African American issues
Often overlooked, civil rights advocate Constance Baker Motley gets her due
In Civil Rights Queen, author Tomiko Brown-Nagin profiles Motley, a Black woman who wrote the original complaint in Brown v. The Board of Education and was on Martin Luther King's legal team.
Want to understand the U.S.? This historian says the South holds the key
Imani Perry, a professor of African American studies at Princeton University, was born in Birmingham, Ala., and has always considered it home, even though she moved north as a child. In her new book, South to America, she recounts her travels to the South — its cities, rural areas and historic sites — and reflects on the region's history of slavery and racism.
'Me Too' Founder Tarana Burke Says Black Girls' Trauma Shouldn't Be Ignored
Activist Tarana Burke is the founder of the #MeToo Movement and has worked with Black and brown girls who are survivors of sexual violence. She originated the phrase and concept Me Too in 2006, as a way for victims to share their stories and connect with others. The Me Too hashtag went viral in 2017, in response to the Harvey Weinstein allegations of sexual assault.
Listen Back To A 1993 Interview With The Late Civil Rights Pioneer Bob Moses
In the 1960s, Moses led efforts to organize and register Black residents to vote in Mississippi and brought national attention to the state's entrenched white supremacy. Moses died Sunday at age 86.
Uncovering Who Is Driving The Fight Against Critical Race Theory In Schools
An NBC News analysis finds at least 165 local and national groups are trying to disrupt or block lessons on race and gender. NBC reporter Tyler Kingkade explores who is waging this fight, and why.
'On Juneteenth' Historian Examines The 'Hope' And 'Hostility' Toward Emancipation
Juneteenth celebrates the day slavery ended in Texas, June 19, 1865. Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Annette Gordon-Reed studies the early American republic and the legacy of slavery.
Podcaster Chronicles Racism, 'Resistance' And The Fight For Black Lives
Saidu Tejan-Thomas Jr.'s "Resistance" podcast explores different aspects of the Black Lives Matter movement. The podcast has been mostly devoted to the protests that started last summer after the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, but it also chronicles Tejan-Thomas Jr.'s personal history.
'Wilmington's Lie' Author Traces The Rise Of White Supremacy In A Southern City
David Zucchino says Wilmington, N.C., was once a mixed-race community with a thriving Black middle class. Then, in 1898, white supremacists staged a murderous coup. Originally broadcast Jan. 13, 2020.
The Legacies Of Black Icons Sam Cooke, Muhammad Ali (Cassius Clay) And Malcolm X
The film One Night in Miami imagines a night in 1964 where Cooke, Clay, Malcolm X and Jim Brown meet. We listen back to interviews with biographers Peter Guralnick, Jonathan Eig and Alex Haley.
'Black Radical' Traces The Life And Legacy Of Activist William Monroe Trotter
Trotter was a Black newspaper editor in the early 20th century who advocated for civil rights by organizing mass protests. Historian Kerri Greenidge tells his story. Originally broadcast January 2021.