American taxpayers bailed out Citigroup, owners of Citibank, to the tune of $476.2 billion. This was the highest bailout by far for any bank during the 2008 Wall Street Crash, caused by Wall Street. Given the immense federal aid that saved Citibank, it should be no problem then for Citibank, built with the stolen wealth of slavery, to pay reparations, right?...Right?...
In this important discussion, David Montero, author of the new book The Stolen Wealth of Slavery: A Case for Reparations, shares the latest research on how reparations for slavery would boost America’s economy, would further our collective healing, strengthen our democracy at a time of rampant and unchecked oligarchy, and force long overdue accountability. The movement for reparations has already begun, with important actions being taken by cities like Boston and New York.
Montero’s book is an eye-opening walking tour of New York City that will give you an all new look at how the North profited from slavery while at the same time serving as a hotbed of abolition–a polarized America much like today, with the moneyed elites on the side of the fascist machinery of the South, as long as it made them money. Listen to this interview and share it with your activist groups to help the movement for reparations grow.
And in honor of Aaron Bushnell, the 25-year-old Air Force service member who set himself on fire outside of the Israeli Embassy in Washington, DC, with the last words “Free Palestine”, here is his final post on Facebook, written that day:
“Many of us like to ask ourselves, “What would I do if I was alive during slavery? Or the Jim Crow South? Or apartheid? What would I do if my country was committing genocide?”
The answer is, you’re doing it. Right now.”
The Washington Post has a thoughtful write-up on Bushnell, featured in the show notes below. Bushnell is the second person to set themselves on fire in protest of Netanayahu’s genocidal war, his latest destructive attempt to cling to power.
Show Notes:
The Stolen Wealth of Slavery: A Case for Reparations https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-stolen-wealth-of-slavery-a-case-for-reparations-david-montero/20163861?ean=9780306827174
Citigroup Tops List of Banks Who Received Federal Aid
https://www.cnbc.com/id/42099554
Alabama Supreme Court justice cites scripture 'nearly two dozen times' in ruling on embryos
https://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/video/alabama-supreme-court-justice-cites-scripture-nearly-two-dozen-times-in-ruling-on-embryos-204960325977
Airman who set self on fire grew up on religious compound, had anarchist past
https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2024/02/26/israeli-embassy-airman-fire-death-gaza/
Reuters Investigation: More than 100 Political Elite Have Family Connections to Slavery
https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/usa-slavery-lawmakers/
Opening Clip: Jack Posobiec
https://twitter.com/RpsAgainstTrump/status/1760780642671845629?t=ST2p12xndS77j8l5fK1E9Q&s=19
Clip: Steve Bannon at CPAC
https://twitter.com/piyushmittal/status/1761666054902936048?t=I8clBBbzCvj07qquRxmqmA&s=19
Clip: Donald Trump at a Fox News Townhall: https://twitter.com/MaryLTrump/status/1760882903397830876?t=4aqtc89iRcFpq818M58g1w&s=19
This content originally appeared on Gaslit Nation and was authored by Andrea Chalupa.