252 --> 00:08:37,647 Bill said, "The Quarterman family still own 161 00:08:37,778 --> 00:08:40,476 "this plot of ten acres of land that George Adam Keller 162 00:08:40,607 --> 00:08:44,915 gave, uh, Zeike Quarterman in the 1800s." 163 00:08:45,046 --> 00:08:46,482 ROY: When we found out the land 164 00:08:46,613 --> 00:08:49,224 was given to Zeike, 165 00:08:49,354 --> 00:08:51,356 he came alive again, to us. 166 00:08:51,487 --> 00:08:55,360 PASTOR: If you got anything on your heart right now, 167 00:08:55,491 --> 00:08:57,319 this is the time, hallelujah... 168 00:08:57,449 --> 00:08:58,538 RANDY [voiceover]: In August 2019, 169 00:08:58,668 --> 00:09:00,540 I had an email from Sarah 170 00:09:00,670 --> 00:09:03,020 acknowledging who her family was, 171 00:09:03,151 --> 00:09:05,501 and if I was a descendant 172 00:09:05,632 --> 00:09:07,634 of Zeike Quarterman, 173 00:09:07,764 --> 00:09:11,768 who was enslaved by, uh, George Adam Keller. 174 00:09:14,466 --> 00:09:16,599 ♪ 175 00:09:16,730 --> 00:09:18,470 I was just, like, taken offtrack a little bit. 176 00:09:18,601 --> 00:09:21,473 EISNER: I was definitely nervous and scared. 177 00:09:21,604 --> 00:09:23,040 RANDY: My question was, 178 00:09:23,171 --> 00:09:24,302 "What are they doing here? What, what's the... 179 00:09:24,433 --> 00:09:25,739 what's going on?" 180 00:09:25,869 --> 00:09:27,523 EISNER: I remember thinking, 181 00:09:27,654 --> 00:09:30,134 "What have I done? What if they yell at me?" 182 00:09:30,265 --> 00:09:33,137 If they do, they do. 183 00:09:33,268 --> 00:09:36,184 They, they have every right to be angry. 184 00:09:37,315 --> 00:09:38,926 RANDY: I consulted with Patt Gunn, 185 00:09:39,056 --> 00:09:40,667 somebody that was doing this type of work 186 00:09:40,797 --> 00:09:42,320 and understanding it. 187 00:09:42,451 --> 00:09:44,105 GUNN: And so, you're standing in a sacred ground. 188 00:09:44,235 --> 00:09:47,717 This is a slave-holding bin, we believe. 189 00:09:47,848 --> 00:09:49,327 RANDY: She told me, said, "Hey," you know, 190 00:09:49,458 --> 00:09:51,939 "your ancestors is on your back. 191 00:09:52,069 --> 00:09:53,680 "It, it's a special moment for you. 192 00:09:53,810 --> 00:09:56,247 You need to engage." 193 00:09:56,378 --> 00:10:00,208 ♪ 194 00:10:05,648 --> 00:10:09,173 [birds chirping] 195 00:10:09,304 --> 00:10:11,175 It's right here. 196 00:10:11,306 --> 00:10:14,048 See, the one, two... EISNER: Yeah. 197 00:10:14,178 --> 00:10:16,485 ...three, four. 198 00:10:16,616 --> 00:10:20,141 And this is, is... is staggered into a corner 199 00:10:20,271 --> 00:10:22,665 is, like, where our house would be right here. 200 00:10:24,101 --> 00:10:25,537 ♪ 201 00:10:25,668 --> 00:10:26,756 [voiceover]: For me and my family, 202 00:10:26,887 --> 00:10:29,367 we, we know this as heirs property, 203 00:10:29,498 --> 00:10:32,762 land that's passed down through family generations, 204 00:10:32,893 --> 00:10:36,853 that has no will to say, "This person owns the land." 205 00:10:36,984 --> 00:10:38,376 It should have been Zeike's house. 206 00:10:38,507 --> 00:10:40,727 This probably was the house structure 207 00:10:40,857 --> 00:10:42,554 that was... they lived at. 208 00:10:44,556 --> 00:10:46,950 [voiceover]: But the land is not in our possession. 209 00:10:47,081 --> 00:10:50,258 A court-appointed lawyer became the executor of our property. 210 00:10:50,388 --> 00:10:53,087 See, it's like old bricks from back then. 211 00:10:55,480 --> 00:10:57,004 [voiceover]: And then, Sarah was like, 212 00:10:57,134 --> 00:10:59,789 "Hey, I really want to get you some help 213 00:10:59,920 --> 00:11:02,531 to try to clear this title." 214 00:11:02,662 --> 00:11:06,578 EISNER: I thought, "This is so obviously 215 00:11:06,709 --> 00:11:09,669 a case of reparations, because of America's 216 00:11:09,799 --> 00:11:13,542 first attempt at reparations right in that area. 217 00:11:13,673 --> 00:11:15,718 ♪ [gunfire] 218 00:11:18,286 --> 00:11:19,766 GUNN: The emancipation of slaves 219 00:11:19,896 --> 00:11:21,202 on the Georgia coast 220 00:11:21,332 --> 00:11:24,858 happened on the 21st of December 1864. 221 00:11:26,555 --> 00:11:28,252 On a cold winter's morning, 222 00:11:28,383 --> 00:11:31,647 they trekked from Atlanta all the way down to Savannah, 223 00:11:31,778 --> 00:11:35,259 and General William Tecumseh Sherman was the Union general 224 00:11:35,390 --> 00:11:37,740 contracted by President Lincoln. 225 00:11:37,871 --> 00:11:39,916 He said, "I'm gonna burn everything down 226 00:11:40,047 --> 00:11:42,353 until I get to the sea." [horse neighs] 227 00:11:42,484 --> 00:11:44,138 [gunfire] 228 00:11:44,268 --> 00:11:45,182 [pig squealing] 229 00:11:46,227 --> 00:11:47,750 GUNN: And when he got to Savannah, 230 00:11:47,881 --> 00:11:49,839 the mayor of the city stood at city hall 231 00:11:49,970 --> 00:11:51,449 with a white surrender flag, 232 00:11:51,580 --> 00:11:54,104 so Sherman came in and freed the slaves. 233 00:11:54,235 --> 00:11:57,804 ♪ 234 00:11:57,934 --> 00:12:00,894 20 preachers met with Sherman and his soldiers. 235 00:12:01,024 --> 00:12:02,852 The conversation was, 236 00:12:02,983 --> 00:12:05,725 "What does freedom mean to you?" 237 00:12:05,855 --> 00:12:09,859 They had one spokesperson, Reverend Garrison Frazier, 238 00:12:09,990 --> 00:12:13,428 and he said, "Freedom, to us, means land." 239 00:12:15,735 --> 00:12:18,825 They wrote up Field Article Number 15 240 00:12:18,955 --> 00:12:22,654 for the Georgia and South Carolina Sea Islands. 241 00:12:22,785 --> 00:12:26,223 40 acres, a mule, and $200 for seed. 242 00:12:26,354 --> 00:12:29,270 They began to plant their land and everything was fine. 243 00:12:29,400 --> 00:12:31,054 One year later, 244 00:12:31,185 --> 00:12:36,320 Abraham Lincoln is assassinated on April 15, 1865, 245 00:12:36,451 --> 00:12:39,933 they rescind the law and they took the land back. 246 00:12:40,063 --> 00:12:42,936 They gave the planters $20,000 checks. 247 00:12:43,066 --> 00:12:44,981 The enslaved got nothing. 248 00:12:46,896 --> 00:12:48,942 RON DANIELS: Reparations has been here 249 00:12:49,072 --> 00:12:51,379 and have been worked on for generations. 250 00:12:51,509 --> 00:12:53,381 From the very beginning, people were 251 00:12:53,511 --> 00:12:56,253 knocking on the door saying, "We are owed for our labor." 252 00:12:59,039 --> 00:13:01,737 BERRY: Callie House, she was born a slave. 253 00:13:01,868 --> 00:13:04,218 She went out all around in the community 254 00:13:04,348 --> 00:13:06,220 telling Black people that they ought to ask 255 00:13:06,350 --> 00:13:08,352 the government to get some money, 256 00:13:08,483 --> 00:13:11,486 because, many, they were poor and they were desperate. 257 00:13:11,616 --> 00:13:17,579 By 1900, she had 300,000 dues-paying members. 258 00:13:17,709 --> 00:13:23,150 It was the largest organization of Black folk that had existed. 259 00:13:23,280 --> 00:13:25,369 Pretty soon, her activities 260 00:13:25,500 --> 00:13:28,155 came to the attention of the government, 261 00:13:28,285 --> 00:13:30,679 and they convicted her of fraud. 262 00:13:30,810 --> 00:13:32,289 The federal charge 263 00:13:32,420 --> 00:13:34,422 was that, "At a time 264 00:13:34,552 --> 00:13:36,859 "when you should have known that the federal government 265 00:13:36,990 --> 00:13:39,557 "would have never give Negroes anything, 266 00:13:39,688 --> 00:13:42,169 "why were you telling Negroes they should organize 267 00:13:42,299 --> 00:13:44,649 to try to get something?" [chuckles] 268 00:13:46,086 --> 00:13:49,916 They sent her to prison to serve a one-year term. 269 00:13:50,046 --> 00:13:52,309 She got out of prison, she went back to Nashville 270 00:13:52,440 --> 00:13:54,268 to this shotgun house. 271 00:13:54,398 --> 00:13:57,053 She got uterine cancer and she died. 272 00:13:59,099 --> 00:14:01,928 You can draw a direct line 273 00:14:02,058 --> 00:14:06,280 from Callie House to the reparations' movement today. 274 00:14:06,410 --> 00:14:10,153 [singers vocalizing] 275 00:14:10,284 --> 00:14:11,851 JUSTIN HANSFORD: Marcus Garvey stepped on the scene 276 00:14:11,981 --> 00:14:14,331 in 1914, asking for reparations. 