There are myths that persist about the Midwest: that it’s just a “naturally” white space, that Black folks haven’t lived here that long, that it doesn’t have the same histories of slavery, racism, and violence as the South. Last week, in the wake of police violence and white vigilantism in Kenosha, Smithsonian Magazine published an […]
WORT Week In Review for October 4th, 2019
In this edition, we’ll hear an exclusive conversation with a world-renowned tabla player, consider the U.S. ag secretary’s view on the future of small dairy farms in Wisconsin, look into the history of Black pioneers, and learn about a new law firm aimed at improving the transparency of Wisconsin government.
The History of America’s Forgotten Black Pioneers with Anna-Lisa...
Long before the Civil War, thousands of African Americans owned property and worked the land as homestead farmers in the Northwest Territory, or the present-day states of Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, and Wisconsin. On today’s episode, guest host Richelle Wilson and news director Molly Stentz uncover the forgotten history of Black pioneers on the first […]
Blacks as pioneers of the Northwest Territory
Did you know that tens of thousands of Blacks helped settle the Northwest Territory, which included Wisconsin? And that before the Wisconsin constitution, Blacks in WI had the right to vote, and that right was taken away when Wisconsin became a state? Jan talks with Anna-Lisa Cox about her new book, “The Bone and Sinew […]
