PAY THE TAB: Reparations Now

Part 2 of our story on the Tulsa Race Massacre looks at the historic lawsuit for reparations going on right now. We have a riveting conversation with Hughes Van Ellis, 101, one of three living survivors – and a plaintiff in that case. Guests Eric Miller and Kristi Williams return to give us the inside scoop on the case and the government’s literal coverup of possible mass graves.


SHOW NOTES

Guests: Kristi Williams, Eric Miller, Hughes Van Ellis

Hughes Van Ellis, 101, is a survivor of the Tulsa massacre. Along with his sister Viola Fletcher, 108, and Mother Randle, 108, he is a plaintiff in the Tulsa lawsuit that’s going forward in court. 

Kristi Williams is a Tulsa-based activist and organizer. She chairs the Greater Tulsa African American Affairs Commission. Kristi’s great-aunt Janie was a survivor of the Tulsa Race Massacre.

Eric Miller is a professor at Loyola Law School and an expert on reparations. He is co-counsel on the groundbreaking lawsuit filed by Justice For Greenwood, seeking reparations for the Tulsa massacre.

Highlights of episode:

[5:28]  Kristi Williams on the search for mass graves and a dispute over the number killed in the massacre

[11:07]  Tony, Adam, and Eric Miller on the reparations lawsuit in Tulsa

[15:29]  Tony on a new court ruling in the lawsui

[18:57] Hughes Van Ellis interview

[31:54]  Eric Miller reflects on a key question for reparations 

[34:34] What people can do to help 

Check out Justice For Greenwood’s reparations lawsuit for the Tulsa massacre.

Groups fighting for change in Tulsa:

• Justice For Greenwood  Founded by Damario Solomon-Simmons, lead attorney for the Tulsa lawsuit and hero for civil rights in Oklahoma, this group is fighting for reparations for the massacre.
• Terence Crutcher Foundation  Based in Tulsa, they are working to end racial violence, especially by police against unarmed Black men.

More about the Tulsa Race Massacre:

• The Nation Must Awake: My Witness to the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921 A riveting firsthand account by Tulsa resident and journalist Mary Parrish.
• Reconstructing the Dreamland: The Tulsa Riot of 1921 (Race, Reparations, and Reconciliation) A history of the massacre with a focus on reparations, by Alfred Brophy.

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The Tulsa Race Massacre was one of the most horrific events in U.S. history.  Was it just a riot by an angry white mob - or an all-out war on Black Americans by their own government? Join us for the real story on what went down in 1921. Special guest: Kristi Williams, Tulsa activist and descendant of a massacre survivor.


SHOW NOTES

Guest: Kristi Williams

Kristi is a Tulsa-based activist, organizer, and “love advocate.” She chairs the Greater Tulsa African American Affairs Commission and serves on the 1921 Mass Graves Investigation Committee. Kristi also is the descendant of a survivor of the Tulsa Race Massacre.

Highlights of episode:

[3:14]  Backdrop to the story: Oklahoma and Greenwood

[5:54]  Tony & Adam lay out the events of 1921

[12:26]  Firsthand accounts of the massacre from The Nation Must Awake

[14:32] Kristi Williams on her aunt’s experience in the massacre

[17:14]  Eric Miller on the government role, and the real motives for the massacre

[22:04]  Kristi on the real motives, and the legacy of Greenwood

[25:53]  Tony & Adam on Greenwood as a symbol of Black excellence and the effects of Jim Crow

More about the Tulsa Race Massacre:

• The Nation Must Awake: My Witness to the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921  - A riveting firsthand account by Tulsa resident and journalist Mary Parrish.
• Reconstructing the Dreamland: The Tulsa Riot of 1921 (Race, Reparations, and Reconciliation)  - A history of the massacre with a focus on reparations, by Alfred Brophy.

Groups fighting for change in Tulsa:

• Justice For Greenwood:  Founded by Damario Solomon-Simmons, lead attorney for the Tulsa lawsuit and hero for civil rights in Oklahoma, this group is fighting for reparations for the massacre.
• Terence Crutcher Foundation:  Based in Tulsa, they are working to end racial violence, especially by police against Black people.

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Big things are happening on the West Coast! The California Reparations Task Force is deep into its revolutionary work. We talk with chairperson Kamilah Moore, who gives us the inside scoop on how they’re hatching a real plan - one that can set the stage for reparations across the whole country!

