Can reparations be a reality for all Black Americans? In New York, the state Gabriel Coakley?s descendants now call home, the governor has signed a bill creating a task force to consider reparations for formerly enslaved people. It?s the third state to do so. But beyond local considerations, does this debate have real momentum at a national level? In the final episode of ?Uncounted Millions: The Power of Reparations,? we take a look at public opinion polling on reparations, along with the dollars and cents of making this a reality across the country. And we return to Gabriel Coakley?s descendants to understand how the family plans to keep alive the legacy of service and Black liberation he started a century and a half ago.

As we round out our series, Trymaine is joined by: the Coakley-Flateau family, Duke University professor Dr. William Darity, New York Senator Zellnor Myrie, Amherst political science professor Tatishe Nteta, and archivist Dr. Lopez Matthews.

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?

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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.  

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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)

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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. 

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Every June, Pride month is a time for self-expression and celebration. But the road here was paved with struggle and sacrifice.

From confronting police during the Stonewall Uprising, to fighting to stay afloat during the AIDS crisis, to battling in the courtroom for the basic rights of citizenship, generations of LGBTQ people have faced gains and losses.  

Of the frontlines of each of these fights have been queer baby boomers.

On this episode of Into America, Trymaine Lee speaks to elders of the Black community: Naomi Ruth Cobb, a Black lesbian activist from Florida, and Phill Wilson, of the Black AIDS Institute, based in California. We hear two stories, from opposite ends of the country, and learn what it means to find community, grow older, and never back down in the fight for equality. 

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America as we know it today would be nothing without Black labor. From the first enslaved Africans who built our economy, to the unheralded agricultural and domestic workers during segregation, to the frontline workers who put their health on the line during the pandemic. 

Historian Blair LM Kelley has been highlighting the stories of the Black working class her whole career. In her new book Black Folk, she traces the story of Black workers from Reconstruction to the Civil Rights Movement. Kelley unearths forgotten stories of the sharecroppers, washerwomen, Pullman Porters, and US Postal Service employees (to name a few) who provided the engine for the American economy for generations. 

Beginning with her own family?s history, she details not only the hardships Black workers faced, but also the joy in community, and collective power in labor organizing, the effects of which still echo today.

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In Galveston, Texas on June 19, 1865, Union General Gordon Granger announced General Order No. 3: ?the people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a Proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free.? The day became known as Juneteenth, commemorating the actual end of slavery in the United States. 

Yet more than a century and a half later, Black people in Galveston are still fighting for the ?absolute equality? promised to them in that order.

The biggest threat today is gentrification, which began after Hurricane Ike in 2008 destroyed the city?s overwhelmingly Black public housing. The situation was made worse recently by a short-term rental boom fueled by the pandemic. Since 2000, the Black population has plummeted by 38 percent.

On this episode of Into America, Trymaine Lee travels to Galveston to speak with Sam Collins of the Juneteenth Legacy Project, June Pulliam, whose great-great grandparents moved to the island in 1865, and lawyer and activist Anthony P. Griffin, who is trying to preserve land for Black folks in this historic city.

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The future is now. Artificial Intelligence already exists in smartphones, helps power social media algorithms, and is accessible through countless apps. AI has generated rappers with records deals and political attack ads.

But as AI gains mainstream attention, AI-powered software that helps landlords select tenants has been proven to discriminate against Black applicants and algorithms have misinterpreted healthcare data, resulting in fewer services for Black patients.

On this episode of Into America, Trymaine Lee speaks with Gelyn Watkins of Black in AI, to understand the implications of AI for Black America. Together, they test a popular app for accuracy and bias. And, Trymaine has a conversation with the AI version of himself. 

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Last week, Into America told the story of Freedom House, a Black-run ambulance service that defined American EMS in the late 1960s. Today, The Healing and Justice Center in Miami, FL operates Freedom House Mobile and Crisis Units, expanding the legacy of wellness from physical to emotional and mental health.

In this special two-part story, Into America explores Freedom House then and now; and how Black communities have always worked to keep themselves safe. 

On part two of ?Don?t Send the Police,? Trymaine Lee heads to Miami to speak with Rachel Gilmer, the director of the Healing and Justice Center; Dr. Armen Henderson, director of Health Programs at Dream Defenders, the Center?s parent organization; and others who are spending their days healing the community.