277 00:14:14,462 --> 00:14:18,596 He created United Negro Improvement Association, 278 00:14:18,727 --> 00:14:20,424 the largest organization of 279 00:14:20,555 --> 00:14:22,513 people of African descent that 280 00:14:22,644 --> 00:14:24,167 has ever existed until today. 281 00:14:24,298 --> 00:14:25,516 BERRY: And when his movement 282 00:14:25,647 --> 00:14:27,388 became more and more popular, 283 00:14:27,518 --> 00:14:29,607 the government decided to prosecute him. 284 00:14:29,738 --> 00:14:33,046 Then when you get up to '60s, 285 00:14:33,176 --> 00:14:35,875 and you look at people like Malcolm X... 286 00:14:36,005 --> 00:14:39,226 MALCOLM X: America, the so-called land of the free. 287 00:14:39,356 --> 00:14:41,141 If America gives us some land, 288 00:14:41,271 --> 00:14:44,971 only then will she prove she is really for freedom. 289 00:14:45,101 --> 00:14:46,711 KING JR.: Now, when we come to Washington, 290 00:14:46,842 --> 00:14:50,324 we are coming to get our check. 291 00:14:51,325 --> 00:14:54,023 ♪ [singers vocalizing] 292 00:14:54,154 --> 00:14:56,765 ♪ Black leaves on the Mississippi River... ♪ 293 00:14:56,896 --> 00:14:58,288 $200 billion? 294 00:14:58,419 --> 00:15:01,291 Yes, for the injury that we have received. 295 00:15:01,422 --> 00:15:02,771 DANIELS: It was Queen Mother Moore 296 00:15:02,902 --> 00:15:04,599 who said, "You are due your reparations." 297 00:15:04,729 --> 00:15:06,166 And if you see 298 00:15:06,296 --> 00:15:08,472 "It's Nationtime," the documentary film 299 00:15:08,603 --> 00:15:10,039 about the Gary Black Political Convention, 300 00:15:10,170 --> 00:15:11,345 you'll see Queen Mother Moore 301 00:15:11,475 --> 00:15:13,216 in the lobby. 302 00:15:13,347 --> 00:15:15,827 This document tells you why the man owes you reparations. 303 00:15:15,958 --> 00:15:18,178 This is how you've been destroyed. 304 00:15:18,308 --> 00:15:20,702 JOHN CONYERS: This could be 305 00:15:20,832 --> 00:15:22,486 an important way 306 00:15:22,617 --> 00:15:24,401 to move this country 307 00:15:24,532 --> 00:15:26,099 into a healing mode. 308 00:15:26,229 --> 00:15:27,491 SHEILA JACKSON LEE: Senator Conyers introduced 309 00:15:27,622 --> 00:15:31,147 H.R. 40, the commission to study slavery 310 00:15:31,278 --> 00:15:33,715 and develop reparations proposals, 311 00:15:33,845 --> 00:15:36,239 after he championed with Japanese Americans 312 00:15:36,370 --> 00:15:38,676 the passage of the American Civil Liberties Act 313 00:15:38,807 --> 00:15:42,115 signed by a Republican president, Ronald Reagan. 314 00:15:42,245 --> 00:15:44,291 WOMAN: We look for major actions so that 315 00:15:44,421 --> 00:15:47,337 there may be a meaningful reconciliation 316 00:15:47,468 --> 00:15:49,992 and a healing between us and our government. 317 00:15:50,123 --> 00:15:53,169 SINGER: ♪ God made woman with an iron hand ♪ 318 00:15:53,300 --> 00:15:57,695 ♪ Raised her up on heaven's land... ♪ 319 00:15:57,826 --> 00:16:00,829 Fast-forward, this is the 21st century, 320 00:16:00,960 --> 00:16:05,355 and African Americans, we never got repair. 321 00:16:05,486 --> 00:16:08,184 COATES: While emancipation dead-bolted 322 00:16:08,315 --> 00:16:10,360 the door against the bandits of America, 323 00:16:10,491 --> 00:16:13,276 Jim Crow wedged the windows wide open. 324 00:16:14,799 --> 00:16:19,630 SINGER: ♪ Black leaves on the Mississippi River ♪ 325 00:16:19,761 --> 00:16:21,241 ♪ 326 00:16:21,371 --> 00:16:27,029 ♪ Black leaves in the Mississippi fire... ♪ 327 00:16:27,160 --> 00:16:29,379 COATES: It was 150 years ago... 328 00:16:31,251 --> 00:16:33,253 ...and it was right now. 329 00:16:34,471 --> 00:16:36,256 The typical Black family in this country 330 00:16:36,386 --> 00:16:39,476 has one tenth the wealth of the typical white family, 331 00:16:39,607 --> 00:16:41,870 Black women die in childbirth at four times the rate 332 00:16:42,001 --> 00:16:44,264 of white women, and there is, of course, 333 00:16:44,394 --> 00:16:45,961 the shame of this "land of the free" 334 00:16:46,092 --> 00:16:48,964 boasting the largest prison population on the planet, 335 00:16:49,095 --> 00:16:50,705 of which the descendants of the enslaved 336 00:16:50,835 --> 00:16:53,490 make up the largest share. 337 00:16:54,839 --> 00:16:57,625 SHAWN ROCHESTER: Because of what, what I call, 338 00:16:57,755 --> 00:16:59,975 kind of the piercing of the veil... 339 00:17:00,106 --> 00:17:01,194 You enjoying it. Look at you. 340 00:17:01,324 --> 00:17:02,804 Your body language displays it. 341 00:17:02,934 --> 00:17:04,414 ROCHESTER: ...the country and the world 342 00:17:04,545 --> 00:17:07,243 saw something unfold in slow motion 343 00:17:07,374 --> 00:17:10,333 that they just couldn't imagine was the case. 344 00:17:10,464 --> 00:17:12,248 GEORGE FLOYD: Mama, Mama, I love you. I can't breathe. 345 00:17:13,467 --> 00:17:16,383 Mama... I can't breathe. 346 00:17:16,513 --> 00:17:18,602 ROCHESTER: It provided an opportunity 347 00:17:18,733 --> 00:17:23,955 for white Americans and non-Black Americans to say, 348 00:17:24,086 --> 00:17:26,175 "Well, what can I do to make a difference?" 349 00:17:26,306 --> 00:17:29,439 [loud bangs] [people screaming] 350 00:17:29,570 --> 00:17:31,267 GUNN: This is America's tipping point 351 00:17:31,398 --> 00:17:32,921 for truth-telling and reconciliation. 352 00:17:34,053 --> 00:17:36,098 [cheering] 353 00:17:46,630 --> 00:17:48,241 We will watch this bill pass and be signed 354 00:17:48,371 --> 00:17:50,808 by the President of the United States of America. 355 00:17:50,939 --> 00:17:52,375 [applause] 356 00:17:52,506 --> 00:17:55,117 GUNN: People realize it's time 357 00:17:55,248 --> 00:17:57,554 to start having some conversations. 358 00:18:00,427 --> 00:18:03,821 LINDA MANN: We've mapped 463 efforts 359 00:18:03,952 --> 00:18:08,087 to attend to historical racial injustices. 360 00:18:08,217 --> 00:18:11,481 Not just enslavement, but what has spanned 361 00:18:11,612 --> 00:18:13,831 the history of the United States. 362 00:18:13,962 --> 00:18:19,010 Jim Crow, lynching, segregation. 363 00:18:19,141 --> 00:18:20,969 HANSFORD: The city of Evanston, Illinois, 364 00:18:21,100 --> 00:18:22,797 decided that they were going to provide 365 00:18:22,927 --> 00:18:25,626 reparations for redlining in that city. 366 00:18:25,756 --> 00:18:28,281 REPORTER: ...spending $10 million 367 00:18:28,411 --> 00:18:30,631 over the next ten years on reparations. 368 00:18:30,761 --> 00:18:32,676 HANSFORD: 11 or 12 other cities 369 00:18:32,807 --> 00:18:34,069 have said that they are going to try to replicate 370 00:18:34,200 --> 00:18:36,202 what is happening in Evanston. 371 00:18:36,332 --> 00:18:37,638 DANIELS [voiceover]: It's Providence, Rhode Island, 372 00:18:37,768 --> 00:18:38,943 it's, it's Asheville, North Carolina, 373 00:18:39,074 --> 00:18:41,207 it's San Francisco, it's Detroit. 374 00:18:41,337 --> 00:18:43,209 HANSFORD: California Task Force, on the state level. 375 00:18:43,339 --> 00:18:45,733 MAN: California's state legislature 376 00:18:45,863 --> 00:18:48,344 did something no state has ever done. 377 00:18:48,475 --> 00:18:50,999 It created a task force on reparations. 378 00:18:51,130 --> 00:18:52,522 HANSFORD: It's much more likely 379 00:18:52,653 --> 00:18:54,307 that we are going to see reparations happen 380 00:18:54,437 --> 00:18:56,961 on a smaller level all across the country 381 00:18:57,092 --> 00:18:59,225 before we see it happen 382 00:18:59,355 --> 00:19:02,271 from the federal government's perspective. 383 00:19:03,316 --> 00:19:08,190 ♪ 384 00:19:08,321 --> 00:19:13,848 [bells chiming] 385 00:19:13,978 --> 00:19:15,632 LAURA MASUR: My research focuses on 386 00:19:15,763 --> 00:19:17,547 the archeology of Jesuit plantation sites. 387 00:19:18,983 --> 00:19:22,248 When you drive around anywhere in Virginia or in Maryland, 388 00:19:22,378 --> 00:19:25,686 you are driving around places that were plantations. 389 00:19:25,816 --> 00:19:28,819 This is the entire history of these states. 390 00:19:30,212 --> 00:19:33,476 I can see it in buildings, I can see it in landscapes. 