Best Bethany Jett Podcasts (2024)

1
Why Hard History Matters: Addressing the Legacy of Jim Crow – w/ Rep. Hakeem Jeffries 1:19:43

2y ago1:19:43

1:19:43

Congressman Hakeem Jeffries represents New York’s 8th congressional district. Our final episode this season takes us to the U.S. House of Representatives for a conversation between Rep. Jeffries and his brother, our host, Dr. Hasan Jeffries, to discuss the lingering effects of the Jim Crow era—including voter access, prison and policing reform and …

1
Criminalizing Blackness: Prisons, Police and Jim Crow – w/ Robert T. Chase and Brandon T. Jett 1:49:05

2y ago1:49:05

1:49:05

After emancipation, aspects of the legal system were reshaped to maintain control of Black lives and labor. Historian Robert T. Chase outlines the evolution of convict leasing in the prison system. And Historian Brandon T. Jett explores the commercial factors behind the transition from extra-legal lynchings to police enforcement of the color line. …

1
Music Reconstructed: Lara Downes’ Classical Perspective on Jim Crow – w/ Charles L. Hughes 24:19

2y ago24:19

24:19

From concertos to operas, Black composers captured the changes and challenges facing African Americans during Jim Crow. Renowned classical pianist Laura Downes is bringing new appreciation to the works of artists like Florence Price and Scott Joplin. In our final installment of Music Reconstructed, Downes discusses how we can hear the complicated h…

1
Music Reconstructed: Adia Victoria and the Landscape of the Blues – w/ Charles L. Hughes 16:30

2+ y ago16:30

16:30

When we consider the trauma of white supremacy during the Jim Crow era—what writer Ralph Ellison describes as “the brutal experience”—it’s important to understand the resilience and joy that sustained Black communities. We can experience that all through the “near-comic, near-tragic lyricism” of the blues. In part 3 of this series, acclaimed musici…

1
Black Political Thought – w/ Minkah Makalani 1:05:20

2+ y ago1:05:20

1:05:20

Black political ideologies in the early 20th century evolved against a backdrop of derogatory stereotypes and racial terrorism. Starting with Marcus Garvey and the Universal Negro Improvement Agency, historian Minkah Makalani contextualizes an era of Black intellectualism. From common goals of racial unity to fierce debates over methods, he shows h…

1
Music Reconstructed: Dom Flemons, Black Cowboys and the American West – w/ Charles L. Hughes 18:02

2+ y ago18:02

18:02

From ranches to railroads, learn about the often unrecognized role that African Americans played in the range cattle industry, as Pullman porters and in law enforcement. In part two of this special series, Grammy Award-winner Dom Flemons takes us on a musical exploration of the American West after emancipation. “The American Songster” joins histori…

1
Medical Racism: A Legacy of Malpractice – w/ Deirdre Cooper Owens 40:24

2+ y ago40:24

40:24

This nation has a long history of exploiting Black Americans in the name of medicine. A practice which began with the Founding Fathers using individual enslaved persons for gruesome experimentation evolved into state-sanctioned injustices such as the Tuskegee Syphilis Study, among others. Award-winning author, historian Deirdre Cooper Owens details…

1
Music Reconstructed: Jason Moran, Jazz and the Harlem Hellfighters – w/ Charles L. Hughes 22:28

2+ y ago22:28

22:28

This is a special four-part series where historian Charles L. Hughes introduces us to musicians who are exploring the sounds, songs and stories of the Jim Crow era. In this installment, Jazz pianist Jason Moran discusses his acclaimed musical celebration of a man he calls “Big Bang of Jazz,” bandleader, arranger and composer James Reese Europe. Dur…

1
The Harlem Renaissance: Restructuring, Rebirth and Reckoning – w/ Julie Buckner Armstrong 56:24

2+ y ago56:24

56:24

During the Harlem Renaissance, more Black artists than ever before were asking key questions about the role of art in society. Oftentimes the Harlem Renaissance is misconstrued as a discrete moment in American history–not as the next iteration of a thriving Black artistic tradition that it was. Literature scholar Julie Buckner Armstrong urges educa…

