Juneteenth and the Dark History America Is Trying To Bury
We are celebrating freedom with the stories and sounds they don't want you to see or hear.
In this episode, we sat down with Academy Award-winning screenwriter Kevin Willmott and Trai Byers to explore the untold true story of The 24th, how 156 Black soldiers rebelled against Jim Crow in 1917 in Houston, how America erased it from history books, and what it takes to film raw truth without a "white savior."
Episode Summary
(8:06) - Why America hides its violent past
(12:39) - Why Hollywood feared this story
(37:06) - Where are the Latino war films?
Retro Quote of the Week ❞
“The history owns us. We don’t own the history.” - Filmmaker and Oscar-winning screenwriter, Kevin Willmott
3 Questions with Jamilah King 🎙️
Mother Jones’s Editorial Director, Jamilah King, on her and her team’s Pulitzer Prize finalist "40 Acres and a Lie" that exposed America's reparations cover-up.
Spotlight: (Jamilah King, Journalist, "40 Acres and a Lie" Investigation)
How did AI expose America's best-kept reparations secret?
"They were looking for something totally different and they stumbled on a land title and they were like, wait, what? The fact that we did get it and it was stripped from us changes the narrative and makes this a story about the fear of Black progress."
What is mainstream media’s issue with reparations?
"People are terrified to talk about wealth, and people are much more comfortable talking about poverty and blaming individuals instead of looking at an issue systemically. This project allows us to put a time, a place, an address, and an actual price of reparations."
Will we see reparations in our lifetime?
"I think we'll see piecemeal reparations. It may not be I get a 1.2 million check, but reparations can mean getting school funding to open up a new school. The conversation has shifted so dramatically even in the last five years."
The Playlist 🎧
A sonic curation to rebellion, legacy, and reckoning:
🎵 “Freedom” – Beyoncé ft. Kendrick Lamar
🎵 “Mississippi Goddam” – Nina Simone
🎵 “Black Man in a White World” – Michael Kiwanuka
The Screening Room 🎬
The 24th (Hulu): Required viewing. Black resistance, no longer whitewashed.
BlacKkKlansman (Amazon Prime): Kevin Willmott’s Oscar-winning collaboration with Spike Lee on Black infiltration and truth-telling.
High on the Hog (Netflix): A food docuseries disguised as a reclamation of African American cultural power.
Links We’re Digging 🔗
Mother Jones - 40 Acres and A Lie
The NYTimes - Misty Copeland Changed Ballet. Now She’s Ready to Move On.
Wall Street Journal - Don’t Tell Ana de Armas She’s the New John Wick
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