40 Acres and a Lie Part 1
Reveal
The Center for Investigative Reporting and PRX
4.7 • 8.7K Ratings
🗓️ 8 February 2025
⏱️ 57 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Our historical investigation found 1,250 formerly enslaved Black Americans who were given land—only to see it returned to their enslavers.
This is an update of an episode that originally aired in June 2024.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hey, hey, hey, it's Al, and for two years, we've been pouring our hearts into an investigation |
| 0:05.5 | with our colleagues at the Center for Public Integrity. |
| 0:08.8 | We wanted to make sure to have it ready for you by Juneteenth because the story is called 40 acres and a lie and it's |
| 0:15.9 | all about what happened to the enslaved people of America after they were set free. |
| 0:21.2 | You see the government promised them 40 acres, |
| 0:24.4 | but that promise never came true, or did it. |
| 0:28.9 | I can't stop thinking about this show, |
| 0:31.3 | and I hope it stays on your mind too. If it resonates with you, please donate |
| 0:36.3 | today. As a non-profit newsroom, we are depending on the support of listeners like you, |
| 0:42.0 | your $5, $50 or $500 gift helps us bring in more courageous, impactful |
| 0:48.1 | journalism to all. So please, gift today. It's easy. Just text the word donate to 888-57 reveal. That's 888-57 3832. |
| 1:00.0 | Again, just text the word donate to 888 577 3832. |
| 1:07.0 | And thanks. |
| 1:11.0 | From the Center for Investigative Reporting in PRX, this is reveal. I'm Al Lettson. |
| 1:18.0 | The year is 1983. |
| 1:23.0 | I was 11 and my parents were forcing me to move from New Jersey to North Florida |
| 1:28.0 | just outside of Jacksonville. |
| 1:30.0 | The culture shock was significant. |
| 1:33.0 | We were one of two black families that lived in a middle-class white neighborhood. |
| 1:38.0 | My elementary school was about a mile and a half away. |
| 1:42.0 | In a neighborhood that was pretty much all black and mostly poor. |
| 1:47.0 | Every day I would ride my bike between those two worlds from the better off white community, |
... |
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