WEBVTT - Coming Soon: The Pay Check Season 3

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<v Speaker 1>Last year, Like a lot of black Americans, I started

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<v Speaker 1>thinking more about our collective history in America in my

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<v Speaker 1>own place in it. My family had a plot of

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<v Speaker 1>land in East Texas, near a town called Mount Pleasant.

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<v Speaker 1>I grew up in Arizona, and as far as I

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<v Speaker 1>was concerned, Texas was another planet. Big hats, rodeos that

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<v Speaker 1>showed Dallas. We drove through Mount Pleasant once, but I

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<v Speaker 1>don't remember much. As I got older, my dad would

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<v Speaker 1>call and talk about the Texas property. He daydream about

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<v Speaker 1>all the ways that might one day give him a

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<v Speaker 1>financial cushion, How would buy a better life for him

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<v Speaker 1>and my brother, who has a disability, How there might

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<v Speaker 1>be oil on the land or some kind of rare timber,

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<v Speaker 1>And if I'm being honest, he planted some of those

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<v Speaker 1>thoughts in my head too. Then came the pandemic and

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<v Speaker 1>George Floyd and I started thinking more about inequality in America,

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<v Speaker 1>and because I'm a business journalist, the racial wealth gap.

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<v Speaker 1>I started digging into my past in Texas. I learned

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<v Speaker 1>that the land would never be our ticket to prosperity.

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<v Speaker 1>It was gone. When I found out why, I realized

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<v Speaker 1>my family's story isn't much different from other black Americans.

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<v Speaker 1>I started wondering, how did other black people build wealth

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<v Speaker 1>in America and how did they hold onto it, or

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<v Speaker 1>like my family failed to hold onto it. That's what

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<v Speaker 1>we'll be exploring on this season of The Paycheck, the

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<v Speaker 1>racial wealth gap. The U. S is the richest nation

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<v Speaker 1>in the world and has been for a long time.

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<v Speaker 1>But while black people make up around of the population,

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<v Speaker 1>they hold just three of all the wealth. I'm Jackie

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<v Speaker 1>Simmons and I'm Rebecca Greenfield. Starting on March eleven, we'll

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<v Speaker 1>be diving into how the racial wealth gap came to be.

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<v Speaker 1>He was deeply, deeply racist. He couldn't have cared less

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<v Speaker 1>about the fate of the former slaves, and he restored

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<v Speaker 1>white supremacy as quickly as he could. What it looks

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<v Speaker 1>like now. He was the next thing to God in

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<v Speaker 1>this county. He controlled all the bank boards, and he said,

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<v Speaker 1>nobody lends more money in this county than I do.

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<v Speaker 1>And if you don't learn how to speak to me,

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<v Speaker 1>you're not gonna get any any money, and you won't

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<v Speaker 1>be farming very long. I told him I didn't. I

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<v Speaker 1>didn't know what Jesus Christ nor God look like. I said,

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<v Speaker 1>But he can't look like you and what might start

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<v Speaker 1>to close up. It is a way to repair egregious

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<v Speaker 1>injury and crimes against humanity against the black community. Yes,

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<v Speaker 1>it is reparations. Let's not call it anything else. To

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<v Speaker 1>make you feel better, subscribe to the Paycheck on Apple Podcasts, Spotify,

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<v Speaker 1>or wherever you get your podcast. We'll see you on

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<v Speaker 1>March eleven. H