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In May 2020, the murder of George Floyd inspired people to take to the streets in America and overseas, calling for cop reform, the defunding of police, or saying police should be abolished altogether. And as racial injustices continued, communities took matters into their own hands. The Healing and Justice Center in Miami, FL rolled out Freedom House Mobile and Crisis Units as an alternative to people having to call police, particularly in mental health emergencies. 

The group draws its name and inspiration fromFreedom House in Pittsburgh, which in 1968, became the nation?s first paramedics. Prior to 1968, police would transport people to the hospital during medical emergencies; but in Black communities, the result was often a disaster. Freedom House was all Black, rooted in community, and able to save lives. 

In a special two-part story, Into America explores Freedom House then and now; and how Black communities have always worked to keep themselves safe. 

On part one of ?Don?t Send the Police,? Trymaine Lee speaks with retired paramedic and health-care worker John Moon about how Freedom House began, and its lasting impact for generations to come.

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The entertainment industry and its TV and film writers can?t get on the same page. For the first time in over a decade, the Writers Guild of America is on strike. Shows like Saturday Night Live have already stopped production, with more to come as the WGA and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers try to reach a labor agreement.

As networks and film studios continue make record-high profits, writers are fighting for livable wages and fair compensation in the streaming era. And for the Black writers and the community at large, there?s much more at stake.

For decades, Black writers were shut out of writers? rooms, unable to tell their own stories. As the industry changed, these scribes were only relegated to write comedy. Today, just a handful have made it to the top of the television hierarchy as showrunners. 

Anthony Sparks, a 20-year industry veteran told Trymaine Lee that for him, the strike is about making sure writing can continue to be a viable career path for people like him. Because if the industry doesn?t change, Black writers could get squeezed out, and Black audiences risk losing representation, or worse ? having outsiders control it.

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In May of last year, Tops Supermarket in East Buffalo was attacked by a lone white supremacist. Motivated by ?great replacement theory,? the shooter targeted an area densely populated with Black residents, leaving this community grief-stricken. 

Into America visited Buffalo and spoke with residents shortly after the incident, so now, on the anniversary of the shooting, Trymaine Lee headed back to East Buffalo to revisit this community which has found strength and healing through each other.

Trymaine Lee speaks with Trinetta Alston, a nurse who?s made it her mission to look after the Tops survivors. And he visits the Love Supreme School of Music, which is putting on a series of wellness concerts for the community. And we get a heartwarming update from former guest Fragrance Harris Stanfield, who was working at Tops the day of the shooting.

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Tracy McMillan?s dad spent most of her life in prison, getting out for the last time when she was in her 40s. But for all the movies and shows about prison, she hadn?t seen her experience portrayed on screen in a way that resonated with her. 

So, as a successful television writer and author, she decided to write it herself ? for her and the millions of others who grew up with a parent behind bars. After years of work, Tracy?s story became Hulu?s new hit show UnPrisoned. 

It?s a funny and heartfelt take on what happens when a father who has spent decades in prison, played by Delroy Lindo, comes to live with his adult daughter, played by Kerry Washington. 

This week, Trymaine sits down with Tracy and Delroy, for an eye-opening conversation about their experiences from childhood, their relationship with their fathers, and the healing power of art.

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Black women are three times more likely to suffer from pregnancy and childbirth complications than white women. And when faced with a health scare, terminating a pregnancy has been a way for doctors to save the life of the mother.

But under strict new limits on abortion, doctors are often forced to hold off on critical care, like in Florida, where a 15-week ban meant that Anya Cook almost died after she began experiencing something called PPROM, which can cause infection and hemorrhaging. 

Months after that incident, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill aimed to shorten the state?s ban to just 6 weeks, potentially putting more lives in the balance. 

On Into America, Trymaine Lee speaks with Anya, as well as OBGYN Dr. Zsakeba Henderson, to learn how abortion limits are disproportionately affecting Black mothers nearly one year since Roe was overturned.

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The conversative, white majority in Mississippi?s state legislature has continued to systematically undermine the ability of its capital, the Black city of Jackson, to govern itself.  

Pointing to the city?s homicide rate ? the highest of any major city in the country ? state lawmakers contended that Jackson?s police department isn?t equipped to handle crime, and moved to expand the powers of the Capitol Police, a law enforcement agency that answers to the state. 

