One of the most traumatic events for Black America in the last century was the murder of Martin Luther King. But who did it? We spotlight a little-known 1999 court case that blew away the bogus cover story, and exposed a grim reality: the plot to kill MLK was led by our own government. Facing this ugly truth is a key step towards reparations.

SHOW NOTES

Materials on the 1999 trial and investigation:

• The 13th Juror: The official transcript of the trial including all witnesses and testimony
• Riveting article by James Douglass who attended the trial
• Loyd Jowers’s Televised Confession (1993)
• Books by William Pepper:
  • Orders to Kill (1998)
  • An Act of State (2003)
  • The Plot To Kill King (2018)

Dr. King’s iconic speeches:

• "I Have A Dream" (August 28, 1963)
• "How Long? Not Long!" (March 25, 1965)
• "Beyond Vietnam - A Time To Break Silence" (April 4, 1967)
• “The Three Evils of Society”(August 31, 1967)
• "We're Coming To Get Our Check" (March 1968)
• "I've Been To The Mountaintop" (April 3, 1968)

Selected works by Dr. King:

• Letter From Birmingham Jail (April 16, 1963)
• Books by Dr. King

HIGHLIGHTS OF EPISODE

[5:56] Arc of Dr. King’s life and career

[11:21] “Three Evils” speech excerpt

[13:26] “We’re coming to get our check” speech excerpt

[15:41] Socio-political climate of the late 1960s

[18:22] “Mountaintop” speech excerpt

[23:11] Pepper’s investigation

[28:24] King Family’s lawsuit

[55:55] Historical impact of the assassination

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Meet Damario Solomon-Simmons, the leading reparations lawyer in the country. He led the Tulsa Race Massacre court battle that put reparations on the national radar. Damario gives advice and inspiration for creative change-making when the system is stacked against us. You’ll be fired up and ready to go!

SHOW NOTES

Guest: Damario Solomon-Simmons

Damario Solomon-Simmons has been a civil rights attorney for almost 20 years. He leads the Justice for Greenwood Foundation, and co-founded the MVP Foundation. Damario has been featured on CNN, The View, Good Morning America, ABC News, ESPN, The New York Times, and more.

Some of Damario’s projects for Tulsa:

Tulsa Race Massacre Lawsuit – The brilliant and riveting legal complaint that launched the historic court battle for reparations stemming from the Massacre.

Justice for Greenwood – Community-based Tulsa organization founded by Damario and fighting for justice and reparations for the Massacre.

Greenwood Is Still Burning – New award-winning documentary that exposes the events of the Massacre and the ongoing legacy of harms it caused.

HIGHLIGHTS OF EPISODE

[9:05] Damario’s shock on learning of the Massacre

[14:07] Thriving Greenwood community

[17:27] The real catalysts of the Massacre

[24:14] Major impacts of the lawsuit

[27:08] Key goals of lawsuit

[33:00] Reparatory justice in plain terms

[40:01] Damario’s motivations to fight for justice

[49:00] Relevance of the Massacre today

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What used to be called “science fiction” is now our daily reality. The fringe right is in power, bombarding us with the openly fascist Project 2025. A key tactic is snuffing out all talk about our racist and corrupt system. But this is no time to back down! Truth-telling is more critical than ever. Tony and Adam catch up on the latest - and how we can all fight back.

SHOW NOTES

Trump Administration Scare Tactics:

• “Dear Colleague” letter
  
  
• Anti-DEI Executive Order
  
  
• Law professors push back

Reparations in the News:

• Tulsa: City Announces Private Sector Reparations Proposal
  
  
• Stone Mountain, GA: Confederacy Group Sues To Block Truth-telling Exhibit
  
  
• California: Legislative Black Caucus 2025 Priority Bill Package
  
  
• Maryland: Gov. Wes Moore Vetoes Reparations Study
  
  
• Washington: Washington State Undertakes Reparations Study

HIGHLIGHTS OF EPISODE

[1:22] The far-right's Project 2025

[5:57] Trump Administration’s “Dear Colleague” letter and pushback

[10:30] Tony on recent Georgia Confederacy group lawsuit

[13:50] Strategies for pushing back against the powers that be

[14:52] The importance of truth-telling

[16:58] Current activity in the fight for reparations

[22:37] The latest from Tony & Adam

[27:12] Calls to action

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