It started with Kendrick Lamar. I was watching clips from his Super Bowl performance, just vibing … stepping to the song “Not Like Us.” Thing is, I’d heard this song before… oh yeah, my teenage daughters made sure of that.
Well, I was still in my groove when I caught a line:
“40 acres and a mule, this is bigger than the music.”
I paused for a second. Wait, what?
At first, I didn’t think much of it. But then, I noticed people weren’t just vibing to the song. They were talking. A conversation was happening. While some were busy trying to perfect Kendrick’s now-famous Super Bowl choreography, others were dissecting that line, talking about 40 acres and a mule like it was common knowledge.
I mean, I’ve heard it before, but I never really heard it, you know? So, I did what any curious person does… I started digging.
Turns out, 40 acres and a mule wasn’t just a phrase. It was a promise. A real, tangible, government-backed deal that could have changed the trajectory of Black history in America. But… spoiler alert, it didn’t exactly work out that way.
So, here’s what I found…
It’s 1865. The Civil War just ended. Enslaved Black people are technically “free,” but freedom without land? Without resources? That’s just another type of struggle. Enter General Sherman. He issues Special Field Order No. 15, setting aside land along the coast of South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida, 40 acres per Black family. And to help farm it? The government planned to distribute surplus mules from the U.S. Army.
Imagine that. Generational wealth could’ve started right there. Black families could’ve had land, independence, a shot at building something for themselves.
But then Lincoln is assassinated. Andrew Johnson takes over, and well… let’s just say he wasn’t about that life. The land was snatched back and handed right back to the same white plantation owners who had enslaved people just months before. Just like that, the promise vanished.
Why This Still Matters
Now, here’s where it gets wild.
Over the years, 40 acres and a mule became something bigger. It wasn’t just about the land anymore; it became a symbol of what could have been. Of reparations. Of a debt that was never paid. It’s why Spike Lee named his production company 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks. It’s why the phrase still comes up in conversations about reparations today.
And that’s why Kendrick’s Super Bowl performance hit so hard. He wasn’t just rapping. He was reminding.
That one line cracked open a history I never fully understood. And honestly? It got me thinking.
What If?
What if that promise had been kept?
What if Black families had gotten their land and been allowed to build generational wealth? Would America look different today?
And how many other stories like this have been buried, rewritten, or just conveniently left out of history books?
I went into this thinking I’d just be looking up a lyric from a performance. Instead, I found myself trying to understand a history I never knew.
(Yeah, you could say, “Well, you’re not American, you don’t need to be taught their history,” but isn’t it all connected?)
And that’s the thing.
Now that I think about it, the kind of history I learned growing up was mostly about colonialism, independence movements, and local heroes. But what about after slavery? What did life actually look like for freed Black people beyond just “abolition”?
I mean, I watched a few movies here and there, but did we ever really talk about the long-term effect? Maybe it was mentioned, maybe not. But the more I dig into this, the more I realize this isn’t just African American history. It’s global history. That broken promise didn’t just stay within U.S. borders. It shaped economies, migration patterns, and even how wealth is distributed across the world today.
And now? Jeez. I can’t stop thinking about it.
One thing’s for sure; Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl performance didn’t just entertain. It sparked a conversation. Now, people are revisiting history, debating reparations, and questioning how past injustices still shape the present.
So, let’s talk about it.
What would the world look like if that promise had been honoured?
Sources
- National Archives. (2010). “No Pensions for Ex-Slaves”.
- Wikipedia. (n.d.). “40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks”.
- New Georgia Encyclopedia. (n.d.). “Sherman’s Field Order No. 15”.
- Library of Congress. (1865). “William A. Gladstone Afro-American Military Collection: Special Field Orders, No. 15”.
- People Magazine. (2025). “What Was Kendrick Lamar Referencing with ’40 Acres and a Mule’ at Super Bowl Halftime Show?”
