Show notes:
The incredible Robin D. G. Kelley schools us on what true reparations could look like - and how to use our collective power to envision a better future. Recorded in Los Angeles with a live audience. See the video HERE!
Guest: Robin D. G. Kelley
Robin Kelley is a leading historian, author, and thinker of our time - or any time. His groundbreaking book Freedom Dreams: The Black Radical Imagination offers inspiring visions for a bold Black future. He breaks down why we need to imagine a radically different world in the fight for reparations. Filmed with a live audience at the Greenway Court Theatre in Los Angeles.
Check out the VIDEO of this episode!
Highlights of Episode:
[7:59] Freedom Dreams is invitation to engage in struggle, make mistakes, learn from past movements
[10:10] The global nature of racism and oppression, seeing reparations more broadly
[13:12] Role of artists as truth-tellers
[24:39] Robin’s bold possibilities for reparations
[26:20] Why we need to transform society; link between Black and Indigenous reparations
[32:42] Tony’s tribute to our mothers
[45:42] Why we can’t ever get equality under capitalism
Some key reparations movements and pioneers from the past:
- The Black Manifesto
- N'COBRA
- Provisional Government Of The Republic Of New Afrika
- "Queen Mother" Audley Moore
- Callie House
Selected books by Robin Kelley:
- Freedom Dreams: The Black Radical Imagination (20th anniv. edition)
- Africa Speaks, America Answers: Modern Jazz in Revolutionary Times
- Thelonious Monk: The Life and Times of an American Original
- Yo' Mama's DisFunktional: Fighting the Culture Wars in Urban America
- Race Rebels: Culture, Politics, and the Black Working Class
- Hammer and Hoe: Alabama Communists During the Great Depression
Robin highlights the critical role of artists in the struggle for Black liberation:
- Aja Monet - Dynamic young poet who wrote the new foreword to Freedom Dreams
- "Who'll Pay Reparations On My Soul" by Gil Scott-Heron - Groundbreaking musician, poet, author, and activist
- Sekou Sindiata - Brilliant poet who made profound impact on Freedom Dreams