1
Changing the Game: Sports in the Jim Crow Era – w/ Derrick E. White and Louis Moore 1:05:11

2+ y ago1:05:11

1:05:11

In the United States, Black athletes have had to contend with two sets of rules: those of the game and those of a racist society. While they dealt with 20th century realities of breaking the color line and the politics of respectability, Black fans, educational institutions, and the Black press were building sporting congregations with their own we…

1
The New Deal, Jim Crow and the Black Cabinet – w/ Jill Watts 52:43

2+ y ago52:43

52:43

Opportunities created by the New Deal were often denied to African Americans. And that legacy of exclusion to jobs, loans and services can be seen today in federal programs and policies as well as systemic inequities in housing, education, health and the accumulation of wealth. Historian Jill Watts examines the complicated history of the New Deal, …

1
Black Soldiers: Global Conflict During Jim Crow – w/ Adriane Lentz-Smith 54:00

2+ y ago54:00

54:00

U.S. involvement in world wars and the domestic Black freedom struggle shaped one another. By emphasizing the diverse stories of servicemen and women, historian Adriane Lentz-Smith situates Black soldiers as agents of American empire who were simultaneously building their own institutions at home. While white elected officials worked to systemicall…

1
Building Black Institutions: Autonomy, Labor and HBCUs – w/ Jelani M. Favors and Tera W. Hunter 1:21:31

2+ y ago1:21:31

1:21:31

Historian Tera Hunter describes Black institution-building post-slavery and throughout the Jim Crow era, illustrating how Black workers reorganized labor to their advantage, despite virulent white resistance. During the same period, historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) produced future leaders while cultivating resistance to white su…

1
Premeditation and Resilience: Tulsa, Red Summer and the Great Migration – w/ David Krugler 45:18

2+ y ago45:18

45:18

Naming the 1921 Tulsa massacre a “race riot” is inaccurate. Historian David Krugler urges listeners to call this and other violent attacks what they were: premeditated attempts at ethnic cleansing. Decades before, African Americans moved North in record numbers during the Great Migration. Krugler delves into connections between diaspora and violenc…

1
Lynching: White Supremacy, Terrorism and Black Resilience – w/ Kidada Williams and Kellie Carter Jackson 1:21:01

2+ y ago1:21:01

1:21:01

Black American experiences during Jim Crow were deeply affected by the ever-present threat of lynching and other forms of racist violence. Historian Kidada Williams amplifies perspectives from Black families, telling stories of lynching victims obscured by white newspapers. She and Kellie Carter Jackson urge educators to confront the role of this v…

1
Correcting History: Confederate Monuments, Rituals and the Lost Cause – w/ Karen Cox 1:05:48

2+ y ago1:05:48

1:05:48

The Lost Cause narrative would have us believe that Confederate monuments have always been celebrated, but people have protested them since they started going up. Historian Karen Cox unpacks how the United Daughters of the Confederacy used propaganda to dominate generations of teachings about the Civil War through textbooks, legislation, and popula…

1
Reconstruction 101: Progress and Backlash – w/ Kate Masur 1:51:33

3y ago1:51:33

1:51:33

Just months after the Civil War ended, former Confederates had regained political footholds in Washington, D.C. In her overview of Reconstruction, Kate Masur notes how—in the face of evolving, post-slavery white supremacy—Black people claimed their citizenship and began building institutions of their own. Ahmad Ward then takes us to 1860s Mitchelvi…

1
The History of Whiteness and How We Teach About Race – w/ Edward E. Baptist and Aisha White 1:20:37

3y ago1:20:37

1:20:37

Historian Ed Baptist provides context on the creation and enforcement of a U.S. racial binary that endures today, as well as Black resistance as a force for political change. And Aisha White urges educators to ask themselves, “What did you learn about race when you were younger?” before they engage with children. She argues that self-reflection and…

1
Creating Brave Spaces: Reckoning With Race in the Classroom – w/ Matthew R. Kay 1:08:31

3y ago1:08:31

1:08:31

People from all corners of public life are telling teachers to stop discussions about race and racism in the classroom, but keeping the truth of the world from students simply doesn’t work. English teacher Matthew Kay urges educators to create brave spaces instead. He provides examples of classroom strategies for engaging with students at the inter…

1
Jim Crow: Yesterday and Today 52:16

3y ago52:16

52:16

This season, we’re examining the century between the Civil War and the modern civil rights movement to understand how systemic racism and slavery persisted and evolved after emancipation—and how Black Americans still developed strong institutions during this time. Co-hosts Hasan Kwame Jeffries and Bethany Jay discuss how students need to grasp this…

