We the (Black) People

It's a pretty short one this time around. Black Americans didn't write a lot of recipes and cookbooks in the 19th and 20th centuries, but what they did write tells a lot about Black identity.

Professor Rafia Zafar gets into some of the interesting things she discovered while writing Recipes for Respect: African American Meals and Meaning.

Music Credit

PeaceLoveSoul by Jeris (c) copyright 2012 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/VJ_Memes/35859 Ft: KungFu (KungFuFrijters)

We're spending this May Day episode with Black women in St. Louis from the 1930s to the 1960s. Their fight for economic justice was about more than hours or wages, it was about dignity and quality of life overall. And they were marginalized in the workplace and in their communities. Maybe, they have something to teach us today. Professor Keona Ervin, author of Gateway to Equality: Black Women and the Struggle for Economic Justice in St. Louis, thinks so.

Music Credit

PeaceLoveSoul by Jeris (c) copyright 2012 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/VJ_Memes/35859 Ft: KungFu (KungFuFrijters)

This episode, we're going to discuss who and what makes hip-hop authentic with Professor Jeffrey Ogbar, author of Hip-hop Revolution. It's not an easy answer as hip-hop has evolved a lot in its short lifetime and has fans with strong, clashing opinions.

Music Credit

PeaceLoveSoul by Jeris (c) copyright 2012 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/VJ_Memes/35859 Ft: KungFu (KungFuFrijters)

We talk about religion and Christianity a lot in studying Black history. It's almost assumed that God and religion are at the center of all Black stories. Not only have Black people held a variety of religious beliefs in America, many leaders questioned or even rejected God and religion altogether. This episode is some of their stories. Tune in as we unpack the assumption of Black religiosity and the stories of several Black skeptics. My guest is Dr. Christopher Cameron, author of Black Freethinkers: A History of African American Secularism.

Music Credit

PeaceLoveSoul by Jeris (c) copyright 2012 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/VJ_Memes/35859 Ft: KungFu (KungFuFrijters)

In January 2021, the question still persists, why do race riots occur and what effect do they have? And now there is the added question of does the answer differ if these are Black-initiated versus White-initiated riots?

These are the driving questions of part two of examining the history of American race riots.

00:37 - Race War and the Red Summer (1898-1921). I open by clarifying the definition of a race riot and the 4 perceived threats to White power behind the 26 (listed below) race riots of the Red Summer.

06:12 - Fighting Fascism at Home and Abroad (the 40s). World War 2 saw White-initiated riots for many of the same reasons as the race war era, but also the first modern, Black-initiated race riots, and Civil Rights legislation.

10:56 - The Turbulent Sixties. An era of completely modern race rioting. There were hundreds of race riots in 67 and 68 which garnered both government attention and aggressive policing.

15:10 - The Rodney Riot/The LA Riot. Jahne returns as we discuss the circumstances around the Rodney King riots. In many ways, the claims that some of the rioters made about justice sound a lot like vigilantism.

The 26 race riots of the Red Summer according to Race Riots and Resistance by Jan Voogd:

1. Millen, Georgia, Apr 13

2. Charleston, South Carolina, May 10

3. Milan, Georgia, May 25

4. New London, Connecticut, Jun 13

5. Bisbee, Arizona, Jul 3

6. Longview, Texas, Jul 10

7. Port Arthur, Texas, Jul 15

8. Washington, DC, Jul 19-23

9. Norfolk, Virginia, Jul 21

10. Chicago, Illinois, Jul 27- Aug 3

11. Syracuse, New York, Jul 31

12. Lexington, Nebraska, ~ Aug 5

13. Mulberry, Florida, Aug 18

14. New York City, Aug 21

15. Laurens County, Georgia, Aug 27-28

16. Baltimore, Maryland, mid-Aug, mid-Sep

17. Knoxville, Tennessee, Aug 30

18. New York City, Sep 16

19. Omaha, Nebraska, Sep 28

20. Elaine, Arkansas, Oct 1

21. Gary, Indiana, Oct 4-5

22. Donora, Pennsylvania, Oct 9

23. Hubbard, Ohio, Oct 10

24. Corbin, Kentucky, Oct 30

25. Wilmington, Delaware, Nov 13

26. Bogalusa, Louisiana, Nov 22

Sources [As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.]

Rioting in America [https://amzn.to/3r5ryGb] by Paul Gilje

Race Riots and Resistance by Jan Voogd

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/2020/06/2020-not-1968/

https://www.trumanlibrary.gov/education/presidential-inquiries/harry-s-truman-and-civil-rights

On the Mobile Dry Dock Riot:

https://calendar.eji.org/racial-injustice/may/25

On the Harlem Riot of 1935

https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/harlem-riot-1935/

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Harlem-race-riot-of-1935

On the 1968 riots and the militarization of the police

https://www.history.com/news/mlk-assassination-riots-occupation

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/2020/06/how-will-protests-end-history-says-depends-government-response/

https://www.startribune.com/riots-of-the-1960s-led-to-today-s-militarized-police/571265822/

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/1968-kerner-commission-got-it-right-nobody-listened-180968318/

Music Credit

PeaceLoveSoul by Jeris (c) copyright 2012 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/VJ_Memes/35859 Ft: KungFu (KungFuFrijters)