391 00:19:33,607 --> 00:19:37,872 What look to be little farms, I see the slave quarters there. 392 00:19:38,002 --> 00:19:42,877 It is absolutely impossible to escape the legacy of slavery 393 00:19:43,007 --> 00:19:44,922 once you learn to recognize it. 394 00:19:47,664 --> 00:19:50,624 I came across Saint Inigoes in Newtown, 395 00:19:50,754 --> 00:19:53,235 owned by Jesuit priests. 396 00:19:53,366 --> 00:19:55,237 These plantations are really instrumental 397 00:19:55,368 --> 00:19:57,674 to funding the early Catholic Church. 398 00:19:57,805 --> 00:19:59,937 Um, not just the Society of Jesus, 399 00:20:00,068 --> 00:20:02,157 not just Jesuit institutions, 400 00:20:02,288 --> 00:20:04,812 they're really the foundation for Catholicism 401 00:20:04,942 --> 00:20:06,770 in the United States. 402 00:20:08,381 --> 00:20:10,296 ♪ 403 00:20:10,426 --> 00:20:13,081 I think what has, has made the most impact on me 404 00:20:13,212 --> 00:20:15,126 is realizing there's a whole history here 405 00:20:15,257 --> 00:20:17,259 that people didn't even know about. 406 00:20:23,483 --> 00:20:25,746 HARI SREENIVASAN: More than 200 years ago, the original 407 00:20:25,876 --> 00:20:28,749 Georgetown College operated plantations 408 00:20:28,879 --> 00:20:31,055 in Maryland that worked with slave labor. 409 00:20:31,186 --> 00:20:35,451 Then, in 1838, facing deep debt, a pair of priests, 410 00:20:35,582 --> 00:20:37,932 who each served as president of Georgetown, 411 00:20:38,062 --> 00:20:42,153 sold 272 people to help pay the bills. 412 00:20:42,284 --> 00:20:45,287 The slaves were sent to plantations in Louisiana. 413 00:20:45,418 --> 00:20:47,594 ♪ 414 00:20:51,946 --> 00:20:53,948 Welcome to our GU272 415 00:20:54,078 --> 00:20:57,168 ancestral pilgrimage tour. 416 00:20:57,299 --> 00:21:01,216 Our ancestors were actually out this far. 417 00:21:01,347 --> 00:21:03,697 So you see the cane fields, right? 418 00:21:03,827 --> 00:21:05,351 JOSEPH STEWART: We are fifth-generation 419 00:21:05,481 --> 00:21:07,918 grandsons of Isaac Hawkins, 420 00:21:08,049 --> 00:21:13,097 the first name on the manifest of the sale of 1838. 421 00:21:13,228 --> 00:21:17,188 None of us, as has been said, knew anything of that. 422 00:21:17,319 --> 00:21:22,411 And since that time, I have been focused on, 423 00:21:22,542 --> 00:21:24,152 "Now what do you do about it?" 424 00:21:24,283 --> 00:21:27,764 "The Georgetown sale was one of thousands 425 00:21:27,895 --> 00:21:32,900 "that forcefully migrated more than one million men, women, 426 00:21:33,030 --> 00:21:38,949 and children from Maryland, Virginia, and Washington D.C." 427 00:21:39,080 --> 00:21:40,821 ♪ 428 00:21:40,951 --> 00:21:43,214 STEWART: There are about 10,000 descendants, 429 00:21:43,345 --> 00:21:47,044 and of that number, maybe half are still living. 430 00:21:47,175 --> 00:21:49,351 EARL WILLIAMS, SR.: It's personal to me. 431 00:21:49,482 --> 00:21:52,093 Some of the greatest men in this country 432 00:21:52,223 --> 00:21:57,664 were educated in Georgetown, on our ancestors' backs. 433 00:22:00,057 --> 00:22:01,972 BRANCHE-BAKER: For me, it was an opportunity 434 00:22:02,103 --> 00:22:04,192 to face the truth, to understand 435 00:22:04,323 --> 00:22:05,411 my own background 436 00:22:05,541 --> 00:22:06,629 and my own ancestry. 437 00:22:06,760 --> 00:22:09,458 ♪ 438 00:22:09,589 --> 00:22:11,678 STEWART: The first contact was 439 00:22:11,808 --> 00:22:15,682 on September 1 of 2016, 440 00:22:15,812 --> 00:22:18,206 when Georgetown was making an announcement 441 00:22:18,337 --> 00:22:20,513 about a task force report. 442 00:22:20,643 --> 00:22:23,080 Throughout this past year, as the Working Group 443 00:22:23,211 --> 00:22:24,952 on Slavery, Memory, and Reconciliation 444 00:22:25,082 --> 00:22:27,041 conducted their related efforts, they sponsor... 445 00:22:27,171 --> 00:22:28,999 MANN: Georgetown created a commission. 446 00:22:29,130 --> 00:22:31,567 The working group completed its work over the summer. 447 00:22:31,698 --> 00:22:35,092 The descendant community asked for representation 448 00:22:35,223 --> 00:22:36,877 on that commission. 449 00:22:37,007 --> 00:22:39,096 They were denied. 450 00:22:39,227 --> 00:22:41,969 Gentleman right behind you, please introduce yourself. 451 00:22:42,099 --> 00:22:43,927 May I please join you? 452 00:22:44,058 --> 00:22:47,366 Um, well, uh, sure. 453 00:22:48,410 --> 00:22:49,890 My name is Joe Stewart, 454 00:22:50,020 --> 00:22:52,458 and I'm a descendant of the 272. 455 00:22:52,588 --> 00:22:56,200 [applause] And I've invited 456 00:22:56,331 --> 00:22:59,378 other members of the 272 here to join us today. 457 00:23:00,466 --> 00:23:02,816 One of the working groups said 458 00:23:02,946 --> 00:23:06,472 that what was missing from this scenario 459 00:23:06,602 --> 00:23:09,823 was the faces of the slaves. 460 00:23:09,953 --> 00:23:11,694 Here are the faces. 461 00:23:11,825 --> 00:23:13,957 [applause] These are the faces. 462 00:23:14,088 --> 00:23:18,832 To date, we have not had the privilege 463 00:23:18,962 --> 00:23:21,487 in working with the working group. 464 00:23:21,617 --> 00:23:25,708 You don't start reconciling by alienating. 465 00:23:25,839 --> 00:23:29,756 And our attitude is "Nothing about us without us." 466 00:23:29,886 --> 00:23:31,540 [applause] - Yes, I do appreciate it. 467 00:23:31,671 --> 00:23:33,803 Thank you very much. Thank you. Appreciate it. 468 00:23:36,240 --> 00:23:39,635 Then we came together around confronting the Church. 469 00:23:39,766 --> 00:23:43,552 And we challenged the current leadership to make it right. 470 00:23:43,683 --> 00:23:45,685 If the Church can't lead, 471 00:23:45,815 --> 00:23:48,514 there's nothing left in the United States, so... 472 00:23:48,644 --> 00:23:50,559 [voiceover]: I was raised Catholic. 473 00:23:50,690 --> 00:23:52,648 I'm a past altar boy. 474 00:23:52,779 --> 00:23:54,476 I want to believe in my church. 475 00:23:54,607 --> 00:23:57,958 Well, then, prove to me what you've been teaching me. 476 00:23:58,088 --> 00:24:00,047 TIM KESICKI: And they said, 477 00:24:00,177 --> 00:24:01,352 "You believe in God, right? 478 00:24:01,483 --> 00:24:04,355 "God wasn't there in 1838 479 00:24:04,486 --> 00:24:06,967 "when you sold our ancestors, but God is here now. 480 00:24:07,097 --> 00:24:08,272 What are you being called to do?" 481 00:24:08,403 --> 00:24:10,536 ♪ 482 00:24:13,321 --> 00:24:15,671 [voiceover]: We have greatly sinned. 483 00:24:15,802 --> 00:24:19,675 An historic truth for which we implore 484 00:24:19,806 --> 00:24:22,330 mercy and justice, 485 00:24:22,461 --> 00:24:25,202 hope and healing. 486 00:24:26,377 --> 00:24:28,989 We are profoundly sorry. 487 00:24:29,903 --> 00:24:32,993 ♪ 488 00:24:33,123 --> 00:24:36,518 STEWART: That led us to the convenings... 489 00:24:36,649 --> 00:24:37,780 MAN: Joe, tell me about the teachers. 490 00:24:37,911 --> 00:24:39,652 STEWART: ...where we had 491 00:24:39,782 --> 00:24:41,741 some tough and serious discussions. 492 00:24:43,177 --> 00:24:46,093 But we are still just at the beginning. 493 00:24:47,964 --> 00:24:49,444 MAN: The Society of Jesus 494 00:24:49,575 --> 00:24:52,403 enslaved up to 20,000 people. 495 00:24:52,534 --> 00:24:57,757 And the sale in 1838 was the second-biggest slave sale 496 00:24:57,887 --> 00:24:59,628 in the 19th century. 497 00:25:01,804 --> 00:25:04,285 KESICKI: We can't just say, 498 00:25:04,415 --> 00:25:06,679 "Well, we're sorry," and assume that that covers it. 499 00:25:06,809 --> 00:25:08,942 No, we have to act. 500 00:25:09,856 --> 00:25:14,687 ♪ 501 00:25:16,602 --> 00:25:18,212 [birds chirping] 502 00:25:24,131 --> 00:25:27,351 DULA: There were so many things. 503 00:25:28,701 --> 00:25:31,442 I found that my family probably enslaved 504 00:25:31,573 --> 00:25:34,794 a few thousand people over 400 years. 505 00:25:36,970 --> 00:25:40,930 Another thing I discovered is that my grandmother belonged, 506 00:25:41,061 --> 00:25:44,238 uh, to a number of clubs, you could call them. 507 00:25:44,368 --> 00:25:50,766 I did not expect was to find that she belonged to this club. 508 00:25:54,596 --> 00:25:57,599 I want to be accountable for this history. 