1
Baseball, Civil Rights and the Anderson Monarchs Barnstorming Tour (special) - w/ Steve Bandura and Derrick White 1:52:29

3y ago1:52:29

1:52:29

In 2015, Coach Steve Bandura loaded the Anderson Monarchs, a little league baseball team from Philadelphia, onto a 1947 Flxible Clipper Bus for a barnstorming tour back in time. Bandura and the players recount lessons learned while visiting historic civil rights sites, meeting veteran activists and playing baseball along the way. And historian Derr…

1
Walking in Their Shoes: Using #BlackLivesMatter to Teach the Civil Rights Movement – w/ Shannon King and Nishani Frazier 1:30:18

3+ y ago1:30:18

1:30:18

The civil rights movement offers critical context for understanding the systemic police violence, voter suppression efforts, ‘law and order’ rhetoric and criminalization of activism we see today. It also helps us understand the strategies activists use to fight these injustices. Historians Shannon King and Nishani Frazier explain how they use 21st-…

1
The Black Panther Party and the Transition to Black Power – w/ Robyn C. Spencer and Jakobi Williams 1:30:35

3+ y ago1:30:35

1:30:35

The history of the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense can help us understand the transition from civil rights to Black Power, as well as contemporary issues like mass incarceration. From the Ten-Point Platform to survival programs, historian Robyn C. Spencer outlines key aspects of the party’s revolutionary ideology, grassroots activism and commu…

1
Malcolm X Beyond the Mythology – w/ Clarence Lang 1:07:37

3+ y ago1:07:37

1:07:37

Historian Clarence Lang joins us for a conversation about Malcolm X. We discuss his commitment to Black pride and self-determination and his rejection of the white gaze and the myth of American exceptionalism. Learn how teaching about the life and works of Malcolm X can illuminate the universe of possibilities of the civil rights movement—and the d…

1
Community Organizing, Youth Leadership and SNCC – w/ Courtland Cox, Kaia Woodford, Karlyn Forner and John B. Gartrell 1:32:47

3+ y ago1:32:47

1:32:47

In this episode, we talk with movement veteran Courtland Cox about lessons from the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and his own development as a young organizer of the Emmett Till generation. We join Karlyn Forner and John B. Gartrell to tour the resources available through SNCC Digital Gateway. And we hear from student organizer Kaia Woo…

1
Listen, Look and Learn: Using Primary Sources to Teach the Freedom Struggle – w/ J. Todd Moye, Guha Shankar, and Noelle Trent 1:29:25

3+ y ago1:29:25

1:29:25

Oral histories, historic sites, archives and museums expand students’ understanding of the past. They fill in gaps in our textbooks—complementing what’s included and capturing what’s not. This episode highlights online oral history collections including the Civil Rights History Project. It offers recommendations for students conducting their own or…

1
Young, Gifted and Black: Teaching Freedom Summer to K-5 Students – w/ Nicole Burrowes. La Tasha Levy and Liz Kleinrock 1:17:21

3+ y ago1:17:21

1:17:21

Teaching civil rights history to young learners creates both opportunities and challenges. The 1964 Mississippi Freedom Summer Project and the subsequent Freedom Schools offer important lessons for helping elementary students to understand the civil rights movement. In this episode, we explore community-based strategies and activities for bringing …

1
Checking In: Listener Feedback and Discussing the U.S. Capitol Attack 6:54

3+ y ago6:54

6:54

If you're finding this podcast useful, please support us by taking our Listener Survey—only 10 questions—at learningforjustice.org/podcasts. And stay tuned! More episodes are on the way. In the meantime, if you're looking for ways to talk with students about the relationship between the hard history of white supremacy and the insurrection at the U.…

1
Making a Scene: The Movement in Literature and Film – w/ Julie Buckner Armstrong 1:26:25

3+ y ago1:26:25

1:26:25

From the hard work of organizing to the reality of everyday life under Jim Crow, films and literature can bring historical context to life for students. In this episode, we recommend several “must use” films, books, poems and plays for teaching the civil rights movement. We also discuss strategies for incorporating these works across the curricula …

