This payday, Amber and Erika wrap up their discussion of Michael Harriot's "Black AF History: The Un-Whitewashed Story of America". We conclude our discussion of the book by highlighting the American pattern of claiming to eradicate racism and inequity, when in reality, it just makes it more insidious, entrenched, and harder to recognize. Harriot highlights Black America's relentless fight for justice and equality through examples of the Black Panthers, the Congress on Racial Equality (CORE), Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), and the NAACP, among others. Black AF reminds us that the United States is undeniably a nation built upon the pillaging of Native land and the physical, mental, and financial exploitation and subjugation of Black people. Yet Black American people have defied every odd by flourishing, contributing to every success attributed to this nation, and challenging America to be true to the ideals spoken in fraud and deceit.

Amber and Erika are kicking off Season 13 with the inaugural episode of the Broke-ish Book Club! Our first read is "Black AF History: The Un-Whitewashed Story of America" by Michael Harriot. Harriot starts pre-America and methodically (and comedically) debunks all the foundational lies we are indoctrinated to believe about this country's origins - from Christopher Columbus to the Puritans and Pilgrims - Harriot corrects the lies of "discovery". Harriot details the brutality, exploitation, and scope of American enslavement and human trafficking. He highlights the horrors of chatteling humans and stealing their labor and intellectual property. But most importantly, Harriot brilliantly captures the often overlooked reality that the dehumanizing and exploiting of Black people didn't end with the Civil War. Rather, it has just resurfaced time and time again in different iterations. Press play to join the Book Club!

Amber and Erika are jumping headfirst into Season 13 by applying the lessons learned in our first book club selection, Michael Harriot's "Black AF History: The Un-Whitewashed Story of America", to Nikole Hannah-Jones's New York Times article reflecting on her choice to place her daughter in a predominately Black but underperforming school. Hannah-Jones recalls her daughter's anger and disappointment at learning that Hannah-Jones and her husband knowingly decided to enroll the daughter at a school that lacked the academic rigor to prepare her for selective high schools. But the choice between high performing schools and predominately Black schools that were culturally enriching is the systemic catch 22 many Black families experience: wanting a stellar education without sacrificing diversity and belonging. The article exemplifies America's intentional, race-based, schooling - one that nefariously ties funding, support, and resources to racially manufactured meters like property value. Nikole Hannah-Jones's quagmire illuminates the central point of Black AF History: there isn't a single component of American life that is unblemished by its birth as an anti-Black, racist, and fundamentally unjust nation.