509 00:25:57,730 --> 00:26:00,602 I'm not to blame for my ancestors' acts, 510 00:26:00,733 --> 00:26:04,258 really, of evil, and yet, I am my ancestors. 511 00:26:04,388 --> 00:26:08,262 ♪ 512 00:26:12,962 --> 00:26:15,791 Our history has been pretty well whitewashed. 513 00:26:15,922 --> 00:26:18,751 Both our U.S. history or our family history. 514 00:26:18,881 --> 00:26:23,320 What we usually say is, "I come from a family of hard workers. 515 00:26:23,451 --> 00:26:25,496 "We bootstrapped it. 516 00:26:25,627 --> 00:26:27,629 "We're so sorry that those people over there just can't 517 00:26:27,760 --> 00:26:30,545 seem to make it, they should just work harder." 518 00:26:32,591 --> 00:26:33,940 That's the way I used to think 519 00:26:34,070 --> 00:26:37,770 before I actually did my research. 520 00:26:38,988 --> 00:26:40,511 Now there's, there's no way I could ever 521 00:26:40,642 --> 00:26:42,513 make that argument again. 522 00:26:42,644 --> 00:26:49,172 ♪ 523 00:26:54,830 --> 00:26:56,658 [indistinct chatter] 524 00:26:56,789 --> 00:26:59,008 ♪ 525 00:27:04,057 --> 00:27:07,321 NORMA JOHNSON: "There comes a time 526 00:27:07,451 --> 00:27:09,932 when silence is betrayal." 527 00:27:10,063 --> 00:27:12,239 Quote by Reverend Dr. 528 00:27:12,369 --> 00:27:14,676 Martin Luther King Jr. 529 00:27:16,765 --> 00:27:20,551 I had a deep intrinsic knowing that 530 00:27:20,682 --> 00:27:23,293 the path to liberation 531 00:27:23,424 --> 00:27:25,513 comes through the journey 532 00:27:25,644 --> 00:27:32,520 of what lies buried and silent in our bones. 533 00:27:33,913 --> 00:27:36,393 DULA: Thank you. We so appreciate 534 00:27:36,524 --> 00:27:37,830 the opportunity to speak on the topic 535 00:27:37,960 --> 00:27:39,222 of reparations. So today... 536 00:27:39,353 --> 00:27:40,920 CUFFIE: Lotte and I are both 537 00:27:41,050 --> 00:27:42,661 a part of an organization called Coming to the Table, 538 00:27:42,791 --> 00:27:46,229 and we met at a national gathering. 539 00:27:46,360 --> 00:27:49,755 They bring together descendants of enslaved folks 540 00:27:49,885 --> 00:27:52,714 and descendants of enslavers to heal wounds in a way. 541 00:27:52,845 --> 00:27:55,021 There was a reparations meeting, 542 00:27:55,151 --> 00:27:57,763 and I said, "I want to start this portal. 543 00:27:57,893 --> 00:28:00,374 "And it's, it's going to make white reparationists 544 00:28:00,504 --> 00:28:02,855 get together and do all this, blah-blah-blah." 545 00:28:02,985 --> 00:28:06,597 And she just said, "You have all these high 546 00:28:06,728 --> 00:28:09,470 "and mighty ideas, great scholarships, all this stuff. 547 00:28:09,600 --> 00:28:11,820 What do you have for me?" 548 00:28:11,951 --> 00:28:16,042 CUFFIE: My proposal was paying off student loans is also 549 00:28:16,172 --> 00:28:18,871 arguably a way of reparations, and she was one of the people 550 00:28:19,001 --> 00:28:20,524 that came up after and was like, 551 00:28:20,655 --> 00:28:22,439 "You know, I hadn't thought about that that way. 552 00:28:22,570 --> 00:28:25,616 You know, I would love to..." Her first note was, 553 00:28:25,747 --> 00:28:28,141 "I'd love to put $1,000 on your student loans." 554 00:28:28,271 --> 00:28:32,449 And it has just literally escalated from there. 555 00:28:33,668 --> 00:28:35,452 DULA: I've looked at my own family history 556 00:28:35,583 --> 00:28:38,673 and I've documented three different governors that 557 00:28:38,804 --> 00:28:41,502 were likely involved in creating the laws of slavery. 558 00:28:43,025 --> 00:28:45,462 When I found out that Briayna had studied political science, 559 00:28:45,593 --> 00:28:47,247 that whole area, I thought, "Well, that 560 00:28:47,377 --> 00:28:50,685 matches the harm that I need to unwind." 561 00:28:50,816 --> 00:28:52,905 For white people, one of the most important 562 00:28:53,035 --> 00:28:55,472 things to know is: this is not a gift. 563 00:28:55,603 --> 00:28:57,474 I am repaying a debt. 564 00:28:58,649 --> 00:29:00,173 CUFFIE [voiceover]: I started working with Lotte. 565 00:29:00,303 --> 00:29:02,871 I've learned things about my grandmother, 566 00:29:03,002 --> 00:29:04,046 I've learned about-- a lot about 567 00:29:04,177 --> 00:29:06,353 my great-grandparents, down to 568 00:29:06,483 --> 00:29:08,268 their personality traits and even some of 569 00:29:08,398 --> 00:29:11,010 the ways I stand when I take pictures. 570 00:29:11,140 --> 00:29:13,360 It's, it's very creepy to see someone, you know, 571 00:29:13,490 --> 00:29:15,188 who's born in the 1870s 572 00:29:15,318 --> 00:29:17,973 have the same pose when they... when she took pictures. 573 00:29:19,801 --> 00:29:23,544 DULA: Bri and I teach a class in reparative genealogy. 574 00:29:23,674 --> 00:29:26,852 We really cater to white people who have a family background 575 00:29:26,982 --> 00:29:29,071 of enslavement, and we give them an idea of what 576 00:29:29,202 --> 00:29:32,945 steps you would take to begin to do repair work. 577 00:29:33,075 --> 00:29:35,295 One of the first steps, understand 578 00:29:35,425 --> 00:29:37,776 the genesis of the racial wealth gap. 579 00:29:37,906 --> 00:29:41,083 ROCHESTER: You've got Black people today in America 580 00:29:41,214 --> 00:29:43,825 that own about two percent of U.S. wealth. 581 00:29:43,956 --> 00:29:47,394 After all of this time, about two percent. 582 00:29:47,524 --> 00:29:49,570 How did we get here? 583 00:29:49,700 --> 00:29:53,226 DULA: The history of my family really shows exactly 584 00:29:53,356 --> 00:29:54,705 how it works mechanically. 585 00:29:54,836 --> 00:29:56,882 It all started with Elisha Paxton, 586 00:29:57,012 --> 00:29:58,971 my third great-grandfather. 587 00:30:00,494 --> 00:30:02,757 He established a plantation near Lexington, Virginia, 588 00:30:02,888 --> 00:30:04,803 beginning around 1815. 589 00:30:06,282 --> 00:30:09,198 And with the proceeds likely from the plantation operations, 590 00:30:09,329 --> 00:30:12,419 he was able to send many sons to law school, 591 00:30:12,549 --> 00:30:14,421 including my second great-grandfather. 592 00:30:14,551 --> 00:30:16,727 So right there you have the benefit as education. 593 00:30:17,859 --> 00:30:19,992 In the early 1830s, several of Elisha's sons, 594 00:30:20,122 --> 00:30:22,385 including my second great-grandfather, 595 00:30:22,516 --> 00:30:23,952 moved to the Mississippi Delta. 596 00:30:24,083 --> 00:30:26,172 There they set up a law practice, 597 00:30:26,302 --> 00:30:28,130 and later multiple cotton plantations. 598 00:30:28,261 --> 00:30:30,306 JACKSON LEE: Cotton became king. 599 00:30:30,437 --> 00:30:33,309 Cotton drove the creation of the Wall Street banks, 600 00:30:33,440 --> 00:30:36,617 and made really the economy of the United States. 601 00:30:36,747 --> 00:30:38,358 But where did it put African Americans? 602 00:30:39,750 --> 00:30:42,101 ROCHESTER: If you go back to 1860, we know there's about 603 00:30:42,231 --> 00:30:44,581 four million Black people held in bondage. 604 00:30:44,712 --> 00:30:47,236 Those people are the most liquid asset in the country. 605 00:30:48,281 --> 00:30:51,762 22 trillion in today's value, 606 00:30:51,893 --> 00:30:55,114 in terms of the value of those folks to the country. 607 00:30:55,244 --> 00:30:58,204 It's an enormous impact. 608 00:30:58,334 --> 00:31:00,815 So the first is, what was extracted 609 00:31:00,946 --> 00:31:03,426 from those people during that period of time? 610 00:31:03,557 --> 00:31:06,560 The second is, what was extracted from those people 611 00:31:06,690 --> 00:31:09,780 following that time during the Jim Crow era? 612 00:31:09,911 --> 00:31:11,826 ♪ 613 00:31:11,957 --> 00:31:13,959 CUFFIE: While Lotte is able to trace multiple of her lines 614 00:31:14,089 --> 00:31:17,876 back to the 1600s, most Black families hit 615 00:31:18,006 --> 00:31:21,183 what's called the brick wall of 1870, the first time 616 00:31:21,314 --> 00:31:24,404 that Black people are shown on regular census documents 617 00:31:24,534 --> 00:31:26,014 as free people. 