1
The Real Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott – w/ Emilye Crosby 1:34:55

3+ y ago1:34:55

1:34:55

Everyone thinks they know the story, but the real history of Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott is even better. This episode details the events that set the stage for Ms. Parks’ civil disobedience. You’ll meet the leaders and organizations who transformed a moment of activism into a 13-month campaign. And you’ll learn about the community tha…

1
Connecting Slavery with the Civil Rights Movement 46:34

3+ y ago46:34

46:34

To fully understand the United States today, we have to comprehend the central role that slavery played in our nation’s past. That legacy is also the foundation for understanding the civil rights movement and its place within the history of the Black freedom struggle. This episode is a special look back at our first season. It explores and expands …

1
Teaching the Movement’s Most Iconic Figure – w/ Charles McKinney 1:02:08

3+ y ago1:02:08

1:02:08

You cannot teach the civil rights movement without talking about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. But it’s critical that students deconstruct the mythology surrounding the movement’s most iconic figure to learn about the man, not just the hero. The real Dr. King held beliefs that evolved over time. A complex man, he was part of a much larger movement—one…

1
The Jim Crow North – w/ Patrick D. Jones 1:20:49

3+ y ago1:20:49

1:20:49

The Civil Rights Movement was never strictly a Southern phenomenon. To better understand the Jim Crow North, we explore discrimination and Black protest in places like Milwaukee, Omaha, Cleveland and New York. To examine the Black Freedom Movement beyond the South, we examine the Black-led fights to gain access to decent housing, secure quality edu…

1
Nonviolence and Self-Defense – w/ Wesley Hogan, Christopher Strain and Akinyele Umoja 1:36:10

4y ago1:36:10

1:36:10

Armed resistance and nonviolent direct action co-existed throughout the civil rights era. In this episode, three historians confront some comfortable assumptions about nonviolence and self-defense. Wesley Hogan examines the evolution, value and limitations of nonviolence in the movement. Christopher Strain offers a three-part strategy for rethinkin…

1
New Film: The Forgotten Slavery of Our Ancestors – w/ Alice Qannik Glenn 12:05

4y ago12:05

12:05

Alice Qannik Glenn is the host of Coffee and Quaq and assistant producer of The Forgotten Slavery of our Ancestors. This short, classroom-ready film offers an introduction to the history of Indigenous enslavement on land that is currently the United States. This new resource from Teaching Tolerance features an extensive group of experts, many of wh…

1
Jim Crow, Lynching and White Supremacy – w/ Stephen A. Berrey, Hannah Ayers, Lance Warren and Ahmariah Jackson 1:27:04

4y ago1:27:04

1:27:04

Jim Crow was more than signs and separation. It was a system of terror and violence created to control the labor and regulate the behavior of Black people. In this episode, historian Stephen Berrey unpacks the mechanics of racial oppression, the actions white people took—in and beyond the South—to maintain white supremacy, and the everyday ways Bla…

1
A Playlist for the Movement – w/ Charles L. Hughes 1:26:17

4y ago1:26:17

1:26:17

Music chronicles the history of the civil rights struggle: The events, tactics and emotions of the movement are documented in songs of the era. From The Freedom Singers to Sam Cooke, historian Charles L. Hughes explains how your students can use music for both historical insight and evidence in the classroom. For more movement music, check out this…

1
Beyond the "Master Narrative" – w/ Nishani Frazier and Adam Sanchez 1:11:13

4y ago1:11:13

1:11:13

Students don’t enter our classrooms as blank slates. When it comes to the civil rights movement, we often have to help our students unlearn what they think they know while we’re teaching them what actually happened. The people were more complex, the strategies more complicated and the stakes more dangerous than we like to remember. In this episode,…

1
Reframing the Movement – w/ Nishani Frazier and Adam Sanchez 1:06:57

4y ago1:06:57

1:06:57

Teaching the civil rights movement accurately and effectively requires deconstructing the myths and misconceptions about the civil rights movement. Most people are familiar with a very specific version of the Civil Rights Movement that exaggerates Government support and denies the existence and persistence of racism outside the South. Julian Bond c…

1
Wrap Up: Teaching the Connections – w/ Bethany Jay 1:29:19

4y ago1:29:19

1:29:19

The systems that enabled and perpetuated African and Indigenous enslavement in what is now the U.S. have much in common, and their histories tell us a great deal about the present. Professors Bethany Jay and Steven Oliver join us to talk about connections between the first two seasons and how to teach them, and we preview what’s to come in season t…

