Welcome back to the show.
Well, Democratic politicians are finally
starting to take the idea of reparations seriously.
Mitch McConnell says there's no need to worry about it.
I don't think reparations for something that happened
a hundred and fifty years ago, for whom
none of us currently living are responsible, is a good idea.
We've tried to deal with our original sin of slavery
by fighting a civil war, by passing landmark civil rights
legislation.
We elected an African-American president.
Who's we, asshole?
You spent eight years openly fighting Obama at every turn.
If Obama was reparations, which is nonsense,
then McConnell is the guy who burns your 40 acres
and then fucks your mule.
I decided it was time to learn more about what reparations are
and what they could be from someone other
than Mitch McConnell.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
SAMANTHA BEE (VOICEOVER): It's Juneteenth, a day to celebrate
the abolition of slavery.
Sadly our country has yet to atone for our racist past
or, really, our racist present.
So let's have a conversation about the conversation
that white people have been ignoring
for several hundred years--
reparations, the idea that some sort of compensation
needs to be made to the descendants of those
who were enslaved in America.
[INHALE]
I went to the Morris-Jumel Mansion--
a former slave plantation in Manhattan?
--and sat down with a reparations expert.
I'm not going to lie, I thought
you were going to be black.
Well, I'm German.
Oh, say no more.
SAMANTHA BEE (VOICEOVER): To this day,
Germany pays a monthly pension to survivors of the Holocaust.
And while it's always too little, too late,
it is important.
So obviously, the compensation doesn't
really make up for your loss.
There's nothing you can do to compensate
for the wholesale extermination of an entire people.
No.
It's a gesture, a symbolic gesture.
A symbolic gesture.
Yes.
To me, it signaled that Germany was taking responsibility.
But it still doesn't take away from the shame
that I feel, for me, as a descendant of the perpetrating
side, including my beloved grandparents who sympathized
with the Nazi movement.
I was ashamed of my dad when he picked
me up from school in jorts.
I think you win.
Absolutely.
SAMANTHA BEE (VOICEOVER): Speaking of perpetrating sides,
the US government hasn't talked about reparations since the 40
acres and a mule debacle.
Thanks, Andrew Jackson--
I mean, Andrew Johnson.
Fuck both of those guys.
But one university is giving it a try.
Here is Melissan Short Colom, a 65-year-old rising
junior at Georgetown.
How did you end up at Georgetown University?
My family was enslaved by Georgetown for 150 years.
They needed some money, so they sold
my family to the deepest, most racist part of the new America.
So you were like, my family was sold by Georgetown,
so I should go to Georgetown.
Yeah.
SAMANTHA BEE (VOICEOVER): Hope you play lacrosse!
Georgetown was shamed into confronting
its history when students put them on blast a few years ago.
As a result, the university renamed two buildings
after former slaves and offered descendants legacy admission.
Legacy admission means that you come from families who have
made significant financial contributions to the well-being
of the institution.
Georgetown was built on the backs of slaves.
Yeah.
It's a pretty significant contribution.
SAMANTHA BEE (VOICEOVER): But the student body didn't think
that was enough, so they voted to increase tuition by $27.20
a semester, with the money going toward a fund for descendants.
But guess what?
It has to be implemented by the university,
but there is no timeline of action.
Hey, Georgetown.
Feel more guilty.
SAMANTHA BEE (VOICEOVER): OK, has anyone figured out
how to pay slave reparations?
Anyone?
The British government paid reparations in 1833
when they abolished slavery.
OK.
And they paid it back all the way until 2015.
They just finished paying it off in--
They just finished paying it off to these slave owners.
I'm sorry, I think you meant--
Oh--
--they paid the slaves.
Thank you for the correction.
But no, it was actually the slave owners.
Oh, no.
We can never tell Trump about this.
(CHUCKLING) No.
He can never watch this piece or learn
this piece of knowledge.
He will not.
SAMANTHA BEE (VOICEOVER): Well, at least
Georgetown isn't suggesting reverse reparations.
Do you consider what Georgetown is doing
right now to be reparations?
No.
And what is the difference?
I think reparations speaks to a larger conversation.
We need to take a deep, deep, deep look at the social ill
of what is white supremacy.
Are we capable of that?
I would think that we need to be.
SAMANTHA BEE (VOICEOVER): So how do we do it?
I took to the porch of the mansion
to ask people who are allowed to have an opinion on reparations.
What would reparations look like to you?
I think it needs to be a mixture of social programs
and monetary compensation.
I say free college for African-American kids.
Because it's like, education was something
that was denied for so long.
Higher education is a great first step.
Who should get reparations?
Anyone but white people.
I feel like that should be the Democratic slogan for, like,
2020, 2024, maybe 2028.
What about Ben Carson?
Does he qualify?
Ben Carson doesn't get reparations.
He should actually pay a penalty.
Like, he's a negative.
(LAUGHING) He is kind of--
He should contribute.
What if one of the conditions of reparations
was that white people just don't vote
for like, 10 election cycles?
I'm not totally for that, because I think that--
Really?
--would be oppressing white people.
And I'm not for oppressing white people,
I'm just for giving black people reparations.
I'm for oppressing white people, just a little bit.
SAMANTHA BEE (VOICEOVER): Amazing!
Reparations are about so much more than money.
They're also about oppressing Ben Carson.
My luggage--
For people who have been ignoring black people and Spike
Lee's production company for, like, 250 years,
why are reparations important?
Telling the truth is painful.
But it ends up being so rew-- it's
like walking in a rain shower.
Getting soaking wet kind of sucks in the moment.
But after you've been washed by the rain, you feel pretty good.
Mm, Milli's right.
A rain shower-- uh--
Oh, my god.
Is that your roommate?
Hi, guys.
Hey.
I always like to learn a lot when
I'm here, so it's a lot of fun.
Great.
You college kids!
We'll be right back.
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