618 00:31:27,450 --> 00:31:31,454 So John Powell up here is my maternal great-grandfather. 619 00:31:31,585 --> 00:31:33,500 He had the equivalent of a first grade education. 620 00:31:33,630 --> 00:31:36,851 According to the 1940 census, just a few years 621 00:31:36,982 --> 00:31:41,116 before he died, John Powell Sr. was working 60 hours a week 622 00:31:41,247 --> 00:31:46,121 every week, all year, with an income of zero dollars. 623 00:31:48,732 --> 00:31:51,561 ROCHESTER: People left bondage with no economic resources. 624 00:31:51,692 --> 00:31:54,608 There was no life insurance, no salary, no workman's comp. 625 00:31:54,738 --> 00:31:56,566 There was nothing. 626 00:31:56,697 --> 00:31:58,742 JOHN BOYD JR.: So many Blacks stayed on those plantations 627 00:31:58,873 --> 00:32:01,658 and the white plantation owners 628 00:32:01,789 --> 00:32:03,356 said, "Okay, well, I'll set you up 629 00:32:03,486 --> 00:32:06,141 "with 100 acres on the low ground down by the river, 630 00:32:06,272 --> 00:32:08,317 and I'll take it out of the crops every year." 631 00:32:08,448 --> 00:32:11,581 So that's how we were able to purchase land. 632 00:32:14,976 --> 00:32:17,718 We're in my farm in Mecklenburg County, Virginia, 633 00:32:17,848 --> 00:32:20,939 where many of my forefathers, you know, tilled the same soil. 634 00:32:22,592 --> 00:32:25,856 My grandfather bought the land from William 635 00:32:25,987 --> 00:32:28,729 and Ethel Boyd, white plantation owners. 636 00:32:28,859 --> 00:32:30,992 So Granddaddy Thomas passed the land down to my dad, 637 00:32:31,123 --> 00:32:34,430 and now some, some of that very same land. 638 00:32:35,605 --> 00:32:38,347 Black land ownership at the turn of the century, 639 00:32:38,478 --> 00:32:42,525 we were 12%-- one in every 12 farmers were Black. 640 00:32:42,656 --> 00:32:44,788 And now we're down to less than one percent. 641 00:32:44,919 --> 00:32:47,922 GUNN: When you talk about Black land loss to this day, 642 00:32:48,053 --> 00:32:50,794 it's because they were always cheated. 643 00:32:52,231 --> 00:32:53,928 ROCHESTER: They need to get everything they need 644 00:32:54,059 --> 00:32:56,017 from the white farmer, right? 645 00:32:56,148 --> 00:32:59,151 So the food, clothes, shelter, tools, 646 00:32:59,281 --> 00:33:01,283 everything to bring that crop to market. 647 00:33:01,414 --> 00:33:04,330 When you take the crops to market, 648 00:33:04,460 --> 00:33:06,071 the white farmer is the market. 649 00:33:06,201 --> 00:33:08,769 What they would do is make your costs higher 650 00:33:08,899 --> 00:33:11,119 than your revenue, so you would have a negative profit, 651 00:33:11,250 --> 00:33:13,774 you would owe them, and they would roll that 652 00:33:13,904 --> 00:33:15,167 into the following year. 653 00:33:15,297 --> 00:33:17,865 And now you're in perpetual debt servitude. 654 00:33:17,996 --> 00:33:21,869 And then on top of that, they have vagrancy laws that say 655 00:33:22,000 --> 00:33:24,045 if you can't prove that you're a landowner, 656 00:33:24,176 --> 00:33:27,309 and if you can't prove that you are gainfully employed, 657 00:33:27,440 --> 00:33:28,745 they can charge you with a criminal offense 658 00:33:28,876 --> 00:33:31,270 and put you in a state or county jail. 659 00:33:33,011 --> 00:33:36,362 Remember, that post slavery and Jim Crow, 660 00:33:36,492 --> 00:33:38,625 these are very, very hostile times where 661 00:33:38,755 --> 00:33:42,150 Black people are being lynched on an annual basis. 662 00:33:43,760 --> 00:33:45,675 GUNN: And so we had the great migration from the South 663 00:33:45,806 --> 00:33:48,113 to the North like, "I'm getting out of here." 664 00:33:49,244 --> 00:33:52,639 That land goes away piece by piece. 665 00:33:54,554 --> 00:33:56,599 But there is a distribution of land that did happen. 666 00:33:57,774 --> 00:33:59,341 If you go back to 1862, 667 00:33:59,472 --> 00:34:01,169 Congress passes the Homestead Act. 668 00:34:01,300 --> 00:34:03,084 [horse neighing] 669 00:34:04,390 --> 00:34:07,132 You had 246 million acres that was distributed to roughly 670 00:34:07,262 --> 00:34:10,178 1.5 million white families, 671 00:34:10,309 --> 00:34:13,355 and what researchers say now is that up to 672 00:34:13,486 --> 00:34:17,272 98 million white families are direct beneficiaries of this 673 00:34:17,403 --> 00:34:19,492 kind of massive economic distribution. 674 00:34:19,622 --> 00:34:21,842 ♪ 675 00:34:21,972 --> 00:34:24,279 DULA: Some of my ancestors have become millionaires 676 00:34:24,410 --> 00:34:26,890 receiving many, many land grants in Virginia, 677 00:34:27,021 --> 00:34:29,502 Mississippi, Alabama, Colorado. 678 00:34:29,632 --> 00:34:32,287 JULIANNE MALVEAUX: Black people were prepared to compete, 679 00:34:32,418 --> 00:34:35,377 to be farmers, to be professionals, 680 00:34:35,508 --> 00:34:39,642 to go to law school, to run for public office. 681 00:34:39,773 --> 00:34:41,166 But when Black people accumulated, 682 00:34:41,296 --> 00:34:43,690 white people rebelled 683 00:34:43,820 --> 00:34:46,562 in illegal and brutal ways. 684 00:34:47,998 --> 00:34:51,741 Tulsa, Oklahoma, 1921. 685 00:34:52,916 --> 00:34:57,617 It was a self-contained wealthy Black community. 686 00:34:59,314 --> 00:35:03,623 The next thing you know, they were burning down Black Tulsa. 687 00:35:03,753 --> 00:35:05,407 ♪ 688 00:35:05,538 --> 00:35:08,628 There is so much pain 689 00:35:08,758 --> 00:35:13,546 and hurt and economic disparity. 690 00:35:16,288 --> 00:35:19,987 DULA: Name a program or benefit the federal government issued, 691 00:35:20,118 --> 00:35:21,597 my family took advantage of it, 692 00:35:21,728 --> 00:35:23,338 and that's how we gained wealth. 693 00:35:23,469 --> 00:35:24,731 FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT: ...to progress 694 00:35:24,861 --> 00:35:26,646 toward an America in which 695 00:35:26,776 --> 00:35:31,868 every worker will be able to provide his family at all times 696 00:35:31,999 --> 00:35:37,918 with an ever-rising standard of American comfort. 697 00:35:38,048 --> 00:35:41,487 ROCHESTER: The New Deal established Social Security. 698 00:35:42,792 --> 00:35:44,185 ANNOUNCER: Benefits will be paid 699 00:35:44,316 --> 00:35:46,753 to everybody who is entitled to job insurance, 700 00:35:46,883 --> 00:35:50,191 which does not include agricultural workers, 701 00:35:50,322 --> 00:35:53,716 domestic service in private homes. 702 00:35:53,847 --> 00:35:56,632 Well, that's 70% of the Black labor force at that time. 703 00:35:56,763 --> 00:36:01,376 The creation of the G.I. Bill to help soldiers get training, 704 00:36:01,507 --> 00:36:04,249 fund college, but less than two percent 705 00:36:04,379 --> 00:36:06,294 of those resources went to Black people. 706 00:36:06,425 --> 00:36:10,342 The government subsidizing home ownership through the F.H.A. 707 00:36:10,472 --> 00:36:13,432 created the middle class. 708 00:36:13,562 --> 00:36:16,913 That's a phenomenal thing, but less than one percent 709 00:36:17,044 --> 00:36:19,742 of all mortgages in the country went to Black people. 710 00:36:20,917 --> 00:36:22,702 The other thing that was insisted on 711 00:36:22,832 --> 00:36:25,879 is local administration of the benefits. 712 00:36:26,009 --> 00:36:28,316 Well, local administration is the most 713 00:36:28,447 --> 00:36:30,231 effective way to discriminate against somebody. 714 00:36:31,667 --> 00:36:34,366 BOYD JR. [voiceover]: Those who remained on the farm, 715 00:36:34,496 --> 00:36:38,065 many of us got tied up with the Farmers Home Administration. 716 00:36:40,067 --> 00:36:43,418 I was 18 years of age, it's 1983, 717 00:36:43,549 --> 00:36:45,986 and I went up there to the Farmers home office 718 00:36:46,116 --> 00:36:47,553 here in Mecklenburg County, 719 00:36:47,683 --> 00:36:51,121 and it was almost like stepping back in time. 720 00:36:52,384 --> 00:36:56,257 The county supervisor would only see Blacks one day a week, 721 00:36:56,388 --> 00:36:58,825 and one particular year, well, 722 00:36:58,955 --> 00:37:02,307 this farmer comes in-- he's white, his name was Earl. 723 00:37:02,437 --> 00:37:06,006 He brought Earl into my session and he passes 724 00:37:06,136 --> 00:37:12,752 farmer Earl a government check for $157,000. 