1
Hard History in Hard Times – Talking With Teachers 58:38

4y ago58:38

58:38

In this special call-in episode, listeners share their stories and questions from throughout season 2—including teaching remotely, working with families and stakeholders, and incorporating social justice into subjects like math and science. As educators, we’re strongest when we support each other. And you’ll hear great suggestions from fellow teach…

1
Call Us! (by Sunday, April 19) 10:12

4+ y ago10:12

10:12

It’s time for our first call-in show! We know things are chaotic for you and every other educator right now. We feel it too, so this seems like the perfect time to talk. Pick up the phone and dial 888-59-STORY (888-597-8679). Our lines are open until Sunday night, April 19. Teaching hard history is even harder right now, so let’s talk about resourc…

1
Inseparable Separations: Slavery and Indian Removal 1:00:25

4+ y ago1:00:25

1:00:25

Indian Removal was a brutal and complicated effort that textbooks often simplify. It is also inseparably related to slavery. Enslavers seeking profit drove demand for Indigenous lands, displacing hundreds of thousands of Indigenous people. Some of these Indigenous people participated in chattel slavery. Focusing on the Chickasaw and Choctaw nations…

1
Slave Codes, Liberty Suits and the Charter Generation – w/ Margaret Newell 1:22:26

4+ y ago1:22:26

1:22:26

The Americas were built on the lands, labor and lives of Indigenous peoples. Despite being erased from history textbooks after the so-called first Thanksgiving, Indigenous peoples did not disappear. Colonial settlers relied on the cooperation, exploitation and forced labor of their Native neighbors to survive and thrive in what became North America…

1
Using the WPA Slave Narratives – w/ Cynthia Lynn Lyerly 1:05:29

4+ y ago1:05:29

1:05:29

From 1936 to 1938, the Federal Writers’ Project collected stories from people who had been enslaved. The WPA Slave Narrative Collection at the Library of Congress is a valuable resource; these oral histories are also problematic. Interpreting these narratives within literary and historical context, students can develop primary source literacy. Hist…

1
Groundwork for Teaching Indigenous Enslavement – w/ the Turtle Island Social Studies Collective 1:13:42

4+ y ago1:13:42

1:13:42

To better understand the United States’ past and present, we need to better understand Indigenous identities—and our classrooms play a huge role. This starts with examining what’s missing from our social studies, history, civics and government curricula. Throughout this episode, we reference the K-5 Framework for Teaching Hard History as we shed li…

1
Mid-season Recap: Key Lessons on Indigenous Enslavement 27:14

4+ y ago27:14

27:14

Educators can no longer ignore our country’s history of Indigenous enslavement. Our students need a fuller understanding of the pivotal history of slavery to comprehend the present and develop a vision for our nation’s future. In this mid-season recap, we highlight key lessons about this consequential part of American history—along with teaching st…

1
Silver, Resistance and the Evolution of Slavery in the West – w/ Andrés Reséndez 1:14:53

4+ y ago1:14:53

1:14:53

Throughout the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, the forced labor and bondage of Indigenous peoples was integral to the economic and political history of what became the Southwestern United States. Historian and author Andrés Reséndez outlines the significance of silver mining, Indigenous enslavement and resistance in the history of New Mexico and Lat…

1
The Other Slavery – w/ Andrés Reséndez 1:11:46

4+ y ago1:11:46

1:11:46

A hundred years before the first ship carrying enslaved Africans arrived in Virginia, Europeans introduced the commercial practice of enslavement in “The New World.” And for the next 400 years, millions of Indigenous people throughout the Americas were enslaved through several forms of forced labor and bondage. Historian and author Andrés Reséndez …

1
Coming Soon: Conversations with Andrés Reséndez 4:05

4+ y ago4:05

4:05

Andrés Reséndez is the author of The Other Slavery: The Uncovered Story of Indian Enslavement in America. His work has changed conventional wisdom about the institution of slavery in the Atlantic World. Over the next two episodes, host Hasan Kwame Jeffries and Reséndez will discuss key turning points in this history—exploring how it expands our und…

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Bethany Jett Podcasts

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