Unreformed: the Story of the Alabama Industrial School for Negro Children

Reporter Josie Duffy Rice travels to a small town outside Montgomery, Alabama, and tries to visit a juvenile reform school, once called the Alabama Industrial School for Negro Children or Mt. Meigs. The school opened in the early 20th century as a safe haven for Black kids, but by the 1960s, it had become something else entirely.

Then one day, in 1968, five Black girls ran away, determined to find someone to help. We hear from one of those girls, Mary, and juvenile probation officer Denny. We also hear from Lonnie, now a world famous artist who was sent to Mt. Meigs at age 11, among others. In Unreformed, Rice investigates this institution, and what happened after someone blew the whistle. It looks at the lasting impact Mt. Meigs has had on their lives and juvenile justice in Alabama.

If you or someone you know attended Mt. Meigs and would like to connect with us, please email [email protected].

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Out of the Shadows is a podcast about America's tangled history of immigration hosted by award-winning New York Times writer Erick Galindo and entrepreneur and best-selling author Patty Rodriguez. Season 2: Dreamers Last season, we tackled Ronald Regan’s 1986 amnesty act, Season 2 will trace the origins of DACA or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, a contentious executive order to protect undocumented young people from being deported. Issued by former President Barack Obama in 2012, DACA was meant to be a temporary stop gap on a broken immigration system. Welcome to Season 2 of Out of the Shadows - Dreamers. Season 1: Children of 86 Immigrants and their children have long lived in the shadows of America, their destinies aren't just shaped by where they come from but by their particular place in history. In 1986, the lives of millions of immigrants and their children were changed by one lucky stroke of a pen by an unlikely ally, President Ronald Reagan. This podcast will examine the ripple effects the bill had on first-generation kids of immigrants who are navigating intergenerational mobility and transforming the cultural landscape. This is an untold story of luck, timing, triumph, opportunity, survival, and of course, hope.

Listen here and subscribe to Out of the Shadows on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts!

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Hi, Unreformed fans! Dive into how South African cult leader Cecilia Steyn leads her followers to kill 11 innocent people over the course of four years. Join host and filmmaker Kurt Kubicek as he travels to Krugersdorp, SA - a small mining town rocked by these brutal serial murders.

Listen to Queen Havoc and Her Murder Cult now on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts!

About Queen Havoc and Her Murder Cult: Serial Cult murders in South Africa bring on a deep, winding, decade-long investigation to uncover the criminal mastermind of Cecelia Steyn and those who followed her. She has been dubbed “The Charles Manson of South Africa.” Complete with corrupt cover-ups by police that would cost the lives of many, this cult case unravels itself to reveal dark truths about the cost of belonging and the nature of free will.

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Hi listeners! This is Josie Duffy Rice. We wanted to give you some good news and ask once more for your help, if you wouldn’t mind!

First the good news! I am so honored to tell you that Unreformed has won a few very exciting awards lately. We won an Ambie award for best history podcast of the year, an international women’s podcast award, and we also won TWO Signal Listener’s choice awards because of you and your votes. We are unbelievably grateful for this recognition. The opportunity to tell this story and bring more light to this dark chapter in our American history.

And now, Unreformed has been nominated for a Webby Award! This is very exciting. It's up for "Best Writing." We really really hope that you'll be willing to vote for us in the Webby People's Voice Award. You can cast your vote before April 18 at "

So, please vote for us and support us by going to this link. Click on PODCAST in the categories and find us in BEST WRITING. A direct link to the category is here.

The Deadline is April 18th to get your votes in. It has been the honor of a lifetime to be part of this project. Thank you SO much for listening AND voting.

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In the final episode, we look at where Lonnie, Mary, Johnny, Jennie, Johnny Mack, and Denny are fifty years after leaving Mt. Meigs. We also look at how juvenile justice in America has evolved and how other juvenile reform schools that mistreated their students have atoned for their wrongs. And lastly, we get a glimpse into the current state of Mt. Meigs. Has it changed? Or is it the same place it was more than fifty years ago?

If you or someone you know attended Mt. Meigs and would like to connect with us, please email [email protected].

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.