725 00:37:12,882 --> 00:37:14,710 I was there begging for $5,000, people. 726 00:37:14,841 --> 00:37:17,322 I tried nine years before I actually got a loan from them. 727 00:37:17,452 --> 00:37:19,541 And you've got people talking about, "What happened 728 00:37:19,672 --> 00:37:20,890 to the Black farmers?" 729 00:37:21,021 --> 00:37:22,631 That's what happened to us. 730 00:37:22,762 --> 00:37:25,025 We didn't get access to credit 731 00:37:25,155 --> 00:37:28,681 when white farmers got it, pure and simple. 732 00:37:32,946 --> 00:37:35,296 ROCHESTER: It's like pulling on a thread of a sweater. 733 00:37:36,471 --> 00:37:40,040 There's a long continuum of discrimination 734 00:37:40,170 --> 00:37:43,478 that has an economic impact on Black people 735 00:37:43,609 --> 00:37:46,133 that makes it extraordinarily difficult 736 00:37:46,264 --> 00:37:47,874 for the population to accumulate wealth. 737 00:37:48,004 --> 00:37:49,571 [dog barking] OFFICER: Stay down. 738 00:37:49,702 --> 00:37:51,704 [talking indistinctly] 739 00:37:53,096 --> 00:37:57,013 OFFICER: Don't look back. Don't look back. 740 00:37:59,277 --> 00:38:01,540 DULA: We try to get people to 741 00:38:01,670 --> 00:38:04,760 reimagine those prosperity stories. 742 00:38:04,891 --> 00:38:06,849 If your family had been Black, 743 00:38:06,980 --> 00:38:08,851 how would your prosperity story be different? 744 00:38:08,982 --> 00:38:11,158 [woman vocalizing] 745 00:38:13,552 --> 00:38:17,556 ♪ 746 00:38:22,343 --> 00:38:25,999 [critters chirping] 747 00:38:26,129 --> 00:38:28,262 QUARTERMAN: I started to understand how important 748 00:38:28,393 --> 00:38:30,395 this land was, 749 00:38:30,525 --> 00:38:32,875 and land ownership for Black Americans. 750 00:38:34,486 --> 00:38:37,184 EISNER: Randy and I worked to try and find 751 00:38:37,315 --> 00:38:39,839 attorneys to help clear title. 752 00:38:40,927 --> 00:38:44,887 It was not easy, we ran into some dead ends. 753 00:38:45,018 --> 00:38:47,847 Eventually a couple of really amazing folks 754 00:38:47,977 --> 00:38:49,327 said, "We'll take it on." 755 00:38:49,457 --> 00:38:51,720 - Randy. - Hey, good morning. 756 00:38:51,851 --> 00:38:53,374 - Good to see you. 757 00:38:53,505 --> 00:38:56,334 SARAH JURKIEWICZ: In order to clear title, 758 00:38:56,464 --> 00:38:58,597 what the court asks 759 00:38:58,727 --> 00:39:00,512 is that you provide 760 00:39:00,642 --> 00:39:02,775 all of the potential parties 761 00:39:02,905 --> 00:39:04,994 that may have an interest in the property. 762 00:39:05,125 --> 00:39:08,215 It's a very long list of people. 763 00:39:08,346 --> 00:39:10,043 I'm saying that, that one family member, 764 00:39:10,173 --> 00:39:11,871 would it delay the process if 765 00:39:12,001 --> 00:39:13,786 they say, "Hey, I need to object to this. 766 00:39:13,916 --> 00:39:15,918 "This is unreasonable what you're asking me. 767 00:39:16,049 --> 00:39:18,312 I'm just finding out that I'm heir to this property." 768 00:39:18,443 --> 00:39:21,054 EISNER: One thing we've learned in this process is that 769 00:39:21,184 --> 00:39:22,621 the systems are just really 770 00:39:22,751 --> 00:39:25,928 set up to prevent anyone like the Quarterman family 771 00:39:26,059 --> 00:39:28,801 from trying to get through this process. 772 00:39:28,931 --> 00:39:30,455 All of it is a learning experience. 773 00:39:30,585 --> 00:39:33,719 Back then, they didn't have wills. 774 00:39:33,849 --> 00:39:37,375 Lots of us don't really know all the heirs. 775 00:39:37,505 --> 00:39:39,115 MICHAEL TYLER: Your next family reunion 776 00:39:39,246 --> 00:39:40,987 will expand exponentially. 777 00:39:41,117 --> 00:39:43,119 [laughter] - Yeah. 778 00:39:43,250 --> 00:39:46,514 TYLER: I think another factor is that of outright 779 00:39:46,645 --> 00:39:48,298 racial discrimination 780 00:39:48,429 --> 00:39:52,041 in terms of efforts by both 781 00:39:52,172 --> 00:39:54,261 private individuals, as well as governments, 782 00:39:54,392 --> 00:39:55,871 to actually take African American land. 783 00:39:56,002 --> 00:39:58,874 ♪ 784 00:39:59,005 --> 00:40:01,573 JOHNSON: It's a crossroads, 785 00:40:01,703 --> 00:40:06,578 a place where past, present, and future meet. 786 00:40:07,666 --> 00:40:12,322 A place where ancestors and descendants 787 00:40:12,453 --> 00:40:18,241 recognize their value for each other. 788 00:40:18,372 --> 00:40:21,331 [birds chirping] ♪ 789 00:40:26,336 --> 00:40:28,513 BRANCHE-BAKER: At this time, we speak the names 790 00:40:28,643 --> 00:40:31,124 of those who came before us. 791 00:40:31,254 --> 00:40:34,736 Each name, we ask you to respond with "ase." 792 00:40:34,867 --> 00:40:39,785 Giving us power to present not just who they are, 793 00:40:39,915 --> 00:40:41,090 but what they mean to us. 794 00:40:43,266 --> 00:40:45,268 Hawkins. ALL: Ase. 795 00:40:45,399 --> 00:40:47,662 BRANCHE-BAKER: Hill. ALL: Ase. 796 00:40:47,793 --> 00:40:50,622 BRANCHE-BAKER: Hoppins. ALL: Ase. 797 00:40:50,752 --> 00:40:53,233 BRANCHE-BAKER: Jones. ALL: Ase. 798 00:40:53,363 --> 00:40:55,975 STEWART: We come to this place because we want the Jesuits 799 00:40:56,105 --> 00:41:00,501 to stand amidst the ancestors and say, 800 00:41:00,632 --> 00:41:03,373 "We intend to restore your dignity, 801 00:41:03,504 --> 00:41:09,336 but we also intend to invest in the future of our descendants." 802 00:41:09,467 --> 00:41:11,381 MAN: The Society of Jesus, the Jesuits, 803 00:41:11,512 --> 00:41:13,558 have vowed to raise $100 million 804 00:41:13,688 --> 00:41:15,734 in an attempt to atone for its role 805 00:41:15,864 --> 00:41:18,040 in slavery here in the U.S. 806 00:41:18,171 --> 00:41:21,522 STEWART: This is a descendant-led vision. 807 00:41:21,653 --> 00:41:24,220 At the beginning, the Jesuits' sense 808 00:41:24,351 --> 00:41:25,744 of what should happen was, 809 00:41:25,874 --> 00:41:29,182 "We can do some schools, we should do projects." 810 00:41:29,312 --> 00:41:34,100 And we're saying, "No, descendants want a foundation. 811 00:41:34,230 --> 00:41:38,321 Be our partner in creating a billion-dollar foundation." 812 00:41:38,452 --> 00:41:43,109 That is the long-term vision, to go into dismantling 813 00:41:43,239 --> 00:41:44,893 the legacy of slavery. 814 00:41:46,068 --> 00:41:50,856 My mom and dad both had third grade educations. 815 00:41:51,944 --> 00:41:54,120 That was because they had been deprived 816 00:41:54,250 --> 00:41:55,904 of the equal opportunity 817 00:41:56,035 --> 00:41:58,646 in a nation that promised them that. 818 00:41:58,777 --> 00:42:01,519 And we're still talking about those challenges. 819 00:42:02,563 --> 00:42:04,652 It's time we do something. 820 00:42:04,783 --> 00:42:07,002 [birds chirping] 821 00:42:07,133 --> 00:42:10,353 What are we up against as we undertake this sacred mission? 822 00:42:10,484 --> 00:42:12,138 Yeah, I don't think reparations 823 00:42:12,268 --> 00:42:13,139 for something that happened 824 00:42:13,269 --> 00:42:15,445 150 years ago for whom none 825 00:42:15,576 --> 00:42:17,143 of us currently living are 826 00:42:17,273 --> 00:42:19,711 responsible is a good idea. 827 00:42:19,841 --> 00:42:21,234 Fear. "What are you going to take from me?" 828 00:42:21,364 --> 00:42:23,279 They want to take over what you've got, 829 00:42:23,410 --> 00:42:24,933 they want to control what you have. 830 00:42:25,064 --> 00:42:26,282 Bull [bleep]. 831 00:42:26,413 --> 00:42:28,023 They are not owed that. 832 00:42:28,154 --> 00:42:29,938 [cheers and applause] 833 00:42:30,069 --> 00:42:32,854 PAULSON: Mistrust, all too often an unwillingness 834 00:42:32,985 --> 00:42:35,117 to face the truth of history. 835 00:42:35,248 --> 00:42:37,467 It is impossible to come up with a fair metric 836 00:42:37,598 --> 00:42:39,600 for recompensing slavery... - Yeah. 837 00:42:39,731 --> 00:42:42,385 - ...ten generations after slavery's end. 838 00:42:42,516 --> 00:42:45,824 PAULSON: A lack of faith and a lack of imagination 839 00:42:45,954 --> 00:42:49,392 that deep healing of racial divisions and inequalities 840 00:42:49,523 --> 00:42:52,439 could ever happen in many places in America. 