Uncounted Millions: Things Fall Apart

Gabriel Coakley was an exception. But what about the rule? In episode 3 of “Uncounted Millions: The Power of Reparations,” we’ll travel with Coakley’s descendants as they attempt to learn about the other side of their family, the Flateaus. Most Black families were met with nothing but their freedom after the Civil War and, in some cases, barely even that. Like most, the Flateau family didn’t enter this new era with any sort of government payment for past wrongs. So how did they build a life for themselves? Trymaine joins the family for a trip to Louisiana to unearth some of this history. Along the way, they also get to the bottom of a big family secret.

This episode, Trymaine is joined by: Adele and Desmond Flateau, historian Dr. Sharlene Sinegal-DeCuir, and a series of Louisiana archivists he meets along the way.