In this episode, Author and Historian Kevin Levin discusses the roles of Black men in the Confederate armed forces during the Civil War. Levin will also explore how the Civil War has been memorialized in the press and popular culture. He adds important context to the recent case of Charley Benger, a Macon Black musician who played for the Confederate army during the Civil War. A Civil War heritage group recently proposed installing a memorial plaque in Benger's memory at Rose Hill Cemetery.

Levin is the author of several books, including Searching for Black Confederates: The Civil War's Most Persistent Myth (University of North Carolina, 2019), which directly challenges claims that scores of Black men willingly served for the Confederacy during the Civil War.

Other works authored or edited by Levin include Remembering the Battle of the Crater: War as Murder (University of Kentucky, 2012) and Interpreting the Civil War at Museums and Historic Sites (Rowman & Littlefield, 2017).

Learn more about civic leader and activist Ozzie Bell McKay, a pillar of Macon's African American community.

This is the second episode in our Women’s History Month mini-pod series.  Each highly-focused episode features the story of Black women who have made significant contributions to the city of Macon.

Learn more about nurse, philantropist, and activist, Ruth Hartley Mosley, a pillar of Macon's African American history.

This episode kicks off our Women’s History Month mini-pod series.  Each highly-focused episode features the story of Black women who have made significant contributions to the city of Macon.

On October 9, 2017, Sara Frances Mitchell, a daughter of the city of Macon, slipped from this life to another. Her family and friends, including her siblings, nieces, nephews, and cousins laid her to rest on October 16 at Woodlawn Memorial Park. Although she had been featured in local newspaper articles on various topics throughout her life, beyond her family-placed obituary in the local newspaper, her death was virtually unrecognized by the localmedia. However, he passing was more than worthy of mention as Maconite Sara Mitchell once served as a key member of Malcolm X’s Organization of Afro-American Unity, the organization he founded after he left the Nation of Islam.

Learn more about Sara Frances Mitchell on our blog.

Introducing Makin' Black History, curating the rich history of African American Macon, Georgia, one podcast at a time.