Recognizing the Armenian Diaspora

Explicit content warning

05/08/21 • 36 min

After 100 years of lobbying the US government has finally recognized the Armenian genocide, carried out by the Turkish government in the transition out of the Ottoman empire.

On this episode of Black Diplomats host Terrell Starr talks to Sophia Armen, a scholar and activist who lost eight members of her family in the genocide. She is the third generation of activists in her family who have fought to keep the memory of those bloody days alive.

Armen talks about some of the details of the systematic removal of Armenians from Turkey, and reminds us that Hitler looked to the program as a model for his final solution.

Terrell talks about his experience learning about how race functions in the Caucasus. They recognize the global nature of empire that underpins it all, and how different groups of oppressed people can work together to achieve reparations and healing.

Thank you for listening!

After 100 years of lobbying the US government has finally recognized the Armenian genocide, carried out by the Turkish government in the transition out of the Ottoman empire.

Armen talks about some of the details of the systematic removal of Armenians from Turkey, and reminds us that Hitler looked to the program as a model for his final solution.

Thank you for listening!

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Jewel of the Caucasus

The Republic of Georgia has a storied history in the heart of the Caucasus mountains.

Host Terrell Starr first went there after the fall of the Soviet Union when they were still struggling to figure out a new way of life. In today’s episode of Black Diplomats he talks about that critical time, for him and for the nation of Georgia. He talks about living in the region as a Black man, and how he found ways to connect with his neighbors.

Then Terrell talks to Eka Gigauri, a native Georgian who serves on the board of Transparency International and has been watching the political crisis in Tblisi with a close eye.

Terrell wrote an article for Foreign Policy magazine on the situation last week and was eager to get up to speed with someone on the ground.

These two old friends reminisce on the past, give us a tour of what Georgians have built in their country, and talk about what they’re looking forward to.

Music by Tall Black Guy and Quintet Urmuli.

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Producer's Note

Hello everyone, Mike here, the producer of Black Diplomats. We have a couple of short announcements this week, so I thought I’d jump on your feed for the update.

Terrell is dealing with a family emergency right now, so our regular episodes are postponed for a couple weeks. Please keep him in your thoughts.

In more lighthearted news, we recently received a grant from the Ploughshares Fund to do a series on the Iran nuclear deal and the nuclear program in North Korea. Ploughshares has supported a lot of great people and a lot of great causes over the years, and we are genuinely proud to be welcomed into their community. We’re working on those episodes now, look forward to hearing them later this year.

Thank you for listening!