Black History Year
PushBlack
Learning your history makes you - and your people - stronger.
As Black people, we know we’re often left out of the history books. That media images are skewed. That we need access to experts, information, and ideas so we can uplift our community.
The Black History Year feed connects you to the history, thinkers, and activists that are usually excluded from mainstream conversations, through must-hear interviews and 2-Minute Black History stories. You might not agree with everything you hear, but we’re always working toward one goal: uniting for the best interests of Black people worldwide.
BHY is produced by PushBlack, the nation’s largest non-profit Black media organization - contact us at BlackHistoryYear.com.
As Black people, we know we’re often left out of the history books. That media images are skewed. That we need access to experts, information, and ideas so we can uplift our community.
The Black History Year feed connects you to the history, thinkers, and activists that are usually excluded from mainstream conversations, through must-hear interviews and 2-Minute Black History stories. You might not agree with everything you hear, but we’re always working toward one goal: uniting for the best interests of Black people worldwide.
BHY is produced by PushBlack, the nation’s largest non-profit Black media organization - contact us at BlackHistoryYear.com.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Jun 10, 2025 • 33min
Celebrating Juneteenth in the Carceral State with Ebony Underwood (June 2021)
Juneteenth is a special holiday for Black people - it commemorates when the last of our enslaved ancestors were freed. And yet, many Black people remain in bondage through a new form of slavery that's just as insidious: mass incarceration. On this special episode of BHY, we sit down with Ebony Underwood, social entrepreneur and founder of We Got Us Now, to discuss the significance of Juneteenth and the ongoing struggle for liberation.
To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Jun 9, 2025 • 3min
The Underground Railroad Was Only One Path To Freedom. Going Further South Was Another
To the North lay freedom, or so many believed. Starvation, exposure to the elements, and especially the threat of recapture still hung heavy over the heads of those who had escaped bondage. But what about escaping even further south?
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2-Minute Black History is produced by PushBlack, the nation's largest non-profit Black media company. PushBlack exists to amplify the stories of Black history you didn't learn in school. You make PushBlack happen with your contributions at BlackHistoryYear.com — most people donate $10 a month, but every dollar makes a difference. If this episode moved you, share it with your people! Thanks for supporting the work.The production team for this podcast includes Cydney Smith, Len Webb, and Lilly Workneh. Our editors are Lance John and Avery Phillips from Gifted Sounds Network. Julian Walker serves as executive producer." To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Jun 8, 2025 • 3min
3 Methods Behind The Magic Of Black Creativity
Bass filling our ears, bodies dancing to new sounds. Words clipped from the documents that oppressed us, making them our own. The broken patterns of soft, colorful fabric. Our culture is synonymous with experimental creativity. Here are three examples of how.
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2-Minute Black History is produced by PushBlack, the nation's largest non-profit Black media company. PushBlack exists to amplify the stories of Black history you didn't learn in school. You make PushBlack happen with your contributions at BlackHistoryYear.com — most people donate $10 a month, but every dollar makes a difference. If this episode moved you, share it with your people! Thanks for supporting the work.The production team for this podcast includes Cydney Smith, Len Webb, and Lilly Workneh. Our editors are Lance John and Avery Phillips from Gifted Sounds Network. Julian Walker serves as executive producer." To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Jun 7, 2025 • 3min
The Special Role Kola Nuts Play In Black Spirituality
Beyond being the once-key ingredient in soda, the kola nut has a long history with our people that goes deeper than any sugary drink. It’s a symbol of peace, prayer, and justice.
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2-Minute Black History is produced by PushBlack, the nation's largest non-profit Black media company. PushBlack exists to amplify the stories of Black history you didn't learn in school. You make PushBlack happen with your contributions at BlackHistoryYear.com — most people donate $10 a month, but every dollar makes a difference. If this episode moved you, share it with your people! Thanks for supporting the work.
The production team for this podcast includes Cydney Smith, Len Webb, and Lilly Workneh. Our editors are Lance John and Avery Phillips from Gifted Sounds Network. Julian Walker serves as executive producer." To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Jun 3, 2025 • 59min
What “Sinners” Gets Right (And Wrong) About the Black South
This isn’t a film podcast. But with the feature film Sinners now available at home, we couldn’t help but unpack its bold take on Southern horror, the moral weight of unspoken histories, and what it means—for the culture—to set a story like this in Mississippi.
In this special episode of Black History Year, Grammy-winning blues musician and actor Chris Thomas King returns, joining scholar, writer, and BHY producer Dr. Leslie Grover to discuss what the film gets right, what it gets wrong, and the blues haunting every frame.