But the Capitol Police unit has little experience fighting crime, and in the months since its reach was first expanded last summer, the force has become known for its aggressive tactics ? including four shootings in the last half of 2022, one of them fatal. In that same time, there were just 10 officer-involved shootings in the rest of the state. 

This week, Into America heads to Jackson to speak with Black residents affected by this expansion: Latasha Smith, who was shot in her bedroom by Capitol Police, Arkela Lewis, a mother who lost her son, pastor Dr. Dwayne Pickett, State Representative Earle Banks (D-Jackson), and anti-violence activist Terun Moore.

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In March of 2019, Morgan Cooper dropped a video on YouTube that quickly went viral. It was a short film that he made as a passion project, after he was struck with a flash of inspiration: What if the 90?s classic The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air were updated for the 21st century? 

Three years later, Bel-Air premiered on Peacock to record-breaking numbers, with Cooper as director and executive producer. The season two finale drops on Peacock on April 27th, and the show was recently renewed for a third season. 

For Into America, host Trymaine Lee spoke with Morgan Cooper about Bel-Air, the creative decisions he?s making with the show, and his lightning quick rise in Hollywood. Trymaine also spoke with actress Cassandra Freeman, who plays Aunt Viv in the new show, as well as hip hop icon DJ Jazzy Jeff, who played Jazz on the original Fresh Prince, and who hosted Bel-Air: The Official Podcast. 

(Original release date: March 10, 2022)

For a transcript, please visit https://www.msnbc.com/intoamerica. 

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In 2015, a police officer shot and killed LaKeith Smith?s friend, A?Donte Washington, during a burglary gone wrong. But years later, LaKeith is the one behind bars for murder. 

LaKeith was originally given a sentence of 65-years, after beingc onvicted of burglary, theft, and something called felony murder. 

In certain criminal cases, the felony murder rule allows a person to be charged with murder even if they?re not the one who did the killing. Experts say it?s a legal charge that disproportionately hurts young, Black and brown men. 

In a March resentencing hearing, a judge ruled that LaKeith?s sentences could be served concurrently, thus reducing his overall time; but LaKeith?s family and supporters were still left heartbroken, because even with this reduction, he?s facing a 30-year sentence.

Trymaine Lee spoke to LaKeith?s mother, Tina Smith, about her family?s continued fight for justice. And we talked to lawyer Leroy Maxwell and activist Daniel Forkkio, along with Andre Washington, the father of A?Donte Washington, about what true justice for his son would look like. 

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When toxic chemical spill from a train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio last month led to health concerns in the area, the disaster attracted widespread media coverage, action from Environmental Protection Agency, and a bipartisan push to enact stricter regulations on rail safety.

Yet for residents of so-called "sacrifice zones," this kind of environmental disaster is everyday life. These communities, which are disproportionately Black, are close to industrial plants that emit carcinogens and other dangerous pollutants. 

This week, Into America heads to Institute, West Virginia, a Black town that has long dealt with toxic air from nearby chemical plants, to talk with resident and activist Katherine Ferguson, interim director of the community group Our Future West Virginia, about the town?s fight for justice. Trymaine Lee also talks with Dr. Sacoby Wilson, a public health professor at the University of Maryland, about why Black communities like this one are hit hardest by environmental concerns, and what can be done to prevent further disaster.

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Retired Florida professor Marvin Dunn has been dismayed at recent efforts to battle so-called critical race theory and limit the way educators can talk about race. Last year, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed into law the Stop WOKE Act, which mandated that public schools teach race in a manner where students would not ?feel guilt, anguish, or other forms of psychological distress for actions, in which he or she played no part.?

Like many educators, Dr. Dunn feared this would create an environment where teaching hard truths about history is discouraged. He decided to start the Teach the Truth tour.

This week, Trymaine Lee hops on the tour bus with Into America to speak with Dr. Dunn and students about what?s at stake when it comes to learning the truth about American history. They visit historic sites related to the Ocoee Massacre, the lynching of Willie James Howard, and the Black town of Rosewood, which was destroyed a hundred years ago by a white mob.

