Artifactual Journey

In this episode, we step back into the footlights of early 20th century Black theatre and film to rediscover Andrew Stevens Bishop, a gifted stage actor and Oscar Micheaux film performers whose legacy has slipped into the shadows. Guided by a rare crayon portraiture and an equally rare real photo postcard from the Nanny Jack & Co Archives, we trace Bishop's journey across touring circuits, silent film sets, and the wider Bishop family lineage. This is a story of artistry, migration, and memory, illuminated once more under the stage lights.

Research for this podcast was gleaned from the following sources:

Aristocrats of Color: The Black Elite, 1880-1920 by Willard Gatewood (1990)

Finding Charity's Folk: Enslaved and Free Black Women in Maryland by Jessica Millward (2015)

A History of African American Theatre by Errol G. Hill and James Vernon Hatch (2003)

Oscar Micheaux and His Circle: African American Filmmaking and Race Cinema of the Silent Era, edited by Charles Musser, Jane Marie Gaines, and Pearl Bowser (2016)

Blacks in Black and White: A Source Book on Black Films by Henry T. Sampson (1995)

Whiting Up: Whiteface Minstrels and Stage Europeans in African American Performance by Marvin McAllister (2011)

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Listen to this exciting episode where Philip talks with Todd Johnson, executive director of the Johnston County Heritage Center in Smithfield, North Carolina, as they discuss the upcoming September 30th event, Reclaiming the Black Past: An Artifactual Journey.

To pre order a copt of Kin: Rooted in Hope, visit https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Kin/Carole-Boston-Weatherford/9781665913621

After years of advocacy and dedication, Juneteenth is now recognized as a federal holiday. Listen as Philip talks with Nathan Johnson, National Park Service Ranger at Rose Hill Plantation in Union, South Carolina, and Timika M. Wilson, co-founder of the Union County Community Remembrance Project (UCCRP), which seeks to shed light on the racial violence that took place in Union County, South Carolina during enslavement and in the Reconstruction era. They discuss the upcoming UCCRP Juneteenth celebration on June 17 and the reckoning with the impact of America's painful past.

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During his lifetime and even decades after his assassination, Malcolm X is an iconic figure. His role within the Nation of Islam and dedication to civil rights often made him a target of the media and the FBI. Although he was often depicted as a serious man, Malcolm X respected and cared deeply for all those who crossed his path, including a young boy named Dave Johnson.

In this episode, Dave discusses his interaction with Malcolm and his memories of the day he learned of his assassination.

In February 1946, the white citizens attacked the Black community of Columbia, Tennessee after an altercation between a Black World War II veteran and a white shop keeper.

Columbia Race Riot: https://tennesseeencyclopedia.net/entries/columbia-race-riot-1946/

Emma Azalia Smith Hackley was a prominent African American singer, activist, newspaper publisher, educator, and member of Denver's Black elite. However, her name is not widely known and her contributions to race relations have been obscured. In Episode 46, listen as Philip and Veronica delve into Hackley's life, marriage, and lasting impact on Black musicians.

To learn more about Emma Azalia Smith Hackley: https://www.historycolorado.org/story/stuff-history/2017/03/27/azalia-smith-hackley-musical-prodigy-and-pioneering-journalist

Although the Negro Leagues haven't been in existence for over 60 years, their impact on Major League Baseball is still felt. Although a number of Negro League players have been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame, there are many more still waiting for a place. One of those is Herbert Dixon, known to thousands of Negro League fans as Rap Dixon.  Watch this exciting episode of Artifactual Journey, where historian Ted Knorr unravels the details of Dixon's life and makes the case for his induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

To learn more about Rap Dixon, read this article by Ted Knorr and Chris Rainey: https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/rap-dixon/