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THE INVOICE: Settling the Debt with Black America
Alameda County, United States
Aim
Our company is producing a nonfiction film about the theft of Black America’s share of our nation’s wealth and how we settle the debt.
We are a team of veteran media professionals that includes Co-Producers David Lent and Troy Jones, Executive Producer Susan Burgess-Lent, Field Producer Ronna Fleischman, and Director of Photography Trudy Hutcherson.
THE BIGGEST HEIST EVER
What if homelessness isn't just a social problem—but one of the many consequences of a 250-year financial crime?
Since 1776, U.S. government policies helped create, protect, and perpetuate a system that extracted wealth from Black Americans—through labor, land, wages, housing, opportunity, and access to capital.
The consequences still afflict us.
THE INVOICE is an investigative documentary that follows the paper trail from slavery to segregation to today's discriminatory algorithms. This is a true-crime investigation with witnesses, evidence, victims, beneficiaries, and a trail of money.
And at the end of that trail is an invoice.
CRIME SCENE: THE HOUSE IN PIEDMONT
In 1924, Sidney and Irène Dearing became the first Black homeowners in Piedmont, California, a small incorporated city surrounded by Oakland.
The couple had bought a house, an asset that could be passed down to their children and grandchildren.
Then, approximately 500 neighbors gathered outside, threatening to riot unless the Dearings sold their home to a white person. Lacking protection from the police, led by Chief Burton Becker, a leader of the local Ku Klux Klan, they sold.
A century later, their great-granddaughter is suing the City of Piedmont, alleging that city officials helped turn racial terror into government-sanctioned theft—and demanding accountability and restitution.
What was lost when the Dearings were forced out of their home? A century of potential family wealth.
CRIME SCENE: THE 78th U.S. CONGRESS
In 1949, Eugene Burnett had returned from fighting for his country in World War II. He and his bride, Bernice, were looking for a home in Levittown, New York.
The houses were new. The neighborhood was beautiful. And Eugene had the GI Bill. He and Bernice saw the kind of home they had dreamed about. “Look at this house! Can you imagine having this?”
Eugene approached the salesman. “I'm interested. Do you have an application that I could fill out?” The salesman paused and said: “It’s not me, but the owners of the development have not yet decided to sell these homes to Negroes.”
Eugene later recalled: “I was shattered. I never expected that."
Enacted by the 78th Congress in 1944, the GI Bill helped white veterans prosper in the post war years. But it failed to deliver on that promise for Black veterans. While the bill's language didn't specifically exclude them from its benefits, it was structured in a way that ultimately shut doors for the 1.2 million Black veterans who served their country during World War II.
The question isn't simply what Eugene and Bernice were denied. It's what was the cost of that denial to more than a million Black American veterans?
FOLLOW THE MONEY
Viewers of THE INVOICE will witness whistleblowers, scholars, survivors, and forensic economists examining the crime scenes and tallying the costs.
The investigation will lead to questions surrounding reparations: How much was stolen? How will a settlement be negotiated? Where will the money come from and who will get it? Will reparations close the racial wealth gap? Will the nation's broken heart be mended?
Following a true crime format, THE INVOICE focuses on the financial relationship between Black and white Americans. The film will be narrated and presented by an actor in the role of Chief Detective on the case. Our wish list of candidates for this role include the accomplished actors Uzo Aduba (below left) and Niecy Nash (below right).
Supporting the Chief Detective are a team of investigators - scholars, historians, economists, and attorneys—five of which have been recorded to date:
Our list of potential investigators includes:
Sandy Darity and Kirsten Mullen, authors of From Here to Equality
Kamilah Moore, Attorney & Reparatory Justice Scholar
P.R. Lockhart, author, How Slavery Became America’s First Big Business
Daina Ramey Berry, Chair, History Dept, University of Texas at Austin
Dr. Suzanne Mettler, Expert on WWII GI Bill
Stephen V. Ash, Author, A Massacre in Memphis
W. Kamau Bell, Standup Comic/Documentary Producer
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, author and NBA Hall of Fame athlete
and more...
THIS IS NOT ABOUT BLAMING
We know the subject of reparations can make people defensive. THE INVOICE is not interested in blaming or shaming today's Americans for decisions made generations ago. We want to separate the people from the problem.
Instead of asking: “Who is guilty?” we're asking: “What happened?” “What did it cost?”“How did government policy shape the accumulation of wealth?” And: What would it take to repair the damage?
We believe Americans can have that conversation if we’re willing to examine the evidence together.
WE'VE ALREADY STARTED
THE INVOICE isn't just an idea. We've already put more than $30,000 into making it. That money has allowed us to:
• Record four major interviews
• Produce a 3-minute trailer
• Produce a 13-minute extended trailer
Now we're asking for your help to take the next step.
Your contribution will help us turn what we've already created into a substantially larger piece of the finished film. Your support will allow us to:
🎬 TURN THE EXTENDED TRAILER INTO A 30-MINUTE FILM
We'll expand our 13-minute extended trailer into a compelling 30-minute short film that can introduce THE INVOICE to audiences, broadcasters, distributors, and potential partners.
🎭 PURSUE OUR CHIEF DETECTIVE
We'll invest the time and resources necessary to approach one or more of our narrator/presenter candidates.
🎙 FIND MORE WITNESSES
We'll produce two additional feature interviews and several more man-on-the-street interviews.
🎨 BRING THE INVESTIGATION TO LIFE
We'll acquire music and archival material and add animation to help audiences understand the timeline and connect the pieces of the investigation.
📣 TAKE THE STORY TO THE PEOPLE
We'll take the film on the road to civic organizations, religious organizations, and schools to help build awareness and encourage a larger conversation about reparations.
And we'll continue developing the feature-length documentary.
The further we go, the more evidence we can put on the screen.
Funding method
Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made