841 00:42:52,570 --> 00:42:55,181 You want total acrimony and racial strife and tension 842 00:42:55,311 --> 00:42:57,705 like we've never seen before, you make white folks who had 843 00:42:57,836 --> 00:43:00,055 nothing to do with slavery give money to Black folks... 844 00:43:00,186 --> 00:43:02,971 - You keep saying slavery, but you can't ignore Jim Crow. 845 00:43:03,102 --> 00:43:05,844 PAULSON: They underestimate the value of the privilege 846 00:43:05,974 --> 00:43:08,020 of being white in the United States. 847 00:43:08,150 --> 00:43:10,022 MAN: I just don't see 848 00:43:10,152 --> 00:43:13,547 how you could hold modern-day Americans 849 00:43:13,678 --> 00:43:17,290 responsible for atrocities 150 years ago. 850 00:43:17,420 --> 00:43:19,684 PAULSON: How long, O Lord, 851 00:43:19,814 --> 00:43:21,642 how long must we live with these extreme 852 00:43:21,773 --> 00:43:25,733 racial disparities in these United States of America? 853 00:43:27,300 --> 00:43:29,955 KESICKI: In the United States, we've never 854 00:43:30,085 --> 00:43:32,740 formally reconciled with slave holding, 855 00:43:32,871 --> 00:43:36,570 nor do we choose to remember it. 856 00:43:37,789 --> 00:43:40,356 ♪ 857 00:43:40,487 --> 00:43:42,141 I've been to Germany. 858 00:43:42,271 --> 00:43:44,578 The one word they say is "remember." 859 00:43:45,753 --> 00:43:47,625 Remember this happened. 860 00:43:50,584 --> 00:43:52,717 ♪ 861 00:44:01,116 --> 00:44:04,772 If we really remember it, how can we not want to respond? 862 00:44:11,431 --> 00:44:13,955 BOYD JR.: Turn that camera around, look at that. 863 00:44:14,086 --> 00:44:15,740 Hot damn, welcome to rural America. 864 00:44:15,870 --> 00:44:18,830 Man, I'll tell you, 865 00:44:18,960 --> 00:44:23,051 when I talk about my history, it's offensive, 866 00:44:23,182 --> 00:44:25,227 nobody want to hear about slavery, 867 00:44:25,358 --> 00:44:27,926 but they want to hang them [bleep] damn flags up there. 868 00:44:30,972 --> 00:44:32,670 [voiceover]: There's always going to be a debate. 869 00:44:33,758 --> 00:44:35,237 The word "reparation" scares the hell 870 00:44:35,368 --> 00:44:38,632 out of everybody on the Hill. Call it something else. 871 00:44:38,763 --> 00:44:41,504 Call it something else. I never called 872 00:44:41,635 --> 00:44:43,463 my, my bills reparations, 873 00:44:43,593 --> 00:44:45,900 but that's really what it was. 874 00:44:46,031 --> 00:44:48,337 [barking] 875 00:44:48,468 --> 00:44:50,296 WOMAN: More than one billion dollars in compensation 876 00:44:50,426 --> 00:44:52,777 is going out to African American farmers 877 00:44:52,907 --> 00:44:54,256 who faced discrimination 878 00:44:54,387 --> 00:44:56,432 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. 879 00:44:56,563 --> 00:44:58,260 President Obama signed the settlement 880 00:44:58,391 --> 00:45:02,177 in 2010 and the first checks were sent out this week. 881 00:45:02,308 --> 00:45:03,962 - How many times is it going to take 882 00:45:04,092 --> 00:45:06,704 for the United States Department of Agriculture to know 883 00:45:06,834 --> 00:45:09,794 that we mean business and we're not going to stop 884 00:45:09,924 --> 00:45:13,406 until they got off the dime and settle these cases? 885 00:45:13,536 --> 00:45:16,365 I learned that what was going on in Virginia 886 00:45:16,496 --> 00:45:19,804 was far more egregious in Mississippi and Alabama. 887 00:45:19,934 --> 00:45:22,720 Some of these guys weren't even getting applications. 888 00:45:22,850 --> 00:45:24,809 So I started the National Black Farmers Association 889 00:45:24,939 --> 00:45:27,463 with five original members. 890 00:45:27,594 --> 00:45:31,946 Today we're up to 116,000 members in 46 states. 891 00:45:32,077 --> 00:45:35,907 We settled the first Black farmer case in 1999 892 00:45:36,037 --> 00:45:41,434 that paid Black farmers $50,000 and 12.5 for taxes. 893 00:45:41,564 --> 00:45:45,090 It's everything that fits the definition of reparations. 894 00:45:45,220 --> 00:45:48,789 Apology, I got my land and I got some money. 895 00:45:48,920 --> 00:45:50,791 Racism got to go! 896 00:45:50,922 --> 00:45:54,229 BOYD JR.: This is many years of protesting, organizing farmers. 897 00:45:54,360 --> 00:45:57,667 I'm going through a 30-year span of time here. 898 00:45:57,798 --> 00:46:02,324 Not often do you see bipartisan support from both houses 899 00:46:02,455 --> 00:46:06,328 working together to bring fairness to Black farmers. 900 00:46:06,459 --> 00:46:08,548 When you know you're right, you can't give up. 901 00:46:08,678 --> 00:46:13,901 ♪ 902 00:46:14,032 --> 00:46:15,250 [laughter, chatter] 903 00:46:15,381 --> 00:46:16,774 Randy, want to get in there? 904 00:46:16,904 --> 00:46:18,514 [voiceover]: I'm hopeful that reparations will 905 00:46:18,645 --> 00:46:20,473 happen on a national level, 906 00:46:20,603 --> 00:46:22,170 but it's going to take a long time. 907 00:46:22,301 --> 00:46:24,520 We can't wait, what can we do? 908 00:46:26,000 --> 00:46:27,393 And that was why Randy and I 909 00:46:27,523 --> 00:46:30,178 started the Quarterman-Keller Foundation, 910 00:46:30,309 --> 00:46:32,311 started raising from individuals, and only 911 00:46:32,441 --> 00:46:34,052 white people, who understand 912 00:46:34,182 --> 00:46:36,271 and want to redistribute wealth. 913 00:46:36,402 --> 00:46:37,925 My husband Noah and I, 914 00:46:38,056 --> 00:46:40,798 we've been giving $100,000 a year. 915 00:46:40,928 --> 00:46:43,452 This year we have ten scholars at this 916 00:46:43,583 --> 00:46:46,151 HPC Youth Center with Spelman, Morehouse, and Clark Atlanta. 917 00:46:47,239 --> 00:46:50,546 For us to create this out of just starting off 918 00:46:50,677 --> 00:46:53,593 just on our heirs property is, is remarkable. 919 00:46:53,723 --> 00:46:56,596 To be around these young students that are 920 00:46:56,726 --> 00:47:01,122 studying the history, you know, I would have never imagined. 921 00:47:01,253 --> 00:47:05,910 I'm a recipient now, I can say, of personal reparation. 922 00:47:06,040 --> 00:47:09,087 Nobody in our family said, "It was Zeike." 923 00:47:09,217 --> 00:47:12,220 She opened that door for me, 924 00:47:12,351 --> 00:47:16,050 and I thank Sarah for that, asking about the property that 925 00:47:16,181 --> 00:47:18,879 my family never was asked or talked about. 926 00:47:19,010 --> 00:47:23,623 And it surprises me because my grandfather never left. 927 00:47:23,753 --> 00:47:26,495 How did we get so lost? 928 00:47:28,236 --> 00:47:31,544 Every time I say I'm the fifth generation of Zeike Quarterman, 929 00:47:31,674 --> 00:47:35,548 an enslaved man, part of me dies. 930 00:47:37,637 --> 00:47:42,294 I'm not going through that same trauma, I'm-I'm feeling healed. 931 00:47:42,424 --> 00:47:44,209 I feel like it's healing me. 932 00:47:45,514 --> 00:47:47,908 QUARTERMAN: When I'm even doing this work, it's tiring. 933 00:47:48,039 --> 00:47:51,085 Okay? I'm just being brutally honest. 934 00:47:51,216 --> 00:47:54,610 I could just sit back and be like, "Well, Sarah, you know, 935 00:47:54,741 --> 00:47:56,830 "I don't want to do this no more. I'm just going to 936 00:47:56,961 --> 00:48:00,007 focus on heirs property." I could do that. 937 00:48:00,138 --> 00:48:03,097 EISNER: Every day that I get Randy's participation, 938 00:48:03,228 --> 00:48:04,620 I'm grateful for, 939 00:48:04,751 --> 00:48:06,709 and any day that he-- I'm ready at any day 940 00:48:06,840 --> 00:48:09,712 for him to say, "I'm walking away, this is too painful." 941 00:48:11,279 --> 00:48:14,761 But sometimes we just have to think outside ourselves. 942 00:48:14,892 --> 00:48:17,068 Yes, we're talking about white people, 943 00:48:17,198 --> 00:48:19,679 what they've got to do, we already know that. 944 00:48:19,809 --> 00:48:23,161 How are we holding our own selves accountable? 945 00:48:24,510 --> 00:48:26,686 ♪ 946 00:48:31,909 --> 00:48:34,868 CUFFIE: Reparations can't happen without relationships. 