The television industry discarded the man who helped make NBC a fortune. His conviction was overturned. His career was not restored. And the business of selling his work may be far from finished.

“What I hate about situations like this is people will tell Black folks, 'Don't overreact.' "That's not what he meant,” Charlamagne said. “But how come the mistakes always got to do with something that removes our rights?” He added, “Nobody ever accidentally says, you know what? I hope everybody gets free health care. I hope everybody gets free reparations.”

Republican lawmakers across the South are moving rapidly to redraw congressional maps, dismantle Black voting districts, and reshape political power before the 2026 midterm elections, triggering a sweeping legal and civil rights battle that advocates say threatens some of the most important gains secured since passage of the Voting Rights Act in 1965.

A country that once made it illegal to teach enslaved Black people to read is now arguing over whether Black history itself belongs in classrooms.