Episodes

  • Seizing Freedom: Official Trailer

    Seizing Freedom: Official Trailer
    Jan 18 2021
    In most history classes, you learn that the Emancipation Proclamation and Union victories “freed the slaves.” But ending slavery in America required so much more than battlefield victories or even official declarations. Black people battled for their own freedom, taking incredible risks for a country that had actively denied their right to it. After the Civil War, they made freedom real by organizing for equality and justice during Reconstruction. On Seizing Freedom, you’ll hear stories of freedom taking and freedom making directly from the people who did both. Using stories selected from diaries, newspapers, letters, and speeches, we’ll take you straight to the sources of lived experience. Through them, you’ll hear voices from American history that have been muted time and time again. Support the show: http://donate.vpm.org/site/Donation2?1557.donation=form1&df_id=1557&mfc_pref=T
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    3 mins
  • Spotlight: Ambrose Headen

    Spotlight: Ambrose Headen
    Feb 1 2021
    Follow the incredible journey of Ambrose Headen, a man born into slavery who eventually played a pivotal role in founding one of the nation’s first Black colleges. Support the show: http://donate.vpm.org/site/Donation2?1557.donation=form1&df_id=1557&mfc_pref=T
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    9 mins
  • Spotlight: Susie King Taylor

    Spotlight: Susie King Taylor
    Feb 1 2021
    A deeper look into the life of Susie King Taylor, who pursued her vision of freedom for herself, her family and for future generations. Support the show: http://donate.vpm.org/site/Donation2?1557.donation=form1&df_id=1557&mfc_pref=T
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    13 mins
  • Intro: Time For A New Story

    Intro: Time For A New Story
    Feb 1 2021
    If you’ve heard stories about Reconstruction, you’ve probably heard that it failed. And sure, some parts of Reconstruction did fail—but not because Black people didn’t claim their freedom. Support the show: http://donate.vpm.org/site/Donation2?1557.donation=form1&df_id=1557&mfc_pref=T
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    9 mins
  • Spotlight: Cyntha Nickols

    Spotlight: Cyntha Nickols
    Feb 1 2021
    African Americans had to go to extraordinary lengths in order to be reunited with their families after emancipation, including this grandmother’s struggle to gain custody of her grandson. Support the show: http://donate.vpm.org/site/Donation2?1557.donation=form1&df_id=1557&mfc_pref=T
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    11 mins
  • A Powerful Black Hand

    A Powerful Black Hand
    Feb 1 2021
    How Black men and women fought to participate in the war against slavery, and how the Union’s decision to allow them to enlist shifted the tide of the Civil War. Support the show: http://donate.vpm.org/site/Donation2?1557.donation=form1&df_id=1557&mfc_pref=T
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    1 hr and 1 min
  • Interview: Crystal Feimster

    Interview: Crystal Feimster
    Feb 4 2021
    Interview with historian Crystal Feimster about the importance of digging into archives and disrupting the myth that the Civil War and Reconstruction are histories that belong to white men. Support the show: http://donate.vpm.org/site/Donation2?1557.donation=form1&df_id=1557&mfc_pref=T
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    30 mins
  • A Bedrock For Freedom

    A Bedrock For Freedom
    Feb 8 2021
    How freedom wasn't as clear-cut as wartime refugees from slavery expected, and how— despite terrible conditions in many camps—Black people's desire for self-determination kept them going. Support the show: http://donate.vpm.org/site/Donation2?1557.donation=form1&df_id=1557&mfc_pref=T
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    53 mins