Episode 16: Race, Reparations, and American (In)Justice (with Damani McDole)
Episode description
For those who thought our most uncomfortable topics were behind us, on this episode we are joined by David's childhood friend Damani McDole [facebook.com] to discuss several potentially offensive topics surrounding race and justice in America, such as slavery, reparations, affirmative action, and the use of the N-word. When Damani mounts an economic and moral defense for reparations for the descendants of slaves, David prefers to point to the difficulties in deciding who gets paid ( someone who's 1/16th descended from slaves? Jamaican-Americans? African immigrants?) and who should be responsible for paying (only people whose descendants benefitted from slavery? all non-slave descended taxpayers?). Tamler proposes (taking a note from Lenny Bruce) that if we use the N-word often enough it will lose its sting, and decides to practice what he preaches. And Damani reveals a surprising theory about race and geography (surprising for a Black man, at least) that leaves Tamler awkwardly speechless.
For those who are visually inclined: here's a one-minute set of behind-the-scenes clips from our Google+ Hangout:
Links- Nigger [wikipedia.org]
- Leonardo DiCaprio bleeds for his role in Django Unchained [cinemablend.com]
- Lenny Bruce- Are there any niggers here tonight? [youtube.com]
- 60-year old white man slaps Black baby [thesmokinggun.com]
- The truth about 40 Acres and a Mule [theroot.com]
- The "great migration" of American Blacks out of the South [inmotionaame.org]
- 1811 Louisiana Slave Rebellion [theroot.com]
- Maya Angelou and Dave Chappelle on Iconoclasts [sundancechannel.com]
- Bonus: Dave Chappelle imagines reparations [youtube.com]
Special Guest: Joseph Damani McDole.