Topic: Harlem

The episode concludes with James Brown's "Mind Power," featuring a spoken-word intro about the need for jobs and information in black communities across America. The song serves as the final musical bed for the series, listing various cities from Harlem to Watts as the show fades out for the last time.

Russell Simmons provides a perspective on why Jewish families historically owned real estate and businesses in Black areas like Harlem, noting that WASPs (White Anglo-Saxon Protestants) avoided those sectors. The hosts expand on this, suggesting that a broader power structure—referred to as "they" or "globalists"—uses various groups to manage social engineering and maintain control.

Adama Ba, who was raided by the NYPD Terrorism Task Force at age 16 in Harlem, argues against labeling the January 6 Capitol rioters as terrorists. She suggests that expanding domestic terrorism laws and labels often backfires on innocent black and brown communities. The discussion touches on the specific legal definitions of terrorism, which require a motive for political gain, and draws parallels to the security climate following the September 11 attacks.

Casper Holstein, the "numbers king" of Harlem in the 1920s, was a major philanthropist and supporter of Marcus Garvey. The hosts contrast Holstein with the origins of the NAACP, which they claim was influenced by Joel Spingarn, a man with ties to government intelligence. They question whether the historical rivalry between W.E.B. Du Bois and Marcus Garvey was exacerbated by government handlers on both sides to keep black political movements divided.

The discussion introduces Carla Kaplan's book, "Miss Anne in Harlem," which explores the role of white women in the Harlem Renaissance. The term "Miss Anne" was coined by black domestic workers to refer to their white female employers. These women were often "rule breakers" who sought to "volunteer for blackness" as a way to escape the restrictions of white middle-class womanhood in the 1920s.

The death of legendary actress Cicely Tyson at age 96 is discussed, with the hosts questioning why she did not receive a large-scale public funeral during the pandemic. Given her close relationship with Tyler Perry, they speculate whether she had received the vaccine prior to her passing. The segment honors Tyson's career as a groundbreaking Black actress and an "icon" of the community.

The hosts play a clip from the autobiography of Malcolm X regarding a Harlem street rally and the "human combustion" of frustrated youth. They draw parallels between the demonization of Black youth in the 1960s and the current demonization of Trump supporters. They discuss the death of Ashley Babbitt and the need for empathy across racial lines when facing a common oppressive system.

Author Isabel Wilkerson describes the "Great Migration," where millions of Black Americans fled the Jim Crow South for Northern industrial cities like New York and Chicago. This exodus was driven by the need for labor during World War I and the mechanization of cotton picking in 1927, which displaced agricultural workers. The hosts discuss the "Red Summer" of 1919 and the subsequent creation of "urban" identity, noting that Black migrants were often used as a wedge to drive down wages for white workers.

Using excerpts from the Autobiography of Malcolm X, the hosts discuss the "Hustler Code" and the impasse between "Detroit Red" (Malcolm) and West Indian Archie over a numbers bet. They define "the wire" as the pre-digital social media of the streets where reputations were made or destroyed. Mo Facts draws parallels between this face-saving culture and modern figures like Roger Stone and Michael Cohen regarding the "no ratting" rule.

The narrative of Malcolm X continues with a public standoff in a Harlem bar where West Indian Archie draws a gun on Detroit Red. Archie, an older man who had been to Sing Sing, attempts to save face while acknowledging the futility of the situation. Mo Facts emphasizes that if this encounter had ended in death, one of history's greatest leaders would have been lost, highlighting the need for guidance for "redeemable" young men.

Leonard Patterson recounts his personal participation in inciting a 1935 race riot in New York following the reported death of a black youth. He compares the use of handbills in the 1930s to modern social media posts used to mobilize masses. The hosts argue that identity politics is a contemporary code for Marxism, designed to splinter society into competing factions.

A vintage clip from the John Birch Society discusses the 1964 riots in Harlem and other cities, suggesting they were orchestrated by an "unseen hand" of communist influence. The hosts use this to show the repetitive nature of these social disruptions across decades.

The 1972 film Superfly is examined for its portrayal of a drug dealer as a successful, independent entrepreneur "sticking it to the man." Directed by Gordon Parks Jr., the movie influenced youth culture to emulate the flashy lifestyle of the protagonist, Youngblood Priest. The segment highlights how the film omitted the negative consequences of addiction, focusing instead on the dealer's wealth and power.

In September 1958, Martin Luther King Jr. was stabbed in the chest with a seven-inch letter opener by Izola Ware Curry during a book signing in Harlem. Curry, described as a demented woman, believed King was a communist spy. Doctors stated King was a "sneeze away from death" because the blade was positioned dangerously close to his aorta.

Representative Adam Clayton Powell Jr. defined Black Power as a movement for dignity and integrity, representing a more conservative, religious wing of Harlem leadership. His opposition to certain civil rights demonstrations was often driven by his desire to protect his influence within the Democratic Party.

The Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s featured numerous queer artists and writers, including Langston Hughes, Countee Cullen, and Gladys Bentley. Scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr. has noted that the movement was as much a celebration of queer identity as it was of Black culture, though many elites maintained traditional public personas.

The co-option of political movements is examined, comparing the shift of the Tea Party from its Ron Paul libertarian roots to its current form with the evolution of Black Lives Matter. The discussion touches on how external forces historically influence black cultural movements, dating back to the Harlem Renaissance.