“Who We Are: A Chronicle of Racism in America” from Ben & Jerry’s and Vox Creative releases bonus episode discussing H.R. 40

The team behind Who We Are: A Chronicle of Racism in America is releasing a timely bonus episode on H.R. 40, a bill introduced in Congress addressing the fundamental injustice and inhumanity of slavery in the United States, and what should be done to address slavery’s ugly legacy.

In the episode, host Jeffery Robinson speaks with guests Dr. Ron Daniels President of IBW21 and Convener of NAARC, and Nkechi Taifa, Founder, Principal and CEO of The Taifa Group LLC, a social enterprise firm whose mission is to advance justice, as they discuss H.R. 40, the history of reparations and the ways recompense has been discussed as policy for the past 100+ years.

Ben & Jerry’s, Vox Creative and the Who We Are Project launched the podcast series in September last year to examine the lesser-known history of racial injustice and the hidden ways legal discrimination and state-sanctioned brutality continued long after slavery ended. Over six episodes, host and legal expert Jeffery Robinson looked at how slavery continues to profoundly limit Black Americans’ ability to gain access to jobs, housing, education, and health care; or to create and accumulate wealth.

The episode airs as Ben & Jerry’s is submitting testimony in support of H.R. 40 to the House Judiciary Subcommittee hearing on the legislation. “The Atlantic slave trade and the brutal discrimination against African Americans that followed emancipation are part of an immoral period in our nation’s history, casting a shadow we live under today,” said Ben & Jerry’s CEO Matthew McCarthy. “The true cost of slavery must be acknowledged and the privilege that accrued to some at the expense of others must be reckoned with and redressed.”

The Who We Are series made the top 100 list for Apple podcasts in its third week– a major feat for a branded podcast – and remained at the top of history podcast charts for the entirety of its season, even reaching #3.