Grab your popcorn—because by the end of the episode, you’ll be asking yourself: Is “Sinners” just a horror flick—or a mirror that makes Black history impossible to ignore?
This podcast is brought to you by PushBlack, the nation’s largest non-profit Black media company. You make PushBlack happen with your contributions at BlackHistoryYear.com. Most folks donate 5 or 10 bucks a month, but truly, anything helps. Thanks for supporting the work.
Cydney Smith, Darren Wallace, and Len Webb, who also edit the show, produce Black History Year with production support from Leslie Taylor-Grover and Brooke Brown. Lilly Workneh is our Executive Producer. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
May 30, 2025 • 4min
How Henrietta Lacks' Death Changed Medical History
The scientist couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Every other sample of cells he’d seen died quickly in his lab, but these cells, from a poor Black woman, doubled every 24 hours! He had to get more of them – at any cost.
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2-Minute Black History is produced by PushBlack, the nation's largest non-profit Black media company. PushBlack exists to amplify the stories of Black history you didn't learn in school. You make PushBlack happen with your contributions at BlackHistoryYear.com — most people donate $10 a month, but every dollar makes a difference. If this episode moved you, share it with your people! Thanks for supporting the work.
The production team for this podcast includes Cydney Smith, Len Webb, and Lilly Workneh. Our editors are Lance John and Avery Phillips from Gifted Sounds Network. Julian Walker serves as executive producer." To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
May 29, 2025 • 3min
The FBI’s Obsession with Aretha Franklin
Our people love us some Aretha Franklin. We've been two-stepping to her greatest hits for generations. She was our beloved "Queen of Soul." So why the hell was the FBI surveilling her for years?
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2-Minute Black History is produced by PushBlack, the nation's largest non-profit Black media company. PushBlack exists to amplify the stories of Black history you didn't learn in school. You make PushBlack happen with your contributions at BlackHistoryYear.com — most people donate $10 a month, but every dollar makes a difference. If this episode moved you, share it with your people! Thanks for supporting the work.
The production team for this podcast includes Cydney Smith, Len Webb, and Lilly Workneh. Our editors are Lance John and Avery Phillips from Gifted Sounds Network. Julian Walker serves as executive producer." To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
May 28, 2025 • 3min
She Saved Thousands Of Black Infants With Her Anointing
Sweat drenched her face. She was having a baby at home and there was only a five-year-old girl to help her. While she writhed in pain, the girl held her hand and got to work – somehow this child knew EXACTLY what to do!
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2-Minute Black History is produced by PushBlack, the nation's largest non-profit Black media company. PushBlack exists to amplify the stories of Black history you didn't learn in school. You make PushBlack happen with your contributions at BlackHistoryYear.com — most people donate $10 a month, but every dollar makes a difference. If this episode moved you, share it with your people! Thanks for supporting the work.
The production team for this podcast includes Cydney Smith, Len Webb, and Lilly Workneh. Our editors are Lance John and Avery Phillips from Gifted Sounds Network. Julian Walker serves as executive producer." To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
May 27, 2025 • 3min
This Sacred Practice Will Make You Reconsider What You View As ‘Trash’
Instead of respecting boundaries, white archeologists pillaged our ancestral graves. As they dug through centuries of history, they found countless jars and bottles – which they dismissed as trash. Little did they know, these jars and bottles represent something crucial to our spirits.
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2-Minute Black History is produced by PushBlack, the nation's largest non-profit Black media company. PushBlack exists to amplify the stories of Black history you didn't learn in school. You make PushBlack happen with your contributions at BlackHistoryYear.com — most people donate $10 a month, but every dollar makes a difference. If this episode moved you, share it with your people! Thanks for supporting the work.
The production team for this podcast includes Cydney Smith, Len Webb, and Lilly Workneh. Our editors are Lance John and Avery Phillips from Gifted Sounds Network. Julian Walker serves as executive producer." To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
May 26, 2025 • 3min
They Kept A Dangerous Secret For Black Liberation
They were the perfect weapon against racism, but it was dangerous. If they got caught, they would lose their jobs – or perhaps their lives. This secret group fought for our rights, and we never even knew they existed! Who were they?
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2-Minute Black History is produced by PushBlack, the nation's largest non-profit Black media company. PushBlack exists to amplify the stories of Black history you didn't learn in school. You make PushBlack happen with your contributions at BlackHistoryYear.com — most people donate $10 a month, but every dollar makes a difference. If this episode moved you, share it with your people! Thanks for supporting the work.
The production team for this podcast includes Cydney Smith, Len Webb, and Lilly Workneh. Our editors are Lance John and Avery Phillips from Gifted Sounds Network. Julian Walker serves as executive producer." To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