947 00:48:34,999 --> 00:48:36,870 It shouldn't just be transactional, 948 00:48:37,001 --> 00:48:40,091 people should have some sort of investment and understanding 949 00:48:40,221 --> 00:48:41,657 why it should be done, white and Black. 950 00:48:41,788 --> 00:48:47,489 ♪ 951 00:48:47,620 --> 00:48:50,449 KESICKI: As we gather this night, we remember 952 00:48:50,579 --> 00:48:53,017 that we're in the month of Juneteenth. 953 00:48:53,147 --> 00:48:55,976 June 19th holds another 954 00:48:56,107 --> 00:48:59,197 symbolic value for this group, 955 00:48:59,327 --> 00:49:04,854 because the sale of the 272 956 00:49:04,985 --> 00:49:07,857 occurred on June 19th. 957 00:49:07,988 --> 00:49:12,340 And it took 180 years for us to come together. 958 00:49:13,646 --> 00:49:16,692 [laughter, chatter] 959 00:49:16,823 --> 00:49:20,392 We have received the beginning of their commitment 960 00:49:20,522 --> 00:49:24,091 to sell the plantation lands and contribute it 961 00:49:24,222 --> 00:49:27,834 to the Descendants Truth & Reconciliation Trust. 962 00:49:27,965 --> 00:49:31,751 Can you think of the symbolism 963 00:49:31,881 --> 00:49:36,582 of plantation owners selling the plantation land 964 00:49:36,712 --> 00:49:40,499 and benefiting the people for generations to come 965 00:49:40,629 --> 00:49:43,241 who's suffering from what their ancestors went through? 966 00:49:44,807 --> 00:49:46,635 KESICKI: The trust, now it's at just over $30 million. 967 00:49:46,766 --> 00:49:49,421 So of our promise to bring in the first $100 million, 968 00:49:49,551 --> 00:49:52,076 that's 30%, and of the overall vision, 969 00:49:52,206 --> 00:49:53,642 that's only three percent. 970 00:49:53,773 --> 00:49:55,993 But we can move toward an operational phase, 971 00:49:56,123 --> 00:50:01,476 which will help show that this partnership is bearing fruit. 972 00:50:02,825 --> 00:50:05,524 STEWART: We have been doing this together now 973 00:50:05,654 --> 00:50:07,352 for six years. 974 00:50:07,482 --> 00:50:11,269 We're frustrated, we're going too slow. 975 00:50:11,399 --> 00:50:13,271 This is a long journey, 976 00:50:13,401 --> 00:50:16,926 but it still has not stopped progress. 977 00:50:17,057 --> 00:50:20,843 ♪ 978 00:50:32,812 --> 00:50:34,248 I told you, I packed everything. 979 00:50:34,379 --> 00:50:36,120 [voiceover]: I recently bought a house, 980 00:50:36,250 --> 00:50:39,471 and that very much has a lot to do with Lotte. 981 00:50:41,299 --> 00:50:43,344 Still in Annapolis. 982 00:50:43,475 --> 00:50:46,652 My ancestors have been here since before emancipation. 983 00:50:46,782 --> 00:50:48,480 I am not going anywhere. 984 00:50:48,610 --> 00:50:50,743 I thought, "Well, I can do 985 00:50:50,873 --> 00:50:52,223 housing repair. 986 00:50:52,353 --> 00:50:54,181 Why not?" 987 00:50:54,312 --> 00:50:56,488 MARVA HARRIS-WATSON: Have you established the proverbial 988 00:50:56,618 --> 00:50:58,142 junk drawer in the kitchen? 989 00:50:58,272 --> 00:51:01,667 Batteries go in there, screwdrivers, whatever. 990 00:51:01,797 --> 00:51:05,366 DULA: We were able to get her the resources that she needed 991 00:51:05,497 --> 00:51:07,368 to purchase the property. 992 00:51:07,499 --> 00:51:12,025 HARRIS-WATSON: The relationship that you all have and her, um, 993 00:51:12,156 --> 00:51:17,291 coming into her own, it's an amazing thing to watch. 994 00:51:17,422 --> 00:51:18,771 CUFFIE [voiceover]: I think the personal 995 00:51:18,901 --> 00:51:20,642 partial reparations helps build the case 996 00:51:20,773 --> 00:51:24,690 for the federal government to make reparations happen 997 00:51:24,820 --> 00:51:26,431 at the national scale. 998 00:51:26,561 --> 00:51:28,433 We're proving time and again, and in different ways 999 00:51:28,563 --> 00:51:30,870 and in different parts of the country, 1000 00:51:31,000 --> 00:51:34,134 the impact it can have on people's quality of life. 1001 00:51:34,265 --> 00:51:37,833 What it's been able to free up for me has helped me 1002 00:51:37,964 --> 00:51:39,531 literally be able to uplift my community 1003 00:51:39,661 --> 00:51:42,447 in the last two years, I've been able to catalog 1004 00:51:42,577 --> 00:51:43,970 the Black history of my town... 1005 00:51:44,101 --> 00:51:45,667 1841. 1006 00:51:45,798 --> 00:51:48,148 [voiceover]: ...spend a lot more time with my elders. 1007 00:51:48,279 --> 00:51:53,066 My mom cries about it on a regular basis, my grandfather 1008 00:51:53,197 --> 00:51:56,330 tells any and everyone who will listen about the work I do, 1009 00:51:56,461 --> 00:51:58,985 and now my community pretty much does the same. 1010 00:52:00,378 --> 00:52:04,382 DULA [voiceover]: I just want to encourage white families 1011 00:52:04,512 --> 00:52:06,035 to do the work. 1012 00:52:06,166 --> 00:52:09,169 Look at your own history, come to an understanding 1013 00:52:09,300 --> 00:52:10,953 of what kind of damages have occurred 1014 00:52:11,084 --> 00:52:13,391 and what was your family's role? 1015 00:52:13,521 --> 00:52:16,263 Harm happens locally, so repair has to happen locally. 1016 00:52:16,394 --> 00:52:19,571 ♪ 1017 00:52:23,052 --> 00:52:25,316 WOMAN: My grandfather in the Klan... 1018 00:52:27,274 --> 00:52:31,670 ...he and his group were personally responsible 1019 00:52:31,800 --> 00:52:34,716 for the death of a young man and a young woman. 1020 00:52:35,848 --> 00:52:39,417 And I can never... 1021 00:52:39,547 --> 00:52:41,070 bring those lives back. 1022 00:52:41,201 --> 00:52:44,596 ♪ 1023 00:52:44,726 --> 00:52:49,862 JOHNSON: I felt a shudder that forbade me 1024 00:52:49,992 --> 00:52:51,777 to turn away... 1025 00:52:52,952 --> 00:52:57,783 ...at least not without consequences. 1026 00:52:57,913 --> 00:52:59,959 [drum playing] 1027 00:53:01,613 --> 00:53:03,180 [singing indistinctly] 1028 00:53:04,355 --> 00:53:06,922 QUARTERMAN: Andrew Quarterman built 1029 00:53:07,053 --> 00:53:10,099 this legacy, but before him there was 1030 00:53:10,230 --> 00:53:12,798 his great-great-grandfather called Zeike Quarterman 1031 00:53:12,928 --> 00:53:15,496 that was enslaved right around this area. 1032 00:53:16,758 --> 00:53:21,110 We're at the end stage to clear the title to own that land. 1033 00:53:21,241 --> 00:53:26,115 The government owes every Black family reparations, 1034 00:53:26,246 --> 00:53:28,466 but for us, we just want to show 1035 00:53:28,596 --> 00:53:29,902 that this was the beginning 1036 00:53:30,032 --> 00:53:33,949 of our family reaching that reparations. 1037 00:53:38,084 --> 00:53:41,435 ♪ 1038 00:53:41,566 --> 00:53:43,568 JOHNSON: "There comes a time 1039 00:53:43,698 --> 00:53:47,659 when silence is betrayal." 1040 00:53:47,789 --> 00:53:52,185 ♪ 1041 00:53:52,316 --> 00:53:58,800 In this quote, I wanted a reminder 1042 00:53:58,931 --> 00:54:03,370 that there are consequences to my silence. 1043 00:54:07,896 --> 00:54:12,771 And those consequences 1044 00:54:12,901 --> 00:54:16,340 live... 1045 00:54:16,470 --> 00:54:20,387 in my bones. 1046 00:54:21,606 --> 00:54:24,173 ♪ 1047 00:54:26,959 --> 00:54:29,657 ["Black Leaves" by KIRBY playing] 1048 00:54:29,788 --> 00:54:31,442 [vocalizing] 1049 00:54:31,572 --> 00:54:37,230 ♪ Black leaves on the Mississippi River ♪ 1050 00:54:37,361 --> 00:54:43,236 ♪ Black leaves in the Mississippi fire ♪ 1051 00:54:43,367 --> 00:54:47,501 ♪ And we've got God and cotton ♪ 1052 00:54:47,632 --> 00:54:50,417 ♪ We've got sons and daughters ♪ 1053 00:54:50,548 --> 00:54:54,291 ♪ We've got grit and glory 1054 00:54:54,421 --> 00:54:57,337 ♪ We've got Mama's stories 1055 00:54:57,468 --> 00:55:01,254 ♪ We've got strength like towers ♪ 1056 00:55:01,385 --> 00:55:05,476 ♪ We've got hope and power 1057 00:55:05,606 --> 00:55:09,175 ♪ God made woman with an iron hand ♪ 1058 00:55:09,306 --> 00:55:12,483 ♪ Raised her up on heaven's land ♪ 1059 00:55:12,613 --> 00:55:16,313 ♪ God made woman with an iron hand ♪ 1060 00:55:16,443 --> 00:55:20,229 ♪ Raised her up on heaven's land ♪ 1061 00:55:20,360 --> 00:55:23,058 [vocalizing] 1062 00:55:26,279 --> 00:55:28,716 ♪ 1063 00:55:29,305 --> 00:56:29,255 Watch Online Movies and Series for FREE www.osdb.link/lm