Our Stories: Interview with Gwen Ragsdale

Listen to an audio interview with Gwen Ragsdale conducted by Elaine Jones with Our Stories WJYN 98.5 FM – UPTOWN RADIO !!!  http://philadelphiauptowntheater.org/radio/showlibrary/081316a_ourstoriesourtruth.mp3

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Stop the Violence

Violence in African American communities is at an all timehigh. During slavery, African Americans also suffered from terrible violence, so WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE? Violence then was at the the hands of OTHERS, violence today it is at the hands of BROTHERS. This stunning reversal is a vestige of slavery that

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Slavery In Philadelphia

Philadelphia’s Dark Past: A History of Slavery Comes To Light Philadelphia is affectionately known as the “City of Brotherly Love” and “Sisterly Affection”, however slavery of Africans has a long and troubled history here. Mt. Airy historian Phillip Seitz, 55, in his book,“Slavery in Philadelphia: A History of Resistance, Denial

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The New Jim Crow

The New Jim Crow – Jim Crow Still Exists In America Under Jim Crow laws, black Americans were relegated to a subordinate status for decades. Things like literacy tests for voters and laws designed to prevent blacks from serving on juries were commonplace in nearly a dozen Southern states. In

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Peculiar Relationships by Gwen Ragsdale

Peculiar Relationships is a fictional and semi-autobiographical novel based on the evolving relationships and interactions between black women and white women from slavery, to current day. A series of first person narratives describe how their shared gender, close proximity, dual tasks, positions of power, or lack thereof led these females

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The Case For Reparations

Two hundred fifty years of slavery. Ninety years of Jim Crow. Sixty years of separate but equal. Thirty-five years of racist housing policy. Until we reckon with our compounding moral debts, America will never be whole. This article, The Case For Reparations,  is a stark reminder and the most comprehensive writing

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Slavery By Another Name

The Forgotten Stories of Post-Civil War Slavery The Re-Enslavement of Black Americans from the Civil War to World War II In this groundbreaking historical expose, Douglas A. Blackmon brings to light one of the most shameful chapters in American history—an “Age of Neoslavery” that thrived from the aftermath of the Civil War

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“Nigger” What Does This Word Mean to You?

Where did the term “NIGGER” Originate? The word ‘Nigger’ was  created during slavery by oppressors of African Americans.  The word was used to demean and dehumanize blacks. It was associated with the falsely created perception that blacks were inferior, lazy, ugly, thieving, good-for-nothing clowns. Today, many blacks use the “nigger” word

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A Slave Ship

A Slave Ship Moored in New York Harbor During the late 1800’s many abandoned ships that had lost their spars and rigging often rested along the wharfs of lower Manhattan. This rare photo of a three-mast merchant vessel was shot Nov. 4, 1860 as it tossed and bucked at her

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