Iowa Civil Rights History

Erick Nganyange

Discover Iowa’s role in the advancement of civil rights. Learn how landmark Iowa court cases, the Iowa Underground Railroad, Iowa towns like Buxton, and Iowa civil rights pioneers like Alexander G. Clark, Ralph Montgomery, Edna Griffin, and more guided the future of the state and the nation. We will look at how the nation’s path forward might be discovered by gleaning the wisdom of Iowa's history. For any questions or suggestions, please email Erick at [email protected]

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Top 10 Iowa Civil Rights History Episodes

Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best Iowa Civil Rights History episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to Iowa Civil Rights History for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite Iowa Civil Rights History episode by adding your comments to the episode page.

Edna Griffin - (Stanley Griffin Jr.)

Iowa Civil Rights History

02/26/23 • 43 min

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More than a decade before the Civil Rights sit-ins of the 1960s and six years prior to Rosa Parks' refusal to give up her seat, Edna Griffin, a prominent civil rights leader in Iowa, had already made a significant impact. Griffin compelled the notorious Katz drug store in Des Moines, Iowa, to halt its discriminatory practices toward Black customers. This event marked an important moment in Iowa's civil rights history, demonstrating the power of grassroots activism in effecting change.
In 1948, Edna Griffin and two of her friends were denied service at the Katz drugstore. Griffin sued Katz later that year and won the case. Katz appealed to the Iowa Supreme Court but lost again. This landmark legal victory was a significant moment in the history of civil rights in Iowa, and it helped to pave the way for further advances in the struggle for equality.

In this episode, I sat down with Stanley Griffin Jr, a son of Edna Griffin, to talk about his mother, father, and life growing up as Griffin.

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For any questions, suggestions, recommendations, or corrections on any historical facts; please contact Host: Erick Nganyange
Email: [email protected]
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Honorable Judge Romonda Belcher

Iowa Civil Rights History

07/30/23 • 44 min

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Judge Romonda Belcher was appointed to the bench on August 20, 2010, becoming the first African American female Judge in the state of Iowa.
Born in Plymouth, North Carolina, she earned her bachelor’s degree with honors from Howard University in 1990 and her juris doctorate from Drake University Law School in 1995.

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The Wrongfully Convicted Man - Ken Nixon(Bonus)

Iowa Civil Rights History

06/26/22 • 65 min

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On September 21, 2005, the court asked a 19-yr old Kenneth Nixon if he had anything to say to the court before he was sentenced to life in prison for 2 counts of murder, 4 counts of attempted murder, and 1 count of arson. Ken told the judge and the court “your honor, you are about to sentence an innocent man to prison for the rest of his life for the crime he didn’t commit”.
The judge and the court didn’t take those words seriously, they probably heard them so many times before. Those words will come back to haunt that same judge almost 16yrs later. Because, after Ken spent 15yrs and 9 months behind prison walls, he was released after proving that he was innocent, and was telling the truth all along. Ken was released from prison on February 18th, 2021, and his convictions were vacated.
When Ken came to Iowa to talk to the Midwest innocence project, I got a chance to sit down and talk to him about his journey and what the future looks like.
For more information on Ken’s case please check out law.umich.edu Also, Ken has an organization called “Organization of Exonerees” if you would like to support his movement,
please go to fundly.com

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Fort Des Moines - (Jeff Kluever)

Iowa Civil Rights History

04/30/23 • 43 min

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Fort Des Moines located in Des Moines Iowa, was the first place in the united states where black men were being trained to be officers in the US Army. Fort Des Moines was also the first place in the United States to train women of all races to be in the military.
I travelled to Des Moines to have a conversation with a Des Moines native Jeff Kluever who is a board member of the now Fort Des Moines Museum and understand the history of Fort Des Moines. Jeff is also a student of civil war.

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I'm Innocent - (Stephen Keyes)

Iowa Civil Rights History

05/28/23 • 38 min

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Stephen Keyes is sitting in Fort Dodge Iowa Correctional Facility serving a life sentence without parole. Steve was sentenced to prison on October 27th, 1997 after being convicted of two counts of first degree murder of his wife Sandra and his 2yr old son Josh, the two died as the result of the tragic house fire that happened on December 26, in 1996. His legal team - The Iowa Wrongful Conviction Division & Drake Law School’s Legal Clinic-Wrongful Conviction and the Midwest Innocence Project believes Steve was wrongfully convicted and they are working to free him..

