Episodes
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A local organization is tracing the lineage of enslaved Americans to their present-day ancestors
From the 1500s through the Civil War, more than 10 million Black men, women and children were enslaved in America. Slavery deemed them property. They were listed on bills of sale; their family members were sold away and their names were changed. After emancipation and the Civil War, the formerly enslaved found many of the familial threads of connection buried or lost. It’s why their African-American descendants have difficulty tracing their lineage. Now, a local organization is leading a national collaborative project to identify each of the 10 million people, stories, and names of those who were enslaved in pre- and post-colonial America. Danyelle White, who has been restoring her personal Black lineage for 6 years, highlights the need for this project: "I'm almost doing this for the sake of justice...I am very interested in uncovering stories and creating a full picture, not just for myself, but [for] the rest of my family, and for everyone else. We all deserve to understand where we come from." Dr. Kendra Taira Field, chief historian of 10 Million Names, says that this is just the beginning of many years of hard work that must go into heritage recovery and restoration: "We're at a really powerful and beautiful moment of great potential and possibility... As we bring together the tools of historians, genealogists, and descendants, I think we have a great, great future ahead." "It's pretty hard to tell the history of slavery without talking about the white folks and their involvement," said Richard Cellini, founding director of 10 Million Names. He emphasizes that this work is necessary for all of America, regardless of whether you are Black or not: "This is not Black history and it's not white history. This is American history." GUESTS Dr. Kendra Taira Field, chief historian of 10 Million Names, associate professor of history and director of the center for the study of race and democracy at Tufts University Richard Cellini, founding director of 10 Million Names, director of the Harvard Slavery Remembrance Program and founder of the Georgetown Memory Project Danyelle White, vice president of strategic initiatives & community engagement at the Salt Lake Tribune, she has been tracing her Black family heritage for 6 years -
A year of 'wins' for Asian American representation in movies and TV
In 1993, "The Joy Luck Club" was a surprise hit. The poignant story featuring an all-Asian cast broke barriers at the box office. Would "The Joy Luck Club" inspire more stories drawn from the Asian American experience? No, as it turned out — it took 25 years before 2018’s “Crazy Rich Asians,” another film featuring an all-Asian cast, became a breakout global hit. Last year, Asian representation got its biggest boost since “Crazy Rich Asians” when the movie “Everything Everywhere All At Once” reaped top box office receipts as well as near-universal acclaim from critics and fans. This year, Asian representation in TV and movies presents us with "the biggest menu yet," says Elena Creef, professor of women’s and gender studies at Wellesley College. "I am so thrilled to see the most diversity across genres of storytelling for Asian-American stories — I think ever." Jenny Korn, research affiliate at Harvard University, celebrates the focus on the intersectional identities of Asians in this year's catalog, including the film "Joy Ride." "I will say this movie has the greatest amount of queer visibility for Asians," she said, adding that "of all the movies that we're discussing today, [it] does the most explicit job of declaring authenticity for Asians and intra-Asian across ethnicities." In this special hourlong discussion, Under the Radar looks at a broad sample of new Asian-American representation in movies and shows like "Past Lives," "BEEF," "The Brothers Sun" and more. GUESTS Jenny Korn, Research Affiliate and Founder and Coordinator of the Race, Tech and Media Working Group at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University. Elena Creef, Professor of Women’s and Gender Studies at Wellesley College. specializing in Asian American visual history in photography, film and popular culture. -
New documentary shows how flight attendants fought to transform workplace, break gender barriers
In the 1950s, most single, white middle-class women were expected to marry and raise a family — much like their mothers before them. But becoming a flight attendant, or a "stewardess" as they were referred to then, offered another kind of life for young women — a life of adventure. From GBH’s "American Experience" program, the new documentary "Fly with Me" showcases the firsthand accounts of the pioneering women, who historians argue, transformed the workplace — both in the air and on the ground. Co-director Sarah Colt describes the stewardesses featured in the film as women filled with "wanderlust," who were "interesting and engaged with pushing boundaries. These young women were drawn to an independent life of travel and glamor. But the airlines also imposed women-only job restrictions like weigh-ins, and deliberately excluded Black women. Under the Radar host Callie Crossley spoke with Sarah Colt, co-director of the film and Julia Cooke, author and historian, about the film and the role flight attendants played in the movement for gender equity in the workplace. GUESTS Sarah Colt, writer and co-director of "Fly With Me," an "American Experience" documentary and GBH production Julia Cooke, author and historian featured in "Fly With Me" -
America has grappled with reparations for centuries. Will it happen in Boston?
