Image in the public domain
Harriet Tubman escaped slavery in Maryland and then used her freedom and the Underground Railroad to free more than 70 slaves. Known as the “Moses of Her People,” Tubman lived a purposeful life fighting slavery. She also joined the fight for women’s suffrage after the Civil War. Congress has approved the creation of two national historic parks, one in Maryland and the other in New York, to commemorate and honor the life of this pioneering woman.
Story Length: 3:54
© 2014 National Public Radio, Inc. Used with the permission of NPR. All rights reserved.
AIR DATE: 12/17/2014
April 30, 2015
8:57
New York City is planning to acknowledge its rarely discussed history in the slave trade with an official marker at the location that served as the city’s slave market from 1711 to 1762. From its founding as New Amsterdam, the city was shaped by slavery. Slaves physically built the infrastructure of lower Manhattan. In the city’s early days bankers and merchants grew rich from their connection to the trade of Southern sugar and cotton, which was based on slave labor. New York’s wealth was so connected to slavery the mayor of New York proposed the city side with the South and secede from the Union during the Civil War. Listen to learn more about the fascinating history of slavery in this modern day progressive city.
Read MoreApril 9, 2015
4:10
Where does your fish come from? A year-long journalistic investigation found that some of the fish that ends up in U.S. food products appears to have been been caught by slaves. People from Burma are being held against their will and forced to work loading and unloading fish on a remote island in Indonesia. When this modern day slavery was uncovered, reporters traced the route of this fish all the way to American stores, tables and pet food. Listen to learn more about how slavery still exists in parts of the world.
Read MoreAugust 21, 2014
3:55
Demonstrations and unrest in Ferguson Missouri continue in response to the shooting death of Michael Brown, the unarmed black teenager killed by local police on August 9th. This public radio story brings us sounds of these demonstrations and voices of Ferguson residents. Listen to learn more about the underlying racial tensions that exist between Ferguson residents and police.
Read More