Special Export Podcast

Episode 11: The Distinction Between the White and Colored People of the North and South
Description: Drawing on his extensive travels, Latta offers a controversial comparison of Northern and Southern race relations. He recounts a heartbreaking night in a Northern city where he walked until midnight because no hotel would admit him, contrasting this with the "frank" but manageable segregation of the South. 

Episode 10: The Investigation Bureau
Description: Latta takes aim at the "Investigation Bureau" in New York, which he claims hindered small, struggling institutions. He defends his endorsements from Southern governors and mayors and asserts that his school has done more to uplift "fallen humanity" than any distant bureaucracy. 

Episode 9: Progress of the Latta University

Description: A triumphant "prospectus" chapter where Latta describes the physical campus in West Raleigh: 23 buildings, an industrial farm, and a capacity for 1,400 students. He outlines the night school and industrial departments where young men learned masonry and carpentry while young ladies mastered domestic sciences. 

Episode 8: The Great Troubles I Had in Building Latta University

Description: Latta details the crushing financial burden of running a school where one-third of the students could not pay tuition. He describes traveling the country with "tears in his eyes" to raise funds, often receiving amounts as small as twenty-five cents while facing both hospitality and hostility from business owners. 

Episode 7: Lynchings in the Southern States
Description: In a somber and complex chapter, Latta addresses the epidemic of lynching. While he uses the language of his era to advocate for "moral training" and compulsory education as a cure for social disorder, he maintains that the students of Latta University represent a new, law-abiding standard of citizenship. 

Episode 6: When I Commenced to Establish the Latta University

Description: Latta describes the immense local opposition he faced—from both white and Black communities—when he began his university project. He recounts a dramatic morning when his wife believed he was "ruined" by the newspapers and his eventual triumph in securing the "tacit support" of Raleigh’s white leadership despite being labeled a "fraud" by critics. 

Episode 5: Alleged Expressions Concerning the Negro Race

Description: Latta addresses the 19th-century prejudices that claimed Black Americans were incapable of extraordinary achievements. He details his spiritual struggle with these accusations and his ultimate determination to establish a non-sectarian university as living proof of his race's potential. 

Episode 4: My Life in College
Description: Latta recounts the harrowing and humorous struggle of attending Shaw University. Arriving with only ten cents, he survived on a trunk full of crackers, cheese, and sugar while working as a janitor. He describes the transition from being mocked as an "idiot" to being hailed as "Professor Latta" after excelling in his examinations and earning money through teaching. 

Episode 3: The Colored People's Theory

Description: This episode delves into Latta's perspective on the "Back to Africa" movement. While he acknowledges the reasoning of leaders like Bishop Turner, Latta declares his satisfaction with staying in America. He critiques what he perceives as a lack of ambition among some in his community and cites King Solomon as a historical example of Black greatness and wisdom. 

My Political Life

Description: Latta explores his brief but intense engagement with politics during a time when the Republican party controlled North Carolina. He explains his ultimate decision to "wash his hands" of politics, predicting the rise of the Democratic party and advising his race to prioritize property ownership, education, and the "mighty silver dollar" over political campaigning.