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The Louisville Metro Police Department has engaged in sweeping civil rights abuses against Black people, women, and people with disabilities, according to newly released findings from a Department of Justice investigation.

?Shortly after we opened the investigation, an LMPD leader told the department Breonna Taylor was a symptom of problems that we have had for years,? Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a press conference last week. ?The Justice Department's findings in the report that we are releasing today bear that out.?

This week, which marks three years since Breonna Taylor was killed, Into America returns to Trymaine Lee?s conversation with Hannah Drake, a Louisville activist Hannah Drake who helped elevate Breonna?s story on social media, and was part of an effort to push the city council to pass Breonna?s Law ? a ban on ?no-knock? warrants.  

We also check in with Hannah about the investigation?s findings, Louisville?s rotating police chiefs, and her hopes for the future. 

(Original release date: September 24, 2020)

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Jean-Michel Basquiat was an iconic American artist who rose to fame in the downtown New York City cultural scene of the late 1970s and early 80s. Today, Basquiat?s legacy looms over us, larger than ever. His images and symbols grace Uniqlo t-shirts and Tiffany & Co jewelry campaigns. In 2017, Jean-Michel Basquiat?s powerful 1982 painting of a skull was purchased for $110.5 million, becoming the sixth most expensive work ever sold at auction.

But has Basquiat?s pop cultural significance eclipsed the artist?s place in art history? 

For Into America, Trymaine Lee spoke with Basquiat?s former bandmate and friend, Michael Holman, about the young artist?s coming of age in 1980s New York and the crisis of Basquiat?s archive with American art historian Dr. Jordana Saggese. And finally we take a trip to Basquiat?s childhood and speak with Basquiat?s younger sisters, Jeanine Heriveaux and Lisane Basquiat, to unfold their early relationship and an exhibition King Pleasure they have curated in honor of their late brother.

(Original release date: April 28, 2022)

The exhibition will be on display at the Grand in downtown LA starting March 31st. "Jean-Michel Basquiat: King Pleasure" features over 200 works, and includes recreations of the Basquiat family home in Brooklyn, Jean-Michel's studio on Great Jones Street, and the VIP room at Palladium nightclub, as it was in the late 1980s.

Special thanks to Dr Mark Anthony Neal for his research support.  

For a transcript, please visit msnbc.com/intoamerica. 

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Trymaine Lee reflects on the direction of hip-hop over the last decade: through the Trump and Biden administrations, the rise of Black Lives Matter, and the spread of COVID-19. He surveys the state of the culture in 2023, 50 years after the birth of the artform; and he looks ahead to what the next 50 years could hold. 

Plus, guests from our ?Street Disciples? series tell us how their lives have been shaped by half a century of politics, power, and the rise of hip-hop. 

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Editors? Note: an earlier version contained an incorrect time period for the death of Michael Stewart. The story has been updated.

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By the late 90s, rap was the world?s pop music. The money was flowing, creating hip-hop moguls and welcoming in the Bling Era. 

But as hip-hop went mainstream and gained commercial success, the rap music topping the charts had begun to largely shed its political messaging in favor of music that was mostly about the trappings of success: sex, partying, and money. That is, until pressure mounted and backlash to a Republican government brought politics back to hip-hop once more, leading to the mobilization of a generation and the first hip-hop president: Barack Obama.

Trymaine Lee is joined by: rapper Master P, stic of the hip-hop duo Dead Prez, rapper & activist Tef Poe, Vote or Die?s Alexis McGill Johnson, political organizer Rosa Clemente, and writer Joan Morgan. 

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As hip-hop found its rhythm in the late 80s and early 90s, artists had to grapple with the scars of violence the drug war was causing within the community, using music videos like ?Self Destruction? to hold each other accountable, and trying not to unravel in the face of what was happening in the streets. 

This is also when hip-hop began to expand outside of New York, to Los Angeles, where California?s own policies and structures were shaping the rise of gangsta rap. 

These movements culminated in the so-called ?golden age? of hip-hop, a time of maturing and sophistication in the music.  But along with that maturity came uncertainty from national leaders, and a new wave of commercialization that threatened to unravel this political artform.

On this episode of ?Street Disciples,? Trymaine Lee hears from: Daddy-O from the hip-hop group Stetsasonic, rapper and producer The D.O.C., Video Music Box?s Ralph McDaniels, radio host Bobbito Garcia, writer Nelson George, and journalist Davey D.

