The Disappearing of Sister Koko with Prof. D. Boose - A Freedom Fighter Next Door

06/01/22 • 32 min

Who is Sister Koko? What roles has she played in Black freedom struggles? Why do many people–even in DC–not know about her? Join Prof. D. Boose as we meet Sister Koko, learn about events during her childhood in Newport News, Virginia, that began her community organizing work, and start to explore her experiences as a Black freedom fighter and what we risk losing if her stories disappear.

Please be advised that this episode includes descriptions and experiences of state violence, lynching, and rape. It also includes brief profanity. Listener discretion is advised.

Any views expressed in this podcast do not necessarily reflect those of HumanitiesDC or the project’s funders.

Please be advised that this episode includes descriptions and experiences of state violence, lynching, and rape. It also includes brief profanity. Listener discretion is advised.

Any views expressed in this podcast do not necessarily reflect those of HumanitiesDC or the project’s funders.

Previous Episode

The Disappearing of Sister Koko with Prof. D. Boose

"The Disappearing of Sister Koko with Prof. D. Boose” is a collaboration between HumanitiesDC’s Porchtales and DC historian and podcaster Prof. D. Boose.

Through stories shared by local resident Sister Koko, we’ll explore the city’s rich history of activism and civic engagement and its connection to international Black Freedom struggles. Sister Koko is a Black activist radical and elder who has dedicated her life to the support and liberation of Black people in the United States and the African Diaspora. For nearly 60 years Sister Koko has been a Black freedom fighter in America. She was a former Civil Rights activist, a one-time Black Panther Party associate, a core anti-apartheid activist in the US, and a decades-long Pan-Africanist organizer. Yet today, she lives in Metro DC unknown to most. But why? And what's lost in her disappearance?

In this six-episode series, we will meet Sister Koko and listen as she details her interactions and relationships with people like Stokely Carmichael, Miriam Makeba, Cleveland Sellers, Afeni and Tupac Shakur, and as she shares harrowing stories of fighting racism, existing COINTELPRO, and nuances of Black living in twentieth-century America. Time and circumstance have tried to disappear Sister Koko, yet she still rises through our collective listening. Tune in and be a witness to stories of Black freedom activism in America you haven't heard.

Next Episode

The Disappearing of Sister Koko with Prof. D. Boose - Howard’s Doorway to Activism

How did Dorothy Jean McQueen become Sister Koko? Explore her memories with Prof. D. Boose as she reflects on being a student at Howard University amidst the March on Washington and organizing for Freedom Summer.

They’ll talk about 1960s era racism and segregation and new community efforts to fight it, especially in protests against discrimination in travel. Hear how these developments encouraged Sister Koko to join the Nonviolent Action Group of Howard University (NAG) and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) alongside Stokely Carmichael, and to reinvent herself as Sister Koko.

This episode includes brief profanity and offensive historical language. Listener discretion is advised. Any views expressed in this podcast do not necessarily reflect those of HumanitiesDC or the project’s funders.