Uncounted Millions: The Cost of Healing

As the Coakley and Flateau families change and grow through time, so too does the conversation on reparations for Black Americans. In this episode of “Uncounted Millions: The Power of Reparations,” both families move west to California, ultimately converging. Soon after, the Japanese Redress movement begins to shape the modern push for reparations in Black America.  

In part 4, Trymaine is joined by: attorney Don Tamaki, activist Emily Akpan and California Congresswoman Barbara Lee. 

Gabriel Coakley was an exception. But what about the rule? In episode 3 of “Uncounted Millions: The Power of Reparations,” we’ll travel with Coakley’s descendants as they attempt to learn about the other side of their family, the Flateaus. Most Black families were met with nothing but their freedom after the Civil War and, in some cases, barely even that. Like most, the Flateau family didn’t enter this new era with any sort of government payment for past wrongs. So how did they build a life for themselves? Trymaine joins the family for a trip to Louisiana to unearth some of this history. Along the way, they also get to the bottom of a big family secret.

This episode, Trymaine is joined by: Adele and Desmond Flateau, historian Dr. Sharlene Sinegal-DeCuir, and a series of Louisiana archivists he meets along the way. 

In episode 2 of “Uncounted Millions: The Power of Reparations,” Gabriel Coakley builds on the freedom and success found in the first part of our series by going after what’s been denied to most Black families in America: financial freedom. Trymaine Lee traces Coakley’s legacy to understand how a surprising influx of money gave his family access to worlds and privileges denied to most African Americans at the turn of the Century through to today.

Trymaine is joined by: siblings John, Adele and Richard Flateau; cousins Desmond and Antoine Flateau; and professors Chris Myers Asch and Kellie Carter Jackson.

The movement for reparations is gaining traction across the country, as cities and states debate what is owed to the descendants of the formerly enslaved. This question – what is owed? – has plagued America since the Civil War. But what Into America discovered is that through a strange legal loophole, a small number of Black people may have managed to get paid. In this series, “Uncounted Millions: The Power of Reparations,” Pulitzer- and Emmy-winning host Trymaine Lee follows the story of Gabriel Coakley, perhaps one of the only Black men in America to receive something akin to reparations. We look at the mark it left on his family for generations and ask: if more Black families had been given a lump sum of money 150 years ago, how might the inequities facing Black America look different today? And how might knowing this story change our current conversation on reparations in America? 

Episode 1 begins in Brooklyn with Coakley’s descendants. With them, we travel back to before the Civil War to learn about Gabriel Coakley’s fight for freedom and, eventually, restitution.In addition to Coakley descendants John, Adele, and Richard Flateau, Trymaine is joined by: author Dr. Chris Myers Asch, archivistsDr. Lopez Matthews and Ishamel Childs, and professor Dr. Kellie Carter Jackson.

Into America is back! In a new series, “Uncounted Millions,” we take a look at one of today's most pressing debates: reparations. On a journey that begins in the nation’s capital during the heat of the Civil War and ends in modern day Brooklyn, host Trymaine Lee follows the little-known story of one of the only Black people to receive reparations, and the mark it left on that family for generations to come. The series asks: if more Black families had been given reparations decades ago, how might Black America look different today? 

And with this series, we’re kicking off a brand new format for Into America. Going forward, we’ll be a seasonal show, giving us a chance to dive deep into the topics most salient for Black America.

Here’s a sneak peek of “Uncounted Millions.” Make sure you’re following the show to stay up to date. The series debuts Thursday, February 15th.

Chris Hayes is on tour with his podcast "Why Is This Happening?" for a series of live shows. In Chicago, he celebrated 50 years of hip-hop at the House of Blues. He was joined by scholar Imani Perry, rapper Vic Mensa, and "Into America" host Trymaine Lee. Trymaine talked about why this music has meant so much to him throughout his life, why it matters for Black America - and all Americans, and what new tidbits he learned while making our "Street Disciples" series earlier this year. 

Plus, a quick update on "Into America." 

For a transcript of the episode and to hear more "Into America" or "Why Is This Happening?" please visit msnbc.com/podcasts.

