Foundations of a Black Town

Join producer Christian Leus for part two of our story about Mitchellville, Arkansas, as she explores the history and legacy of the Mitchellville Self-Help Project, led by Daisy Bates.This episode was produced by Sara A. Lewis, Christian Leus, and Zandria F. Robinson. Thank you to Dr. Melissa Stuckey, Dr. Danielle Purifoy, and Dr. Misti Harper. Thanks to Essie and Terrence Williams and to the Desha County Library. Post-production and score thanks to Curtis Fye and Trey Pollard of Spacebomb. This episode is supported by the Arkansas Humanities Council. Visit oxfordamerican.org/pointssouth to find more episodes, plus films, photographs, and more from the world of Points South.

Join producer Christian Leus as she travels to Mitchellville, Arkansas, a small Black town close to the Mississippi state line. Mitchellville's story is little known even to Arkansans, but in the 1960s, it was the site of a high-profile civic improvement project started by civil rights leader Daisy Bates. In the first part of this two-part series, we'll explore Mitchellville's foundations and what it means to be a Black town.This episode was produced by Sara A. Lewis, Christian Leus, and Zandria F. Robinson. Thank you to Dr. Melissa Stuckey, Dr. Danielle Purifoy, and Dr. Misti Harper. Thanks to Essie and Terrence Williams and to the Desha County Library. Post-production and score thanks to Curtis Fye and Trey Pollard of Spacebomb. This episode is supported by the Arkansas Humanities Council. Visit oxfordamerican.org/pointssouth to find more episodes, plus films, photographs, and more from the world of Points South.

Our 25th annual Southern Music Issue is on newsstands now! For this special episode of Points South Live, we partnered with Grant’s Lounge and Visit Macon to host an evening of conversation and music exploring the legacy of one of the South’s greatest balladeers: Otis Redding. The Macon Music Revue perform ballads highlighting Georgia’s rich musical history, and the OA’s Ashley Clayborn chats with Karla Redding Andrews and Justin Andrews of the Otis Redding Foundation.To pick up your Oxford American Ballads Issue, visit your local newsstand or OxfordAmericanGoods.org today! This episode of Points South was produced by Sara A. Lewis, Christian Leus, and Ashley Clayborn. Sound recording by Mason Mishael. Thank you to Karla Redding Andrews, Justin Andrews, and the Macon Music Revue. Post-production and score thanks to Curtis Fye and Trey Pollard of Spacebomb. Thank you to our sponsors: Visit Macon, Moon Hanger Group, Grant’s Lounge, The Creek 100.9 FM, and Hotel 45. Special thanks to Lisa Love with the Georgia Music Foundation and Marissa Rogers with Visit Macon. Visit OxfordAmerican.org/PointsSouth to find more episodes and to see more from our 2023 Southern Music Issue.

In this two-part series, producer Sara A. Lewis visits the South Carolina Sea Islands, where the triumphs and tragedies of Reconstruction have left a unique legacy. In Part II, join Sara on Hilton Head and St. Helena, two more islands where the promises of Reconstruction blossomed into independent, self-sufficient communities of formerly enslaved people. On Hilton Head, Sara visits Historic Mitchelville Freedom Park, once the site of a self-governed Black community; on St. Helena, she explores the Penn School, the nation’s first school for emancipated slaves and home to a civil rights legacy that stretches into the 20th century and beyond.This episode was produced by Sara A. Lewis, Christian Leus, and Christian Brown, with Dr. Kidada Williams. Thank you to Lola Campbell and Dr. Marie Gibbs. Post-production and score thanks to Curtis Fye and Trey Pollard of Spacebomb. This episode featured musical performance by Frankie James, Olivia Stith, Samantha Higgs, and Dominique Jones, with arrangement by Frankie James.This episode is supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the African American History Commission.Visit OxfordAmerican.org/PointsSouth to find more episodes, plus films, photographs, and more from the world of Points South.

In this two-part series, producer Sara A. Lewis visits the South Carolina Sea Islands, where the triumphs and tragedies of Reconstruction have left a unique legacy. In Part I, join Sara on Edisto Island, where formerly enslaved people owned land, built schools, and created prosperous communities all before the Emancipation Proclamation. Hear from scholars and local experts as they tell the story of Edisto’s inspiring successes, its unjust dissolution, and the marks that both have left on the island today.This episode was produced by Sara A. Lewis, Christian Leus, and Christian Brown, with Dr. Kidada Williams. Thank you to Dr. Caroline Grego and Chris Barr. Post-production and score thanks to Curtis Fye and Trey Pollard of Spacebomb. This episode featured voice acting by Dennis Caldwell and musical performance by Frankie James, Olivia Stith, Samantha Higgs, and Dominique Jones, with arrangement by Frankie James.This episode is supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the African American History Commission.Visit OxfordAmerican.org/PointsSouth to find more episodes, plus films, photographs, and more from the world of Points South.