Note: this episode contains several instances of profanity. 

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By the 1980s, hip-hop artists were beginning to expand the party culture of hip-hop's early years and think about what they wanted to say with their music. 

Faced with a city wrecked by economic abandonment and neglect, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five released ?The Message? in 1982, calling out the conditions head-on: ?rats in the front room, roaches in the back, junkies in the alley with a baseball bat.? 

And to take control of this environment of neglect, young artists began shaping their environment through dance, fashion, and graffiti. But with the growth in the culture came a crackdown on Black America: in the form of ?broken windows? policing, and then a ramped up War on Drugs.And as some members of the hip-hop counterculture became targets of police harassment, they began to fight the power with work that was bold and demanding..

In the second episode of ?Street Disciples,? Trymaine Lee hears from: Melle Mel of the Furious Five, fashion designer Dapper Dan, graffiti artist Cey Adams, sociologist Tricia Rose, historian Mark Anthony Neal, and hip-hop activist Harry Allen. 

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Hip-hop is a rose that grew from concrete. And there?s no other place it could have grown than the fertile soil of the South Bronx. At the beginning of the 20th Century, urban planning destroyed neighborhoods and led to white flight, and tall high-density towers re-arranged the landscape of the borough. Around the same time, a massive wave of Caribbean immigrants and Black Southerners were migrating to the South Bronx, leading to a convergence of cultures that would light a spark for the birth of hip-hop in the summer of 1973.

Hip-hop is turning 50 this year. So, for Black History Month, Into America is presenting ?Street Disciples: Politics, Power, and the Rise of Hip-Hop.? Trymaine Lee is looking back on the political conditions and policies that have inspired half a century of hip-hop, and how over time, hip-hop began to shape America. 

On part one of ?Street Disciples,? how the concrete jungle of New York in the 1970s led to the birth and spread of hip-hop. Trymaine is joined by: Kool DJ Red Alert, DJ Grandwizzard Theodore, historian Mark Anthony Neal, sociologist Tricia Rose, and journalist Davey D.

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Trayvon Martin?s hoodie was never supposed to end up in an exhibit on Reconstruction at the Smithsonian?s National Museum of African American History and Culture. But then the 17-year-old boy was shot and killed in Sanford, Florida, by a self-appointed neighborhood watch captain, while carrying nothing but a cell phone, a pack of Skittles, and a can of iced tea. 

Kidada Williams, a history professor at Wayne State University tells Trymaine Lee that she sees a clear through line between Reconstruction and Trayvon Martin. ?The way he was targeted for minding his own business, the way he was demonized, and in some cases blamed for his own [death] is very consistent with what happened during Reconstruction,? she explains.

Like Emmett Till before him, Trayvon?s story galvanized a people and changed a nation. Protests sprang up across the country as the story gained traction, helped in large part by Trymaine Lee?s reporting. A generation of young people became activists, and the phrase ?Black Lives Matter? became a rallying cry.

But when Trayvon became a face of the movement, it came with a cost ? born largely by those closest to Trayvon, like his dad, Tracy Martin. "I?m giving to society, but do society really understand what I've given up?? he asks. "We don't look to bury our kids. We don't look to eulogize them or try to define what their legacy is to be. And during that process, man, it just, it really tears you up.? 

(Original release date: February 24, 2022)

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On June 17, 2015, a white extremist shot and killed nine Black people in the Mother Emanuel AME church in Charleston, South Carolina as they gathered for a bible study group. 

This wasn?t the first time Mother Emanuel had been attacked. In the 1820s, white people burned down Mother Emanuel in retaliation over a failed slave rebellion. For years, the congregation was forced to meet in secret. But through all the violence and backlash, the Black congregants relied on their faith, and during Reconstruction, they rebuilt. 

Mother Emanuel?s history mirrors the story of Black America. Through the centuries, faith has helped Black people find freedom, community, and strength, even in the face of violence.

This tradition of faith in the face of backlash holds true today. Trymaine talks with Bree Newsome Bass, whose incredible protest of scaling a 30-foot pole to take down the Confederate flag from the South Carolina state capitol made her an icon of the movement. Bree?s actions led to the permanent removal of the Confederate flag from the state house. And she tells Trymaine that faith was the foundation of it all.