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Iowa Abolitionists

Iowa Civil Rights History

03/27/22 • 49 min

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When the issue of slavery became the most contentious issue in the country, the courage to act was put to a test, Iowans had a choice, either to stand on the sideline and watch or to act. Some Iowans chose to act. Abolitionists were people who detested the institution of slavery and wanted to end it immediately.

In this episode; Dave Holmgren a historian from the Iowa Historical Society of Des Moines discusses some of the prominent Iowa abolitionists of the 19th century. He also discusses some members of legislatures who were abolitionists at night and legislature during the day.

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Why Aren't They Reading? - Akil Ali Clark (Spark Foundation)

Iowa Civil Rights History

01/30/22 • 47 min

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Founded in 2018 in Des Moines, Iowa. Spark Foundation is dedicated to ensuring that every student in the community is able to obtain books that they are personally interested in, free of cost. Spark is also, focusing on reducing the reading achievement gap between high and low-income students and summer reading loss by ensuring every student has the opportunity to build their very own personal library.

In this episode, I got the opportunity to talk to the founder of Spark Foundation, Mr. Akil Clark, our conversation was centered around the past, present, and future of the Spark Foundation. The fight to reduce/eliminate the illiteracy problem among young black boys and how to inspire children to read.

To find more about spark go to https://www.sparkfndn.org/ or check them out on their Facebook page

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Iowa Wrongful Convictions - (Erica Nichols Cook) - Part 2

Iowa Civil Rights History

10/31/21 • 29 min

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On October 8, 1980, a man named William Beeman from Muscatine, Iowa was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Michele Winkel. His lawyer, Erica Nichols Cook who is the current director of the wrongful conviction Division, at Iowa State Public Defender, believes her client is innocent. She has been fighting for his release for a few yrs. Erica sat down with me to discuss the case, why she thinks Mr. Beeman is innocent and her expectations from the justice system.

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Iowa Wrongful Convictions - (Erica Nichols Cook) - Part 1

Iowa Civil Rights History

09/26/21 • 35 min

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In America, sometimes innocent people are investigated, charged, tried, convicted, and sentenced to prison for crimes they haven't committed and ended up spending half of their lives behind bars before they could be exonerated.
In this episode, I sat down with Erica Nichols Cook, director of the wrongful conviction Division at Iowa State Public Defender. Erica is on a mission, she is called to be a fighter, and her fight is to free as many wrongfully convicted people in the state of Iowa as she can.

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Alexander Clark - (Daniel G. Clark) - Part 1

Iowa Civil Rights History

11/28/21 • 35 min

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Alexander G. Clark, arguably the most influential black man to ever lived in the state of Iowa in the 19th century. Some historians believe that he was probably the second most influential black man after Frederick Douglass that no one knows about.

Alexander Clark was born in 1826, in Washington County, Pennsylvania, to John Clark a former slave, and Rebecca Darnes Clark. At age 14 Alexander Clark moved from Pennsylvania to go live with his uncle George Darnes in Cincinnati Ohio, where a young Alexander learned barbering skills. In 1842 at age of 16, he left Cincinnati and moved to Muscatine Iowa, where he opened a barbershop and became a prominent barber in Muscatine. Alexander called Muscatine a home for over 40yrs.

In this episode, I sat down with one of the men who studied Alexander G. Clark, Muscatine's Own, Daniel G. Clark to discuss the life, contributions, and accomplishments of Alexander G. Clark to the state of Iowa.

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FAQ

How many episodes does Iowa Civil Rights History have?

Iowa Civil Rights History currently has 43 episodes available.

What topics does Iowa Civil Rights History cover?

The podcast is about Human Rights, History, Podcasts, Civil Rights and Education.

What is the most popular episode on Iowa Civil Rights History?

The episode title 'Iowa Tuskegee Airman - (Thurman Spriggs)' is the most popular.

What is the average episode length on Iowa Civil Rights History?

The average episode length on Iowa Civil Rights History is 40 minutes.

How often are episodes of Iowa Civil Rights History released?

Episodes of Iowa Civil Rights History are typically released every 29 days, 3 hours.

When was the first episode of Iowa Civil Rights History?

The first episode of Iowa Civil Rights History was released on Dec 26, 2020.

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Iowa Civil Rights History

Erick Nganyange

Top 10 Iowa Civil Rights History Episodes

FAQ

How many episodes does Iowa Civil Rights History have?

What topics does Iowa Civil Rights History cover?

What is the most popular episode on Iowa Civil Rights History?

What is the average episode length on Iowa Civil Rights History?

How often are episodes of Iowa Civil Rights History released?

When was the first episode of Iowa Civil Rights History?

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