But Have You Heard About?

What did you think of todays' episode?

On this new conspiracy theory episode, I am joined by my friend Jess because I needed someone that's actually been to the statue of liberty 🗽
Where is Lady Liberty located? Is it... Ellis island? You'd be wrong. It's not on the same island where immigrants came during the 1800s. Islands are small, it wouldn't be able to be there. Liberty Island is where it is actually located, a name fitting for the statue to be there. But, there are so many paintings and pictures that point to it at one point being on the same island.
Have you been to the statue and taken a tour? What was the highest point you've gone to? The crown? The torch? A podium? For those that remember going to the torch, you must be 100+, because no one has been allowed into the torch since the Black Tom explosion in 1916. Have you heard about that? The only attack on US ground between the War of 1812 and Pearl Harbor. I hadn't heard about it, which is more surprising than I want to admit. But, because of this attack at the Statue of Liberty, no one but maintenance has been in the torch. What do we make of the photos of those that have "visited" and taken photos from the torch? Was that a mirage? A dream? Collective memories as well as false memories can create an impact on how we perceive experiences we've had. It's just a strange, strange world out there.
For some of the photos Jessica and I checked out:
https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=1rwEL_LqJOea4ElCwBu90FsHId8W67anh
To watch some compiled pictures in a compiled video:
https://youtu.be/cvI_qrquSFw

What did you think of todays' episode?

Yes, you read that right the first time. Reverse underground railroad was a thing. I mentioned it briefly on a previous solo podcast talking about slave patrols to modern policing, but I wanted to take a dive into an individual I uncovered during that dig: Patty Cannon
The Cannon-Johnson gang was not just involved in the selling of free or kidnapped Black Americans to slave plantations in areas like Alabama and Mississippi, but they also murdered other slave traders in the process. In this episode I go over Patty Cannon's life, how she started her life of crime, why she was a horrible prostitute, tactics used by the Cannon-Johnson gang, and how she was caught. She wasn't an anomaly though; there were MANY women that participated in illegal practices like the recapture of freed slaves, or even children that were born in free cities, and this was one of the few ways women could provide for themselves after the death of their spouse or father that provided for them financially. But don't have sympathy for Patty when her husband died; she was horrible and while interesting...she's still the literal worst.
It's also weird her skull is on display. Like, is that an honor, or fitting?

What did you think of todays' episode?

Have you ever gone down a rabbit hole? Like, you had intentions to explore topic A (in my case, conservatorship in the US), but then find out about topic B (headrights, oil, and murder in Oklahoma)?
If you haven't heard about the Reign of Terror associated with the Osage people, you aren't alone. This is definitely part of America's dark history; a story of greed, corruption, oil, and money in the early 20th century. Coined "The Reign of Terror" by news outlets, this is sadly one of many stories about the mistreatment of Indigenous people by whites, but more so because of the murder that also transpired. Why would anyone target a subsect of Indigenous people in Oklahoma? Because they were rich. Oil money rich; and they were birth rights and inherited. However, that means you could designate someone to take your headrights, right? Well, kinda. The US government declared that many of those Indigenous people could NOT make sound decisions, and needed someone watching over them...that was a white lawyer or business man. What could go wrong? Oh, you know, deception, greed, corruption, and obviously MURDER.
Starting in May of 1921, local hunters discovered the decomposing body of 36-year-old Anna Brown in a remote ravine of Osage County. Because there was no apparent killer, police declared the death alcohol poisoning because, why not? Well, that's just where this story begins. Tune in to hear more about The Reign of Terror, and how the murders stopped...ish.

What did you think of todays' episode?

Many know the story about Emmett Till; a 15 year old Black child visiting Mississippi where he was kidnapped, tortured and abused by two men for supposedly offending a white woman. His body was recovered three days later in the Tallahatchie river, barely recognizable. His mother then held an open casket funeral back home in Chicago so the world could see what happened to her child. The two men, Roy Bryant (the husband of the offended white woman, Carolyn Bryant), and JW Milam, were charged and then found innocent by a jury of all white peers. They later admitted to killing Emmett, and sold their story. This murder and the ability for two white men to get off the hook so easily was one of the catalysts of the Civil Rights movement. While Roy and JW had shitty lives, Carolyn divorced Roy, and remarried...and still loves in Mississippi. Recently, an unserved warrant was found in the basement of a county sheriff office for Carolyn Bryant during the three days he was missing. The warrant was never served because she was a young white mother and it would be too bothersome for her to come in.
So, what do we do now that there can be some justice for Emmett Till?
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/till-timeline/
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/30/us/emmett-till-carolyn-bryant-arrest-warrant.html

What did you think of todays' episode?

Presidencies and conspiracy theories are not new; but the first attempted assassination of a sitting president would definitely start a new one. On January 30, 1835, Richard Lawrence attempted to assassinate sitting president Andrew Jackson at a funeral for a South Carolina Congressman. Both of his guns misfired--a 1 in 125,000 coincidence--and left Jackson alive. Though Jackson supposedly beat him with a cane until other onlookers at the funeral were able to wrestle him into submission. While this seems like a cut and dry case, Jackson himself thought it was a conspiracy theory hatched by a sitting Senator from Mississippi and even accused him.
Want to learn more about this early American conspiracy theory? Catch out this week's episode!