Nearly 30 years ago, California voters approved Prop 209, which banned affirmative action for the state’s public universities. For some elite schools like UC Berkeley and UCLA, Black student enrollment plummeted, changing the campuses for decades to come. On Into America, we’re going back to Cali to get a glimpse of what life on campus was like during the golden age of Black student enrollment, how the campus responded to threats to end affirmative action, and what the eventual end of the program meant for generations of Black students. 

Trymaine Lee speaks with former Cal student Quamé Love, along with others who have walked the campus over the years, and he’s joined by UCLA history and education professor Eddie R. Cole for context on what the Supreme Court’s decision means at this moment in the nation’s history.

In this episode, you can also get a sneak peak of actress Alfre Woodard reading the entirety of Justice Brown Jackson’s dissent in the recent Supreme Court case over affirmative action for our friends over at The Beat. 

And an update from Into America: we’re going to be stepping away for a few months to work on a new reporting project. So we’ll be back in your feeds with a special season of the show shortly. But if you miss us before then, why not re-listen to a few of our favorite episodes below?

Follow and share the show on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, using the handle @intoamericapod.

Thoughts? Feedback? Story ideas? Write to us at intoamerica@nbcuni.com.

For a transcript, please visit our homepage.

For more: 

• Street Disciples: The Concrete Jungle
• Into “I Have a Dream”
• The Power of the Black Vote: Taking Back the Classroom

California’s official task force on reparations has delivered its final report to the state legislature.

The report includes a formula for determining direct financial compensation, along with more than 100 other recommendations, including establishing universal health care, implementing rent caps in historically redlined neighborhoods, and making Election Day a paid holiday.

And in their report, the authors spent a significant amount of time explaining why reparations are necessary for the descendants of enslaved Black Americans, and why the government is responsible.

Three years ago, host Trymaine Lee spoke about this case for reparations with Nikole Hannah-Jones,  creator of the 1619 Project, and now, a journalism professor at Howard University. The conversation came right after Nikole published her article “What is Owed” in her role as a staff writer for the New York Times Magazine. 

In light of California taking one small step closer toward reparations, we’re bringing back that discussion.  

This podcast was originally published on June 24, 2020.  

For more:

• California's reparations report excludes payment plan but is full of program proposals
• For two California reparations task force members, the hard work comes next
• Reconstructed: Birth of a Black Nation 

When the news of a Freaknik documentary hit Twitter, people joked about seeing their parents, aunts, uncles on film having too much of a good time. Freaknik was a legendary street party that started in Atlanta back in the early 80s and became a destination for young Black people to dance, watch step shows, and see concerts.

“It was the perfect storm. You know, it could not happen anywhere else. It had to happen in Atlanta,” rap legend Uncle Luke told Trymaine Lee. At one point, Luke was crowned “King of Freaknik.”

This week Into America continues our celebration of Hip-Hop 50 by revisiting the rise and fall of the greatest block party America has ever seen, and the impact that Freaknik still has on Atlanta and Black youth culture today. Featuring the people who lived it, including Uncle Luke, Maurice Hobson, radio host Kenny Burns, and Freaknik co-founder Sharon Toomer.

(Original release date: June 30, 2022)

Follow and share the show on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, using the handle @intoamericapod.

Thoughts? Feedback? Story ideas? Write to us at intoamerica@nbcuni.com.

For a transcript, please visit our homepage.

For More: 

• Street Disciples: The Concrete Jungle
• Big Daddy Kane’s Lyrical Legacy
• Black Joy in the Summertime

This week, the US Supreme Court struck down the use of Affirmative Action in higher education, in one of the most widely watched cases of the summer. 

As part of his television reporting, Trymaine Lee had a conversation with professor Cara McClellan of the University of Pennsylvania’s law school in the lead up to the decision. They talked about the history of this policy, as well as the stakes of losing it. And we wanted to share the conversation with you here on the pod as well.  

For more analysis of the Supreme Court decision, check out MSNBC. And keep your eyes on your podcast feeds for more from us in the coming weeks. 

Follow and share the show on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, using the handle @intoamericapod.

Thoughts? Feedback? Story ideas? Write to us at intoamerica@nbcuni.com.

For a transcript, please visit our homepage.

For More: 

• Follow MSNBC’s Legal Coverage
• Know Your History
• Ebony & Ivy