BILL ZEEBLE / KERA NEWS
Freedmen’s communities were started by newly freed slaves following the Civil War. One such community was ‘Little Egypt’ in Dallas, Texas. The neighborhood got its name from a nearby church that is still open today, though in a different location. By the 1960s, many community residents had been bought out, and Little Egypt became part of Lake Highlands, a major suburb of Dallas. Listen to this story to hear what it was like to live in Little Egypt in years past and learn about how historians at Richland university uncovered the buried history of a southern freedmen’s community.
Story Length: 4:46
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February 21, 2019
5:02
The state of Virginia has been steeped in controversy about past actions of key elected leaders, including calls for their resignations. Both the governor and the attorney general have revealed that they wore blackface when in costume years ago, saying that they did not realize how offensive it is. Many are not aware of the history of blackface, dating to the late 19th century, when white people would darken their faces and perform minstrel shows, which depicted African-Americans in derogatory, dehumanizing ways. Listen to this interview with a journalist who explains the history of blackface in America and why it remains controversial today.
Read MoreAugust 31, 2017
6:12
Harvard University has a longstanding history of academic excellence as the first institution of higher education in America. Harvard also has a less proud history of slaveholding within its administration. At least three past Harvard presidents are known to have owned enslaved people, and slaves were also forced to work on Harvard campus. Recently, Harvard has made efforts to uncover its slaveholding past. Listen to this story that describes Harvard’s initiatives to research the details of its past injustices, and commemorate the enslaved people Harvard once owned.
Read MoreOctober 11, 2016
3:39
National Museum of African-American History and Culture opened on the National Mall in Washington D.C. in September 2016. It started with a vision and a mission to tell the story of America through the lens of black history and culture. Many people have given parts of their lives to this museum, which has collected 37,000 artifacts. The first item to come into the building was Jim Crow-era segregated train car that was lowered underground. Currently, 3,000 artifacts are displayed in the museum, and the curators will keep collecting for future exhibitions. Listen to hear more about this museum that was first proposed by black veterans of the civil war, and was recently opened to the public.
Read MoreMay 13, 2015
5:47
The Great Migration was a period of African American migration from the Jim Crow South to the North from 1915 to the 1970s. People left their rural southern lives behind in the hope that there would be more opportunity and equality in northern cities like New York City, Chicago and Detroit. Artist Jacob Lawrence was raised in New York City but he was the child of two Southern migrants. Lawrence saw the Great Migration first hand and vividly painted the stages of migration, from boarding trains to finding racism in the North. Listen to learn more about this period in history and how it is represented in art and music from the era.
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