An Election Day to Never Forget

In 1920, Black Floridians began to organize as never before — voter registration drives, marches, secret voter education workshops at churches and lodges. But on Election Day that year, the residents of the little town of Ocoee, Florida, encountered a voter suppression effort like few in history when they went to the polls. In a special OZY podcast miniseries hosted by Eugene S. Robinson, we hear from the descendants of some of those who endured what remains the worst incident of election violence in U.S. history.

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1. BLM Co-founder Opal Tometi on the Future of Activism

Over the past year, the Black Lives Matter movement went global with protests against racial injustice taking place in more than 60 countries. On this special episode of When Katty Met Carlos, Katty Kay and Carlos Watson speak to the co-founder of the movement, Opal Tometi, about the roots of the organization, its goals and its influence. Listen to Tometi reflect on civil rights activism around the world, including the tackling of issues beyond police brutality.

2. 100 Black Men in Baltimore Weigh in on Policing and More

What happens when you get 100 Black men from Baltimore together to discuss race relations, policing, Colin Kaepernick, Donald Trump and more? You get the groundbreaking town hall series Take On America, which takes on today’s most pressing issues by exploring the diversity of opinions among groups often pigeonholed for voting as a bloc. Unlike most town halls, the spotlight wasn’t on politicians and celebrity guests but on the people: civic leaders, businessmen, activists, students, educators and everyone in between. And they had plenty to say.

3. Barry Jenkins and Making ‘Moonlight’

There are probably half a dozen reasons why people like Barry Jenkins don’t come around often, and growing up in the blighted Liberty City neighborhood of Miami, where success stories are few and far between, is probably the most significant one. In a recent episode of The Carlos Watson Show podcast, Carlos talks to Academy Award-winning director Barry Jenkins about his childhood, his train ride adventure across the United States, how the film Moonlight came to be and his upcoming Amazon series, The Underground Railroad.

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It’s Mac Day! Today Rob McElhenney, creator and star of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia and Apple+’s new hit Mythic Quest, joins The Carlos Watson Show. Tune in to hear the quick-witted Mac actor talk about his intense love of Philly — one that led to him waiting for two innings at the Phillies’ game before rushing his wife to the hospital to give birth — and how his diverse writers rooms have opened his eyes to racial privilege. Do you know the story of how It’s Always Sunny started? Watch now to hear him share.

Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X may have only met once — at the congressional hearings over the Civil Rights Act of 1964 — but their legacies remain forever intertwined. And so do their families. Christina Greer, a political science professor at Fordham University and an OZY editor-at-large, recommends checking out Into America, a podcast from Trymaine Lee about being Black in America. In one especially powerful episode, Lee talks to the daughters of Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X about the legacy of activism they have inherited from their fathers.

2. Reckoning With History in Tulsa

NPR’s Code Switch was selected by Apple Podcasts as its U.S. “show of the year” in 2020, and this year it continues to deliver frank discussions on issues of racial, ethnic and cultural identity. Recently, the show explored the 100th anniversary of the race massacre in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in which as many as 300 Black residents of the prosperous Greenwood neighborhood were killed, and thousands more were left homeless, after being attacked by a mob of angry white people. Today, Greenwood has become the center for a new debate about racial reconciliation, reparations and reckoning with the lessons of history.

3. Two Centuries of Protest

The fight against social injustice is never easy or simple, but it can lead to momentous change. Martin Luther King Jr. compared the civil disobedience he was orchestrating to the Boston Tea Party, arguing, “We are in good company when we break unjust laws.” In season three of the history podcast The Thread, OZY traces the origins of the revolutionary, and often dangerous, idea that King championed: nonviolent resistance. Join us as we explore how the idea journeyed through the minds of remarkable leaders and across the globe for nearly two centuries to become a powerful agent for social change.

Between 1932 and 1975, a group of writers, journalists and archivists, including Zora Neale Hurston, conducted interviews with dozens of former slaves. In a series of candid conversations, these Black Americans tell their stories of life in bondage and within a racial caste system. These interviews explore the horrible legacy of American slavery in the words of those who lived it.

1. New Black Music History Programming From Pandora

For Black Music Appreciation Month in June, Pandora is partnering with SiriusXM, Stitcher and the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture to bring listeners a new slate of audio programming about the history of Black music. This will feature several new channels, including one dedicated to 2Pac and another to Prince, and the new podcast All Music Is Black Music.

2. ‘You People’ Creators Launch Hyphen Media

Andrew Kuo and Kareem Rahma, producers of the You People podcast, recently launched Hyphen Media, an audio-first production company aimed at “telling stories by and about people of color.” The company is working with creators of color from across the media landscape to create both fiction and nonfiction podcasts that highlight the stories of racial minorities.

3. CBC Highlighting Indigenous Voices

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation is using the medium of audio to highlight Indigenous voices and reframe Canada’s history with the new podcast Telling Our Twisted Histories. The show, hosted by Kaniehtiio Horn, will explore the language people commonly use to discuss Indigenous issues and probe the existing narratives of the history of Canada’s First Nations people.

Have a favorite history podcast that you love? Tell us about it by emailing yourvoice@ozy.com and we may feature it in an upcoming newsletter.