Black power has many forms: a fist in the air, a liberated mind, or the ownership of the ground upon which you stand. The founders of Africatown, a self-determined community of freed Black people in Alabama knew this kind of Black power. In 1927, Zora Neale Hurston delved deep into this question when she interviewed Cudjo Kazoola, the last surviving member of the community that had founded Africatown. Dr. Natalie Robertson expands on Hurston’s work, the importance of Africatown, and the essential elements of Black empowerment.

This podcast is produced by PushBlack, the nation’s largest non-profit Black media company. 

PushBlack exists because we saw we had to take this into our own hands. You make PushBlack happen with your contributions at Black History Year dot com. Most people do 5 or 10 bucks a month, but everything makes a difference. Thanks for supporting the work. 

The Black History Year production team includes Tareq Alani, Patrick Sanders, William Anderson, Jareyah Bradley, Brooke Brown, Shonda Buchanan, Eskedar Getahun, Leslie Taylor-Grover, Abeni Jones, Akua Tay, Darren Wallace and our producer, Cydney Smith.

For Limina House, our producers are Jessica Rugh Frantz and Sasha Kai Parker, who also edits the podcast. Black History Year’s Executive Producers are Julian Walker for PushBlack and Mikel Ellcessor for Limina House. 

Useful Links:

"The Slave Ship Clotilda and the Making of Africatown" by Dr. Natalie Robertson

"Barracoon: The Story of the Last 'Black Cargo'" by Zora Neale Hurston

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