In this episode, producer Sara A. Lewis investigates stories—why and how they’re told at some of the South’s most vital and complicated civil rights sites. Join Sara on a trip from Louisiana’s Whitney Plantation, where the forgotten stories of enslaved people take center stage; to Mitchelville, South Carolina, where the joyful history of emancipation is remembered and recreated; to Birmingham, Alabama, where the city seeks to preserve and interpret some of the greatest tragedies and triumphs of the 20th century civil rights movement. Along the way, Sara speaks to experts and educators to learn more about how telling these stories shapes our understandings of our histories, our homes, and ourselves.This episode was produced by Sara A. Lewis, Christian Leus, and Christian Brown. Thank you to Dr. Joyce Zoë-Farley, Ashley Rogers and Amber Mitchell, Lola Campbell, and Denise Gilmore. Post-production and score thanks to Curtis Fye and Trey Pollard of Spacebomb.This episode is supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Julia Child Foundation.Visit OxfordAmerican.org/PointsSouth to find more episodes, plus films, photographs, and more from the world of Points South.

In this episode, journalist Brittany Brown tells the story of Fannie Lou Hamer’s Freedom Farm, a radical cooperative initiative that sought to bring food sovereignty to northern Mississippi. Join Brown as she speaks to experts to learn more about Hamer’s life and work, and visits a farm in Montgomery County, Mississippi, to discover how Hamer’s vision of environmental justice resonates with Black landowners today.This episode was produced by Sara A. Lewis, Brittany Brown, and Christian Leus, in collaboration with Dr. Kidada Williams. Thank you to Vickie Roberts Ratliff, Dr. Kate Clifford Larson, and Dr. Teona Williams. Post-production and score thanks to Curtis Fye and Trey Pollard of Spacebomb.This episode is supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Julia Child Foundation.

We head back to New Orleans to visit Storyville, the red-light district that made the city infamous in the early 20th century. Producer Christian Leus explores the history of the neighborhood and disentangles its complicated legacies of jazz, sex work, and social upheaval. Join Christian as she digs through archival audio and conducts new interviews with Storyville scholars to discover what the myth of Storyville leaves out. Visit oxfordamerican.org/pointssouth to see archival images from Storyville. This episode was produced by Sara A. Lewis and Christian Leus. Our Points South intern is Adam Forrester.Special thanks to Dr. Alecia P. Long, Dr. Ben Barson, Dr. Sherrie Tucker, Dr. Nathalie Rech, and Dr. Stephanie Cox. Post-production and score thanks to Curtis Fye and Trey Pollard of Spacebomb.This episode is supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

In this episode, producer Christian Adam Brown travels to Sante Fe to meet Terry Allen and his wife, Jo Harvey Allen. Terry is a prolific artist, musician, and writer. His songs have been covered by Lucinda Williams, Sturgill Simpson, David Byrne, and many others. His visual artworks have been exhibited in The Met and MoMA. Terry’s radio work, which features the incredible theatrical performance work of Jo Harvey, challenged audiences when they were first broadcast. We bring segments of this work to you in this episode.Visit oxfordamerican.org/pointssouth to see Terry’s visual pieces from his radio works, as well as photography from Jo Harvey’s theater performance of Bleeder. This episode was produced by Sara A. Lewis and Christian Adam Brown. Our Points South intern is Adam Forrester.This episode is dedicated to the memory of Helen Thorington, who started New American Radio. Our deepest thanks to Terry and Jo Harvey, Brendan Greaves of Paradise of Bachelors Records, and Dr. Curtis Peoples at Texas Tech’s Southwest Collection – home to Terry and Jo Harvey’s archives. Special thanks to Dr. Anna Friz and Regine Beyer, as well as Rob Rosenthal of Transom for his guidance. Post-production and score thanks to Curtis Fye and Trey Pollard of Spacebomb.This episode is supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities.This episode contains fictional descriptions of violence.

In this episode, cookbook author, chef, and teacher Andrea Nguyen travels to New Orleans East with producer Christian Adam Brown in search of an even deeper understanding of Vietnamese cuisine in New Orleans. Andrea and Christian meet the farmers that grow produce for this vibrant community and taste Dong Phuong Bakery's ever popular King Cake.Visit oxfordamerican.org/pointssouth to see Từ Nước (Of Water) - A New Orleans Tết, a beautiful new short film by Marion Hill. It follows chef Nini Nguyễn as she prepares a traditional feast for the Lunar New Year. This episode was produced by Sara A. Lewis, Christian Brown, and Andrea Nguyen. Original music by Dylan Trân. Thank you to Nga Le and Chi Nguyen, Karl Takacs Jr, and Anh Lu. Thanks to Dr. David Berris. Our podcast intern is Adam Forrester. Post-production and score thanks to Curtis Fye and Trey Pollard of Spacebomb.This episode is supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Julia Child Foundation for Gastronomy and the Culinary Arts.