(Original release date: February 17, 2022)

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New Orleans?s Tremé neighborhood is one of the oldest Black neighborhoods in America, and at the heart of that wasClaiborne Avenue. In the 1960s, construction of the I-10 highway cut through the community. 

But now, thanks to funding from the recent infrastructure bill, community residents might have the resources to heal. Proposals for the Claiborne Expressway have included everything from tearing down the freeway completely, to taking the federal grant funding and investing it into the community. 

Raynard Sanders a lifelong New Orleanian and the Executive Director of the Claiborne History Project. He says the most important thing is that the community have a say in what happens next. On this bonus episode of Into America, he talks to host Trymaine Lee about the history of the Tremé neighborhood, and the fight to save it.  

This conversation is part of an MSNBC town hall on racial equity and healing, hosted by Trymaine Lee, Joy Reid, and Chris Hayes, and sponsored by the Kellogg Foundation.

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In 1865, General William Tecumseh Sherman asked a group of African Americans in Georgia what they needed most to start their new lives as free people. The answer: land. 

This led to Sherman?s order that every Black family in the region receive 40 acres, and an Army mule if they liked. It was a promise the government decided not to keep, but where the government failed, the newly freed made their own way. 

In the second episode of ?Reconstructed,? Trymaine Lee visits Promised Land. Founded just after the Civil War in the Upcountry region, Promised Land, South Carolina was self-sufficient, with a church, school, and farms to nourish its people?s mind and body. Trymaine talks to Reverend Willie Neal Norman Jr. and Elestine Smith Norman, a couple who can trace their Promised Lands roots back over a century. 

And Into America travels to rural Georgia to learn about a group of 19 families who bought several hundred acres in 2020 with the dream of creating a new town: Freedom. 

(Original release date: February 10, 2022)

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In February 2022, Into America launched ?Reconstructed,? a series about the legacy of Reconstruction.

The story begins in the late 1860s, as the newly freed became citizens under the law and Black men gained the right to vote. Black Americans across the South suddenly had the power to exert control over their own lives. In the face of horrific violence from their white neighbors, Black people voted in liberal governments across the South, elevating hundreds of their own to places of political power. 

Perhaps no one exemplifies this more than the late Congressman Robert Smalls. As his great-great-grandson Michael Boulware Moore tells Trymaine Lee, Smalls? daring escape from slavery and wartime actions made him a hero. Then, like hundreds of newly freed Black Americans, he decided to get involved in politics in his hometown of Beaufort, South Carolina. 

And more than a century later, we still see the impact of this brief time of Black political power, through people like the current Democratic National Committee chair and South Carolina native Jaime Harrison, who tells Trymaine how today?s 20th-Century fight for voting rights is a continuation of the Reconstruction era. 

(Original release date: February 3, 2022)

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We?re welcoming in a new year by checking in on a few former guests. 

Tavonia Evans, founder of the cryptocurrency Guapcoin, gives us the state of her digital economy after the fall of FTX. We also speak with Fragrance Harris Stanfield, a survivor of the Tops shooting in Buffalo, for updates on her perseverance post-tragedy, and talk with one of the families with links to the Tulsa massacre we met in 2021. And we catch up with Akeem Brown, founder of the San Antonio charter school Essence Prep after completing its first semester. Plus, we get new insights from Trymaine Lee?s daughter, Nola Lee, who just turned 10. As we reflect with our guests, we want to take this time to thank you, the listeners, for coming on this journey with us.

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Black Christmas music is a genre of its own. From originals like ?All I Want for Christmas is You,? to our spin on the so-called classics, these songs have become a staple in Black households. 

In the spirit of the holiday season, Trymaine sits down with music industry veteran Naima Cochrane to take us on a deep dive into some of the best and most influential Black Christmas songs of all time. We get into Whitney Houston?s take on ?Joy to the World,? James Brown?s ?Santa Claus Go Straight to the Ghetto,? and more!

And, we get the back-story on ?This Christmas? from Nadine Scott McKinnor, the writer behind the Donny Hathaway classic.

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After nearly 3 years and 200 episodes, Into America is having its first mailbag episode! We?ve asked for questions from listeners, former guests, and friends of the show. From moments that Trymaine has never forgotten, to critical feedback from listeners, to the best place in Brooklyn to buy a suit... we get into a little bit of everything. 