Forty acres and a mule. That’s what was promised to thousands of the formerly enslaved in a post-Civil War nation. Since then, America has grappled with the idea of reparations for Black Americans. But in recent years, some cities, towns, and states have begun to consider — and move forward — with reparations as atonement for America’s cruel history of slavery. A new 7-part podcast from GBH News called "What Is Owed?" explores what reparations might look like in Boston, one of the oldest cities in America, and if there is an achievable plan for the rest of the country. GUESTS Saraya Wintersmith, politics reporter for GBH News and host of "What Is Owed?" Jerome Campbell, senior producer for "What Is Owed?" Dr. William Darity, professor of Public Policy, African and African American Studies, and Economics and the director of the Samuel DuBois Cook Center on Social Equity at Duke University -
The Genius Next Door: Harvard's Imani Perry on the history and culture forged by Black Americans
Editor's note: This episode originally broadcast November 24, 2023. When the MacArthur Foundation named its class of 2023 “genius grant" fellows last month, the recipients joined an exclusive group of previous fellows who have demonstrated outstanding talent and leadership in their fields. Interdisciplinary scholar and writer Imani Perry is one of this year's MacArthur fellows. “I describe my work in part as haunting the past,” Perry said. “I'm trying to train my attention on those who were disregarded in the past as a way of shaping our ethics for the present and the future. So it's sort of like trying to catch a hold of freedom, dreams that have existed over the course of generations, train my gaze and shine a light on them.” Perry, who is also a Boston University professor, studies the history and the cultural expressions forged by Black Americans in the face of injustice. There are 20 MacArthur fellows across the country, and Perry is one of four based in the Boston area. We talked with professor Perry for Under the Radar's series, “The Genius Next Door.” -
Why the 'Battle of Versailles' still resonates 50 years later
Editor's note: This episode originally broadcast on November 24, 2023. In 1973, Americans triumphed in a fashion smackdown that earned the country respect and admiration among critics worldwide. On that day 50 years ago, American and French designers went head-to-head in a creative competition dubbed the “Battle of Versailles." The fashion show was held at the historic Palace of Versailles, the former residence of King Louis XIV. The Americans won with cutting-edge ready-to-wear and stunning Black models. A half-century later, the legacy of the once-obscure event continues to shape global fashion. GUESTS Robin Givhan, senior critic-at-large for the Washington Post and author of “The Battle of Versailles: The Night American Fashion Stumbled into the Spotlight and Made History” Alva Chinn, actress and model from the 1973 "Battle of Versailles" Jay Calderin, founder and executive director of Boston Fashion Week and co-director of education at the School of Fashion Design in Boston -
GBH President and CEO Susan Goldberg on the importance of 'Reckoning and Repair' initiative
Almost thirty years ago, President Bill Clinton formally declared the “President's Initiative on Race” with the goal of jumpstarting a national discussion about race. Arguably, there ended up being more conversation about the initiative than the actual discussions he’d hoped it would inspire. In 2016, former Boston mayor Marty Walsh ushered in a similar citywide race conversation. Last month, GBH announced a multifaceted program to spark a new public conversation about the nation’s race history. GBH President and CEO Susan Goldberg joins Under the Radar to discuss the importance of the new “Reckoning and Repair” initiative. GUEST Susan Goldberg, president and CEO of GBH -
'Our Hidden Conversations' reveals the poignant discussions that Americans are having about race
The blood-soaked heritage of America’s enslavement of an estimated 10 million Africans is a fact. Yet some Americans refuse to recognize or openly discuss the communal inherited pain, shame and anger linked to that history. But conversations about this fraught history are happening, according to author and journalist Michele Norris' latest book, “Our Hidden Conversations: What Americans Really Think About Race and Identity.” Norris describes the real-life anecdotes from Americans in her book as "like you're just walking through America and hearing people speaking out loud about the things that they only usually only talk about in private." GUEST Michele Norris, author, journalist for The Washington Post, host and executive producer of the podcast, "Your Mama's Kitchen," and former co-host of NPR's "All Things Considered" -
Florida continues its assault on LGBTQ rights with a new driver's license rule
Florida bolsters its reputation as an anti-LGBTQ state with a new rule — trans residents can no longer update their driver’s license with their correct gender identity. Plus, a New Hampshire town manager stepped down after being harassed in an ongoing controversy about an LGBTQ art display. And the Massachusetts State Senate passed a bill to repeal several archaic sodomy and anti-trans laws. Those stories and more on Under the Radar's LGBTQ News Roundtable. GUESTS Grace Sterling Stowell, executive director of the Boston Alliance of Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Queer Youth, or BAGLY E.J. Graff, journalist, author and managing editor of Good Authority, an independent site publishing insights on political science Polly Crozier, Director of Family Advocacy for GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders, or GLAD -
'In the Pines' author confronts family's ties to Mississippi lynching
Grace Elizabeth Hale grew up hearing that the real-life heroism of her grandfather mirrored the fictional courageous confrontation of Atticus Finch, the hero of "To Kill A Mockingbird." While she had been told her grandfather, a county sheriff in Mississippi had protected a Black man from a lynch mob, who then died in his custody the following day trying to escape — the facts showed a different story. "I knew the story that I had been told... but it just made it clear that none of it was true, that this was a big cover up," Hale told Under the Radar. During her research as a historian and scholar, Hale uncovered the shocking details of one lynching that exposed the truth of her family lore. In fact, Hale’s home state of Mississippi holds the record for the most lynchings in the country. “In the Pines: A Lynching, A Lie, A Reckoning” documents Hale's family history, and the bloody vigilante tradition embedded in the nation’s history. GUEST Grace Elizabeth Hale, professor of American Studies and History at the University of Virginia and author of "In the Pines: A Lynching, A Lie, A Reckoning"
