Thousands of our ancestors escaped slavery during the American Revolution, fought for the British on the promise of freedom, and left an outsized legacy in the US, Canada, and beyond. Starring writer, sociologist, and MacArthur Fellow Tressie McMillian Cottom taped live on Juneteenth at the Institute for Contemporary Art at VCU in Richmond, VA. 

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SELECT SOURCES

1. The Black Loyalists of the American Revolution
2. Enslaved by George Washington, This Man Escaped to Freedom-and Joined the British Army
3. Black Loyalists Exodus to Nova Scotia
4. An Account of the Life of Mr. David George from SLA given by himself
5. George Liele
6. Thomas Peters
7. The Black Loyalist Heritage Center

Thousands of our ancestors escaped slavery during the American Revolution, fought for the British on the promise of freedom, and left an outsized legacy in the US, Canada, and beyond. Starring the co-hosts of Code Switch B.A. Parker and Gene Demby taped live at the Moorland-Spingarn Research Center at Howard University in Washington, DC.

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SELECT SOURCES

1. The Black Loyalists of the American Revolution
2. Enslaved by George Washington, This Man Escaped to Freedom-and Joined the British Army
3. Black Loyalists Exodus to Nova Scotia
4. An Account of the Life of Mr. David George from SLA given by himself
5. George Liele
6. Thomas Peters
7. The Black Loyalist Heritage Center

A preview of an upcoming episode about the Black Loyalists. Thousands of our ancestors escaped slavery during the American Revolution, fought for the British on the promise of freedom, and left an unbelievable legacy in the US, Canada, and beyond! 

Full episodes air July 8th starring writer, sociologist, and MacArthur Fellow Tressie McMillian Cottom taped live on Juneteenth at the Institute for Contemporary Art at VCU in Richmond, VA. You'll also get to hear the same story told again to the co-hosts of Code Switch, B.A. Parker and Gene Demby taped live at the Moorland-Spingarn Research Center at Howard University in Washington, DC.

Different guests. Different audiences. Very different perspectives!

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Host Nichole Hill responds to listeners' comments and shares an interview with the show's Research Producer, Chioke I'Anson, about the research behind the histories shared on the show. Their conversation was originally taped for the donor community known as The Household.

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Essie & Paul’s passions lead them to the front lines of the fight to defeat fascism. Starring Jason Reynolds

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SELECT SOURCES

1. Eslanda: The Large and Unconventional Life of Mrs. Paul Robeson by Barbara Ransby
2. The Undiscovered Paul Robeson: An Artist's Journey 1898-1939 by Paul Robeson, Jr.
3. The Undiscovered Paul Robeson: Quest for Freedom 1939-1976 by Paul Robeson, Jr.
4. Here I Stand by Paul Robeson
5. History of America in Ten Strikes by Erik Loomis
6. Haymarket Book Talk with Barbara Ransby: Eslanda: The Large and Unconventional Life of Mrs. Paul Robeson 
7. The History of Camp Wo-Chi-Ca
8. The Peekskill Riots Revealed the Racism and Antisemitism Hidden Beneath the Surface of the Anti-Communist Movement by Matthew Schuerman

Eslanda Cardozo Goode and Paul Robeson meet and fall in love during the Roaring 20s in Harlem. They give up promising careers and devote themselves to climbing the ladder of fame and fortune. Can their relationship survive the success that follows?  Starring Jason Reynolds

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• Learn more about the show at https://ourancestorsweremessy.com
• Listen on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@OurAncestorsWereMessy 

SELECT SOURCES

1. Eslanda: The Large and Unconventional Life of Mrs. Paul Robeson by Barbara Ransby
2. The Undiscovered Paul Robeson: An Artist's Journey 1898-1939 by Paul Robeson, Jr.
3. The Undiscovered Paul Robeson: Quest for Freedom 1939-1976 by Paul Robeson, Jr.
4. Here I Stand by Paul Robeson
5. History of America in Ten Strikes by Erik Loomis
6. How American Slavery Echoed Russian Serfdom by Matthew Wills
7. Haymarket Book Talk with Barbara Ransby
8. The Scramble for Africa 
9. Arturo Alfonso Schomburg
10. The Atlanta Daily World 

Host Nichole Hill shares the story behind Black History Month ahead of the 100th anniversary of it’s celebration and gives listeners a sneak peek of a new episode coming out on January 28th.

To learn more about the show and keep in touch, check out https://ourancestorsweremessy.com

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Was dating any easier in the past? Nichole Hill joins Gene Demby and B.A. Parker, hosts of NPR's Code Switch, to put this question to the test by traveling back in time to 1937, using archival personal ads from the Washington Afro-American newspaper. Together, the trio gets a small taste of what it was like for Black folks to date almost a century ago. Turns out, the ancestors were messy, too!

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A musical prodigy from Kansas becomes a renowned race woman in Chicago, a tabloid sensation in Harlem, and a musical force the world over. These are the many lives and loves of one of the most famous women of the era: Nora Holt. Starring Natalie Tulloch and Christabel Nsiah-Buadi

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SOURCES

1. Nora Holt: The Most Famous Woman You've Never Heard Of by Imani Perry
2. Nora Holt by Matthew Guerrieri
3. Nora Holt: New Negro Composer and Jazz Age Goddess by Cheryl A. Wall
4. "Strange What Cosmopolites Music Makes of Us": Classical Music, the Black press, and Nora Douglas Holt's Black Feminist Audiotopia by Lucy Caplan

Host Nichole Hill shares updates about the future of the show.

To learn more about the show and keep in touch, check out https://ourancestorsweremessy.com

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In 1920, Emperor Jones was a bona fide Broadway hit. The controversial play’s lead is Charles Gilpin, the first Black man to head up an integrated cast on the Great White Way. Gilpin enjoys fame, accolades, and universal acclaim…but he does have a note for his playwright Eugene O’Neil. A note that will make and break careers and change the course of Black history! Starring Dr. Chioke I'anson and Amaya.

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SOURCES

1. The Emperor Jones by Eugene O'Neil
2. Preserving African-American Cinema: The Case of The Emperor Jones by Jennie Saxena with contributions from Ken Weissman and James Cozart
3. "The Truth About Haiti: An NAACP Investigation" by James Weldon Johnson
4. Charles Gilpin. The Kennedy Center
5. Jackson Ward and its Black Wall Street. National Park Service
6. Beyond Tulsa: The Historic Legacies and Overlooked Stories of America's Black Wall Streets. Time Magazine
7. The Richmond Planet is digitized and stored at The Library of Congress.