Show host Trymaine Lee and Executive Producer Aisha Turner let listeners peer behind the curtain of how this podcast works, as they talk about their favorite moments, trickiest decisions, and what?s coming next for the show. 

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When Marsha Coleman-Adebayo heard a rumor that members of her church might be buried under a parking lot for a high-rise apartment building, she couldn?t believe it. This small plot of land in the wealthy, white suburb of Bethesda, Maryland, had once been part of the Black community that flourished here after emancipation, and was now dwindling due to development and gentrification. 

The land was now worth tens of millions of dollars, and developers were eyeing it for further construction. So Marsha became part of a years-long fight between the county and former residents of River Road, the once-thriving Black community within Bethesda, to save and memorialize the Moses Macedonia African Cemetery.

This week, Trymaine travels to River Road to meet with Marsha and Harvey Mathews, a descendant of the community who can still remember what once was. They visit the site of the former cemetery and the tiny church fighting to preserve the memory of their ancestors.

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It?s been just over a month since Elon Musk became CEO of Twitter, capping off a months-long, controversial, $44 billion takeover.  

The company has drastically changed under Musk, from losing an estimated two-thirds of its staff to layoffs and resignations, to looser content regulations, to reinstating notable banned accounts such as former President Donald Trump. 

The changes have left many Black users uncertain of their future on the site, and that poses a danger to one of the site?s most vibrant, creative, and influential communities: Black Twitter. 

Black Twitter has given us countless memes and viral videos, and powered movements like #OscarsSoWhite and #BlackLivesMatter. But does Elon Musk?s leadership mean the end of the Black Twitter we know? Host Trymaine Lee talks with Meredith D. Clark, a professor at Northeastern who studies Black Twitter, and Jamilah Lemieux, a writer who has been a prominent voice in the community.

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Since the advent of powered flight, African Americans have been fighting for a spot in the skies. During World War I Eugene Jacques Bullard made a name for himself as the first African American military pilot. But Bullard flew for the French Foreign Legion ? because at the time, the U.S. military refused to train Black pilots. Later, in 1939, the Tuskegee Airmen would go on to win honor and distinction escorting bombers and flying attack missions during WWII, proving the skill and fitness of Black pilots.

Yet, despite the advances of the twentieth century, today less than 2% of pilots are Black, with the high cost of learning to fly acting as a barrier to many. Now, as the nation faces pilot shortages, the airline industry is turning to HBCUs to fill the gap. Major airlines like United, Southwest and Delta have partnered with the schools to fill their cockpits with more diverse pilots.

This week on Into America, host Trymaine Lee speaks to Captain Barrington Irving about his efforts to inspire the next generation of Black pilots and about his barrier-breaking career in the skies. Captain Irving is the founder of the Flying Classroom, and in 2007 he became the first Black man, and the youngest person at the time, to fly around the world solo. We check in with Captain Irving?s mentee, Tremaine Johnson, who?s learning to fly at an HBCU in Florida. And we speak with Captain Irving?s own mentor, Captain Gary Robinson, who began his career at a time when there were even less Black pilots than there are today.

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Marvel?s Black Panther has always been more than a superhero franchise. Since the first film came out in 2018, the characters and their utopian home, the fictional African nation of Wakanda, have become ingrained in popular culture. ?Wakanda forever? became more than a line from a movie ? it transformed into shorthand for Black pride and excellence.

Now, the long-awaited sequel, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, is once again redefining the genre. 

Filmed after the death of star Chadwick Boseman, who had played King T?Challa aka the Black Panther, director Ryan Coogler decided the movie would tackle the tragedy head on, and show a nation in mourning.

This week on Into America, Trymaine Lee sits down with Kelley Carter, a reporter for ESPN?s Andscape, to talk about why the franchise resonates so deeply, and how the sequel deals with grief and the legacy of the Black Panther. Trymaine also speaks to author Eve L. Ewing, who writes Marvel?s Ironheart comic series, about the importance of Black superheroes.

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The morning after Election Day, results were still being counted and analyzed from the 2022 midterms. It seemed likely that Republicans would control the House, but without the ?red wave? many analysts were predicting. 