SHOW NOTES

Guest: Kamilah Moore

Kamilah is Chairperson of the California Reparations Task Force. She’s a reparations scholar and an entertainment attorney in Los Angeles. Kamilah earned a B.A. in Political Science from UCLA, a law degree from Columbia, and a Master of Laws degree in International Criminal Law from the University of Amsterdam.  Twitter: @KamilahVMoore

Highlights of episode:

[0:36]  Adam & Tony on the historic nature of the Task Force’s reparations plan 

[4:14]  Kamilah on the false narrative of California as a “free” state

[7:20]  Kamilah on who should be eligible for reparations

[9:56]  Why it’s hard for most Black people to trace their geneology, and the “brick wall of 1870”

[15:16]  Kamilah on the criminalizing of African Americans, from slavery to today

[22:30]  Adam & Tony on the eligibility issue

[24:28]  Adam & Tony on the task force’s key proposals

The California Reparations Task Force:

• Full Interim Report
• Executive Summary
• Preliminary Recommendations
• Home page
• Testimony of Prof. Erwin Chemerinsky to the Task Force, about how to define the eligible group to give best chances of being upheld in court.

Black Panther Party’s 10-Point Platform

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In the city famous for segregation and corruption, we’ll see how many hoops Black people had to jump through, just to get a place to live. This scam would make Al Capone blush: crooked banks, politicians and realtors conspired to rob Black Chicagoans of more than 4 billion dollars! Special guest: Amber Hendley, housing activist and reparations warrior.



SHOW NOTES

Guest: Amber Hendley 

Amber is a dynamic force in the national reparations movement. She directs the African American Leadership and Policy Institute, and works to promote Black homeownership. She co-authored The Plunder of Black Wealth in Chicago,  an expose of the billions stolen from Black homebuyers under the “contract” system.

Highlights of episode:

[0:36] Tony & Adam on the wealth gap and why it’s been so hard for Black people to buy a house

[8:31] Amber on the Chicago housing scam 

[15:01] Amber on how much money was stolen from Black Chicagoans

[22:51] Amber’s on what we need for housing reparations

[29:38] Tony & Adam’s ideas on reparations for this scam

More on the Chicago scam:

• “The Case For Reparations”  by Ta-Nehesi Coates. This article was a game-changer. Exhibit A of his “case” is the Chicago scam and its devastating effects on the Black community.
• “In My Father’s House” - This 1972 piece lays out the whole story of the Chicago scam while it was still happening, with personal details.
• Family Properties by Beryl Satter. A detailed account of the Chicago contract buying system and the Contract Buyers League, who fought back and eventually forced the system to change.

For the full story on redlining and America’s history of government-led segregation, see Richard Rothstein’s explosive book, The Color Of Law.

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What’s so threatening about the sight of Black people relaxing? Tony and Adam tell the story of a thriving Black-owned beach resort near L.A. that was shut down by the government - with a dramatic new reparations twist. We also look at ways the city could get Black people to come back. Special guest: pioneering historian Alison Rose Jefferson.

SHOW NOTES

Guest:  Alison Rose Jefferson

Alison is a historian and scholar-in-residence at Occidental College. Her book "Living the California Dream: African American Leisure Sites during the Jim Crow Era" is available at Eso Won Books and other Black booksellers.

• Alison’s home page
• Alison’s commemorative justice project for the City of Santa Monica, CA

Highlights of episode:

[0:36] Why are whites so bothered by Black people relaxing in public?

[7:02] The story of Bruce’s Beach

[19:36] Breaking news on reparations at Bruce’s Beach

[22:20] Tony and Adam’s plan to draw Black people back

[33:24] How listeners can get involved

Robert Brigham’s grad school thesis, “Land Ownership and Occupancy by Negroes in Manhattan Beach” (1956) is HERE

H.R. 40 (Bill to Set Up Commission to Study Reparations for African Americans):

• Text of H.R. 40
• H.R. 40 passes out of House Judiciary Committee
• Find Your Representative

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Why reparations? Why now? Get to know Adam and Tony as we kick off Pay The Tab! Special guest Maureen Simmons helped create California's first-of-its-kind reparations task force, while still a college student. Maureen schools us on reparations - and shares her story of making history.

SHOW NOTES

Guest:  Maureen Simmons

A key player in the national reparations movement, Maureen helped create California’s reparations task force and has consulted other states on their reparations plans. She has advised Ice Cube on his Contract With Black America platform. 

• Twitter: @TheMoChronicles
• Instagram: mz_esq
• California Reparations Task Force home page

Highlights of episode:

     [01:40] Why reparations? Why now?

     [05:32] Meet Tony & Adam

     [12:35] Maureen Simmons: intro to reparations

     [20:36] Maureen on the California connection to slavery

     [26:48] Maureen’s wish list for reparations

     [31:37] Tony & Adam recap

H.R. 40 (Bill to Set Up Commission to Study Reparations for African Americans):

• Text of H.R. 40
• H.R. 40 passes out of House Judiciary Committee
• Find Your Representative

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Transcript of episode

 
Introducing PAY THE TAB: Reparations Now!  Join hosts Tony and Adam as they make the case for reparations, one story at a time.