Tipping in America: A Legacy of Racism You Didn't Know About
Black History Year
PushBlack
4.6 • 2.2K Ratings
🗓️ 25 August 2025
⏱️ 3 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In many countries, tipping, while nice, is neither expected nor wanted. That’s because service workers in other countries are paid a living wage at the very least. What happened in the United States?
_____________
2-Minute Black History is produced by PushBlack, the nation's largest non-profit Black media company. PushBlack exists to amplify the stories of Black history you didn't learn in school. You make PushBlack happen with your contributions at BlackHistoryYear.com — most people donate $10 a month, but every dollar makes a difference. If this episode moved you, share it with your people! Thanks for supporting the work.
The production team for this podcast includes Cydney Smith and Len Webb. Our editors are Lance John and Avery Phillips from Gifted Sounds Network. Lilly Workneh serves as executive producer.
To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Imagine a delicious patty nestled between two buns with cheese and ketchup. |
| 0:04.7 | It's not a burger. |
| 0:05.6 | That patty is actually sausage, which makes this a sandwich. |
| 0:08.6 | A breakfast sausage sandwich, the new 199 sausage sandwich from McDonald's. |
| 0:12.8 | Made with RSPCA at short pork. |
| 0:15.6 | Until 11am. |
| 0:16.6 | Price and participation may vary. |
| 0:17.8 | Up charges and fees apply to delivery. |
| 0:19.2 | Subjects for availability. |
| 0:23.2 | In many countries, tipping, while nice, is neither expected nor wanted. |
| 0:30.3 | That's because service workers in other countries are paid a living wage at the very least. |
| 0:35.8 | What happened in the United States? |
| 0:39.3 | I'm Len with Push Black, and this is two-minute black history. |
| 0:41.3 | What You Didn't Learn in School. |
| 0:44.3 | The American custom of tipping your server, the thank you for good service, is just that. |
| 0:59.9 | American. |
| 1:01.2 | It's been built into our culture, but what if I told you that tipping's roots are entwined in something far darker than a reward for a job well done? |
| 1:09.8 | The tradition of tipping goes way back to the post-Civil War era. |
| 1:15.1 | Wealthy whites decided to tip newly freed black workers from the goodness of their sweet little hearts. |
| 1:21.8 | But here's the catch. |
| 1:23.1 | These gratuities weren't meant to empower. |
| 1:26.1 | They were a way to exploit black workers, keep wages |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from PushBlack, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of PushBlack and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.