PAY THE TAB: Reparations Now Tony Tolbert & Adam Radinsky

This is an exciting time in the fight for Black reparations! As momentum builds across the country, Pay The Tab is expanding in new directions - including the first-ever reparations course at UCLA Law School. In this special episode, Tony and Adam bring the latest news, answer your questions, and share things we all can do to disrupt America's toxic system of racism, denial, and capitalist greed.

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The largest-ever court award for slavery reparations came from an unlikely plaintiff. Henrietta Wood was an enslaved woman who gained her freedom in the 1840s - only to be kidnapped and sold back into slavery for 15 more horrific years. Her heroic fight for payback is inspiration for today’s reparations battle. Join us with historian Caleb McDaniel, whose book telling Wood's story, Sweet Taste Of Liberty, won the Pulitzer Prize.

SHOW NOTES

Guest: W. Caleb McDaniel

Dr. McDaniel is a professor at Rice University and U.S. historian, focusing on the Civil War Era and the struggle over slavery. He chairs the Department of History and serves as co-chair of Rice's Task Force on Slavery, Segregation, and Racial Injustice. His book, Sweet Taste of Liberty: A True Story of Slavery and Restitution in America, was awarded the 2020 Pulitzer Prize in History.


Caleb McDaniel's home pageCaleb McDaniel's book about Henrietta Wood, Sweet Taste Of LibertyStolen by Richard Bell - story of five Black boys kidnapped from Philadelphia into slavery in 1825 More about Henrietta Wood's son Arthur Sims including his photo in Jet Magazine when he was America's oldest practicing Black lawyer!

HIGHLIGHTS OF EPISODE:

[5:57] The “reverse Underground Railroad” and kidnapping gangs in border states
[12:51] The villain: Zebulon Ward
[17:37] The case: Henrietta Wood v. Zebulon Ward
[20:38] Generational impact of court award on Wood’s family
[28:42] Importance of political action in the fight for reparations
[31:52] The hero: Henrietta Wood

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Rep. Justin J. Pearson blows away our live audience with his bold case for reparations - and for making change through multiracial solidarity. He speaks on the racist connections of gun violence and environmental pollution; and what we need to do to fix things. Also on video!


SHOW NOTES

Guest: Rep. Justin J. Pearson

Rep. Pearson is one of the most exciting new progressive voices in America. He’s state representative for Tennessee's 86th district, which includes the city of Memphis. He made international news in 2023 as part of the "Tennessee Three" when he was expelled and then reinstated after leading protests over gun violence. He led a multiracial movement that took on billion-dollar corporations and saved Memphis’s drinking water by blocking a pipeline scheduled to run through the city’s Black community.


The closing argument: Rep. Pearson’s case for reparations in 10 minutes

Rep. Justin J. Pearson and the Tennessee Three: NPR piece

Justin J. Pearson’s fight against the Memphis pipeline on Heather McGhee's podcast

More on the “solidarity dividend”: Heather McGhee’s book The Sum of Us

More on Justin J. Pearson’s time as an activist at Bowdoin College

Rep. Pearson’s letter addressing the his colleague’s inaction on gun reform April 2023


HIGHLIGHTS OF EPISODE:
 
[17:24] What “environmental racism” is and how it hurts communities
[25:56] Importance of a multi-racial, intergenerational movement for justice
[29:52] Reparations for environmental racism
[39:02] Racist origins of the Second Amendment
[49:29] How gun violence and environmental racism are connected
[55:35] The case for reparations in 10 minutes
[1:11:06] Audience Q & A


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Did you know Black Americans get about one hour less sleep each night than white people? Less sleep means serious health problems - and shorter life spans. We dive into this shocking “racial sleep gap” with a leading authority on the subject, Dr. Dayna Johnson. She breaks down where it comes from (spoiler alert: it’s all about racism) - and what we need to do to fix it!

SHOW NOTES

Guest: Dr. Dayna Johnson

Dayna Johnson is an Assistant Professor of Epidemiology at Emory University in Atlanta. She earned her Ph.D. in Epidemiologic Science from the University of Michigan. Dr. Johnson completed her postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women's Hospital. Her research explores the causes of sleep health disparities, especially those due to race and gender.


