TED Talks
TED: Our savory, spicy, significant relationship with food | June Jo Lee
Exploring the rich meaning behind what we choose to eat, food ethnographer June Jo Lee unpacks how our "modern hungers" — or our deepest desires and need for connection — inform every bite. She decodes what Gen Z's palate says about the...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Why is William Faulkner so difficult to read? | Sascha Morrell
William Faulkner is considered one of America's most remarkable and perplexing writers. He confused his audience intentionally, using complex sentences, unreliable narrators, and outlandish imagery. His body of work is shocking,...
PBS
In Ta-Nehisi Coates’ new novel, memory is a superpower
To make the case for reparations for the toll of slavery, acclaimed writer Ta-Nehisi Coates has offered forceful advocacy and powerful data-driven argument. With his first novel, "The Water Dancer," he uses fiction to illuminate the...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: When did slavery actually end in the United States? | Karlos Hill and Soraya Field Fiorio
At the end of the Civil War, though slavery was technically illegal in all states, it still persisted in the last bastions of the Confederacy. This was the case when Union General Gordon Granger marched his troops into Galveston, Texas...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: History vs. Thomas Jefferson | Frank Cogliano
Thomas Jefferson, founding father of the United States and primary author of the Declaration of Independence, was part of America's fight for freedom and equality. But in his personal life, he held over 600 people in slavery. Are his...
TED Talks
TED: How Black queer culture shaped history | Channing Gerard Joseph
Names like Bayard Rustin, Frances Thompson and William Dorsey Swann have been largely erased from US history, but they and other Black queer leaders played central roles in monumental movements like emancipation, civil rights and LGBTQ+...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: One of the most "dangerous" men in American history | Keenan Norris
In 1830, David Walker sewed a pamphlet into the lining of a coat. The volume was thin enough to be hidden, but its content was far from insubstantial. At the time, many members of the US government considered this pamphlet to be one of...
PBS
Theater in rural Appalachian Virginia brings regional themes to the stage
Barter Theatre, which opened during the Great Depression and is thriving 90 years later, is known for bringing regional themes to its rural Appalachian stage. Jeffrey Brown visited Abingdon, Virginia, to show the changing face of the...
PBS
The little-known story of the Republican Party’s 1st presidential nominee
In a new book, NPR’s Steve Inskeep has chronicled the little-known story of how the illegitimate son of an immigrant rose to become the Republican Party’s first presidential nominee in 1856 -- with a lot of help from his wife. Lisa...
PBS
Shelley Fisher Fishkin - Lighting Out for the Territory (April 1, 1997)
A dialogue between David Gergen and Shelley Fisher Fishkin, author of ÃLighting Out for the Territory: Reflections on Mark Twain and American Culture.Ó
PBS
Racial Protests Mean Africa Takes Another Look At The U.S. — And Itself
Protests over the killing of George Floyd have struck a global chord. Across the African continent, they have sparked not only demonstrations, but also a new examination of the roles of race, colonialism and exploitation through the...
PBS
Nicodemus Kansas
The wave of migration across the U.S. in the mid-1800's included people looking to live in open spaces, with land to grow crops and the opportunity to have a better life. After the Civil War, that included freed slaves and their...
PBS
New York Divided
Although slavery was abolished in New York City in 1827, residents remained divided on the issue through the Civil War. NewsHour correspondent Gwen Ifill talks with historian James Horton about slavery's impact on New York.
PBS
How The Autobiography Of A Muslim Slave Is Challenging An American Narrative
Omar Ibn Said was 37 years old when he was taken from his West African home and transported to Charleston, South Carolina, as a slave in the 1800s. Now, his one-of-a-kind autobiographical manuscript has been translated from its original...
PBS
The shifting history of Confederate monuments
The backdrop of Saturday's violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, was a plan to remove a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee from the city's downtown. What̥s the story behind such monuments and why do we continue to struggle with...
PBS
"12 Years a Slave" restores historic firsthand account
In depicting American slavery, Hollywood has long left some of the most brutal realities largely unseen. But the filmmakers behind "12 Years a Slave" tried not to flinch in showing the full system of human subjugation. Jeffrey Brown...
Crash Course
Commerce, Agriculture, and Slavery: Crash Course European History
We've been talking a lot about kings, and queens, and wars, and religious upheaval for most of this series, but let's take a moment to zoom out, and look at the ways that individuals' lives were changing in the time span we've covered so...
TED Talks
TED: A blueprint for reparations in the US | William "Sandy" Darity
With clarity and insight, economist and author William "Sandy" Darity discusses how the grievous injustice of slavery in the US led to the immense wealth gap that currently exists between Black and white Americans. He explains how...
SciShow Kids
The Story of George Washington Carver | Amazing Scientists | SciShow Kids
Squeaks has a big problem! Every year, he grows lettuce in the Fort's greenhouse, but this year it just won't grow. Luckily, Mister Brown knows someone who can help Squeaks and his lettuce: botanist and inventor George Washington Carver!...
Crash Course
The Louisiana Rebellion of 1811 Crash Course Black American History
Uprisings of enslaved people in the United States were not uncommon, and they had a big influence on how the institution of slavery evolved. One uprising that gets less attention, historically, is the German Coast Uprising that took...
Crash Course
Crash Course Black American History Preview
Over the course of 50 episodes, we're going to learn about Black American History. Clint Smith will to teach you about the experience of Black people in America, from the arrival of the first enslaved Black people who arrived at...
Crash Course
Slavery, Ghosts, and Beloved: Crash Course Literature 214
In which John Green teaches you about Beloved by Toni Morrison. I'll warn you up front, this book is something of a downer. That's because it deals with subjects like slavery, the death of a child, a potential haunting, and a bunch of...
Crash Course
Race Melodrama and Minstrel Shows: Crash Course Theater #30
We’re continuing our discussion of nineteenth-century American theater with a look at some upsetting parts of the US's theatrical past. In the nineteenth century, race and racism contributed to a unique and troubling performance culture,...
TED Talks
TED: The mission to safeguard Black history in the US | Julieanna L. Richardson
Black history in the US is rich, profound -- and at risk of being lost forever, if not for the monumental efforts of Julieanna L. Richardson. As the founder of The HistoryMakers -- the largest national archive of African American...