Preview Mississippi Goddam: The Ballad of Billey Joe

Reveal

The Center for Investigative Reporting and PRX

News

4.7 • 8K Ratings

🗓️ 7 October 2021

⏱️ 4 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Sometimes one story can tell you everything about race and justice in America. Reveal’s new series, “Mississippi Goddam: the Ballad of Billey Joe” is that story. With a title inspired by Nina Simone’s civil rights anthem, Reveal weaves the history of the criminal justice system with the case of a Black high school football star who died during a traffic stop with a white deputy.

Hear this exclusive preview of Reveal's new seven-part series, dropping weekly starting October 16, 2021.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey, hey, this is Alexan and for the past three years, we've been working on a new serial investigation called Mississippi God Damn, the Ballad of Billy Joe.
0:10.0	The series is coming out Saturday, October 16th. We're going to tell the story over seven episodes released week by week.
0:17.0	Today, we have a preview of the first few minutes of episode one.
0:21.0	Before we get started, I shall let you know that this series covers some intense issues related to racism.
0:27.0	Because of that, within the first two minutes, you'll hear me repeat a racial slur that was used against me.
0:33.0	Here we go.
0:34.0	From the Center for Investigative Reporting and PRX, this is revealed.
0:45.0	I'm Alexan and the year is 1991.
0:50.0	I'm a senior in high school, living in a little town outside Jacksonville, Florida.
0:56.0	A middle class, black family, and a mostly white neighborhood. On the surface, this is the American dream.
1:04.0	A big house, corner lot, manicure lawn, and a pool. But if you know what to look for, you can see the cracks.
1:12.0	Confederate flags are everywhere you turn. Neighbors who refuse to talk to you because of your blackness.
1:19.0	And the occasional racial slur you hear in the wind, or spray painted on the street.
1:25.0	Racial intimidation, both large and small, was just a part of life.
1:30.0	So much so you don't even think or reflect on it. You just bury it deep so you can live.
1:35.0	And then one day, the oppression you've been living with is reflected at you, and you just can't deny it anymore.
1:43.0	Now the story that might never have surfaced if someone hadn't picked up his home video camera.
1:47.0	We've all seen the pictures of Los Angeles police officers beating a man that had just pulled over the city's police chiefs.
1:54.0	When the footage of Rodney King's assault by Los Angeles police officers made the news, the entire country had to take note.
2:06.0	Los Angeles police chief Darryl Gates looked at the tape and said he thinks assault with a deadly weapon will be one of the charges.
2:13.0	In our review, we find that the officers struck him with batons of between 53 and 56 times.
2:21.0	I remember watching it, and though I'd never personally seen cops be that brutal, I knew it could happen.
	...

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