Episode 16: Race, Reparations, and American (In)Justice (with Damani McDole)

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:

• 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.

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