Dr. Dayna Johnson’s home page

From Tricia Hersey (AKA the “Nap Bishop”):"No More Grind”: her podcast interview about rest as resistanceHer manifesto, Rest Is ResistanceGreat article: “Reparations for Black People Should Include Rest”
HIGHLIGHTS OF EPISODE:

[0:55] Tony & Adam on the “racial sleep gap”
[9:52] Societal racism as root cause of the sleep gap
[14:42] How individual racism impacts Black people’s sleep
[16:48] Why Black people with more income and education often get less sleep
[26:25] How Black trauma can cause lifelong sleep problems
[33:51] Ideas on reparations for Black Americans’ sleep
[48:51] Tony’s call to action for Black listeners


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In the largest single act of mass incarceration in U.S. history, our government forced  over 125,000 Japanese Americans into prison camps for three years during World War II. On this special live episode, two leading activists join us to expose the true story of this racist atrocity, the fight for reparations that followed, and the importance of racial solidarity in all movements for change. We know Black America can achieve reparations: it’s been done before!

SHOW NOTES
Guests: Kathy Masaoka and traci kato-kiriyama


Kathy Masaoka was active in the movement for Japanese American redress in the 1980s and has worked to educate Americans about the camps. She co-chairs Nikkei for Civil Rights & Redress (NCRR) and is active in the fight for Black reparations, testifying before Congress in support of H.R. 40 in 2022.


traci kato-kiriyama is an award-winning multi-disciplinary artist and activist, recognized for her work as writer, performer, cultural producer, community organizer, and audiobook narrator. traci co-chairs the National Nikkei Reparations Coalition and is on the Why We Can't Wait Coalition.


Check out the VIDEO of this live episode! 


More on the incarceration of Japanese Americans:
Searchable list of all 125,284 names of those incarcerated (Ireizō)NCRR’s book on the fight for Japanese American reparationsVideos of the 1981 hearings“Pilgrimage” documentary
 More on traci kato-kuriyama’s work:
traci’s websiteTheir amazing book Navigating Without Instruments
 More from bridgette bianca:
Her poem from our live show: “There Goes The Neighborhood”bridgette’s homepage

The California Reparations Task Force proposals for Black reparations


Highlights of episode:

[9:56] Bogus excuses vs. real reasons for Japanese Americans’ incarceration
[15:31] Kathy and traci's family experiences in prison camps
[21:45] traci reads "No Redress"
[29:39] Clips from J.A. reparations hearings
[36:51] Limitations of J.A. reparations
[39:11] Lessons of racial solidarity
[52:05] traci reads "Note to Nikkei Community on Reparations" 
[56:35] Q & A

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Mass incarceration is a cancer that’s devouring Black communities. Writer and filmmaker Asia Johnson joins us and shares her experiences as a formerly incarcerated woman - and her visions for a new system of justice. Recorded with a live audience. Also on video!


SHOW NOTES


Guest: Asia Johnson
Asia Johnson is a writer, filmmaker, and activist for the rights of incarcerated people. She is the Manager of Storytelling for zealo.us, a national advocacy, arts, education, and media institute. Her debut short film “Out of Place” screened at universities across the country. She is currently working on her first feature length documentary.


Check out the VIDEO of this episode! 


More about Asia and her work:
Asia’s homepageAsia’s first film Out Of Placezealo.usRight of Return FellowshipArt for Justice
 More about the prison-industrial complex:
13th (Ava DuVernay’s documentary masterpiece)The New Jim Crow (Michelle Alexander’s definitive book)Vera Institute of Justice
 More about Restorative Justice:
Until We Reckon (book by Danielle Sered)Common Justice (Sered’s RJ organization in Chicago)Restorativejustice.org

Highlights of episode:
[8:20] Asia shares her early life and family experiences
[18:20] Asia shares her experience in prison
[22:23] [Asia explains challenges people face after prison
[31:59] Asia envisions abolition of mass incarceration
[37:24] More productive ways to spend $200 billion
[38:56] Restorative justice as alternative to mass incarceration
[55:03] Adam discusses indifference of white America as key obstacle
[56:24] Asia’s Q&A with the audience
[1:14:37] Asia’s closing poem and call to action

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