Into America host Trymaine Lee spent Election Day, Tuesday November 8th, in Atlanta, Georgia. He spoke to people who waited in line vote, hoping to make their mark, after Republicans passed new voting restrictions. 

In that state, voters ultimately decided that incumbent Republican Brian Kemp would stay on as Georgia?s governor. Democrat Stacey Abrams conceded late Tuesday night. And the next morning, the Senate race between Democrat Raphael Warnock and Republican Hershel Walker was to too close to call, and headed for run-off. 

On Wednesday morning, Trymaine Lee sat down with analysts Jason Johnson and Cornell Belcher. They talked about what we know so far, what it all means for Black people, and what the early polls got right (and wrong) about the Black vote. 

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Midterm elections are critical junctures for Black America, moments in time that have transformed the wellbeing of the community ? for better or worse.

In 1962, the Democrats? strong showing helped pave the way for the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Backlash to President Clinton brought the Republican Revolution of 1994, which led to the Welfare Reform Act of 1996. And in 2010, President Obama lost control of Congress, essentially halting major legislative progress for the rest of his presidency. 

On this episode of Into America, Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, a Democrat from Texas, recounts what it was like being elected in 1994, and surviving the red wave of 2010 ? two elections she says had disastrous consequences for her Black constituents. 

And according to Ted Johnson, an expert in the Black electorate at the Brennan Center for Justice, 2022 is shaping up to be another crucial year. Columbia University professor Fredrick Harris put it this way: ?History does not repeat itself,? he told us, ?but it sure does rhyme.?

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When someone in the Black community dies, we honor them with vibrant, spiritual homegoings and repasts as a celebration of their life. That?s because honoring someone in death is a reflection of how we loved them in life. This Fall, as the weather gets cooler and calls for introspection, and as some cultures celebrate Day of the Dead and All Souls Day, we?re looking to the Black burial and mourning traditions that buoy us year after year. 

On this episode of Into America, Trymaine Lee speaks with Dr. Karla F.C. Holloway, author of the book ?Passed On: African American Mourning Stories, a Memorial,? to discuss the origins of Black burial practices, how these traditions are passed down, and why they matter. Historical archeologist Dr. Brittany L. Brown also joins us to talk about her research into a previously undiscovered African American burial site.

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Comedy is an art form that consistently provides some of the most insightful social commentary to be found. When the best comics get on stage, they shine a light on the darker, often uncomfortable, parts of our collective psyche, in the process opening a door for discussion. 

W. Kamau Bell is a comedian who has used his art to highlight our country?s complicated relationship with race. And his CNN series, United Shades of America, follows Bell as he visits communities across the country, exploring the unique challenges they face. Along the way Bell has developed a fan base eager to hear his thoughts on race. And many of those fans are white allies.

Bell's latest book, co-authored with Kate Schatz, who is white, is directed squarely at those white fans. Titled Do The Work!, it?s structured as a workbook for adults, complete with concrete actions they can take to create an anti-racist society. This week on Into America, host Trymaine Lee sits down with Bell to discuss how the book overlaps with his career in comedy. Plus, he and Trymaine take a deep dive into their favorite Denzel Washington movies. 

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On the final stop of our HBCU tour on The Power of the Black Vote, we travel to Atlanta, home of three of the most prestigious historically Black colleges and universities: Spelman, Morehouse, and Clark Atlanta, to talk with HBCU students about the Black youth vote. 

Georgia has always played a significant role in the fight for voting rights in this country. And when Stacey Abrams lost her race for governor in 2018, young Black voters who were tired and fed-up began to mobilize on their campuses. For years, Black student voter turnout was on the decline in the state, but with rising voter suppression tactics and voter purges, student organizers and grassroots organizations started a movement to get out the vote. This resulted in an unprecedented Black youth voter turnout in the 2020 general election, which ultimately led to Georgia turning blue for the first time in years. 

But with the midterm election right around the corner, student organizers like Janiah Henry, a student political activist at Clark Atlanta University, are struggling to keep that momentum going. 

On this episode of Into America, Trymaine speaks with Henry about how she is energizing the Black youth to get out and vote this November. He also speaks with Ciarra Malone, an organizer forCampus Vote Project, who has made it her mission to strengthen civic engagement on HBCU campuses throughout the state. 

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