
Sign up to save your podcasts
Or


Margaret Seidler thought she knew her family’s history. Then, a genealogical search on-line led her to connect with a cousin who, unlike Margaret, was Black. Determined to find as much as she could about her lineage, Margaret soon came face to face with more than just an expanded family tree. And what she found led her to devote years to historical research and many difficult conversations about the centrality of the institution of slavery in Charleston, and the part some of her ancestors played in helping it flourish.
This week we talk with Margaret Seidler about how this journey into history challenged her and about her new book, Payne-ful Business: Charleston’s Journey to Truth (2024, Evening Post Books).
In the book, Seidler has written about the realities of Charleston’s racial history while highlighting the historians, journalists, and community members who work to reconcile those truths. And the enslaved individuals whom she found advertised for sale in ante bellum newspapers are brought to vivid life by artist John W. Jones. He truly uncovers the humanity hidden beneath those detached advertisements.
By South Carolina Public Radio4.8
170170 ratings
Margaret Seidler thought she knew her family’s history. Then, a genealogical search on-line led her to connect with a cousin who, unlike Margaret, was Black. Determined to find as much as she could about her lineage, Margaret soon came face to face with more than just an expanded family tree. And what she found led her to devote years to historical research and many difficult conversations about the centrality of the institution of slavery in Charleston, and the part some of her ancestors played in helping it flourish.
This week we talk with Margaret Seidler about how this journey into history challenged her and about her new book, Payne-ful Business: Charleston’s Journey to Truth (2024, Evening Post Books).
In the book, Seidler has written about the realities of Charleston’s racial history while highlighting the historians, journalists, and community members who work to reconcile those truths. And the enslaved individuals whom she found advertised for sale in ante bellum newspapers are brought to vivid life by artist John W. Jones. He truly uncovers the humanity hidden beneath those detached advertisements.

38,515 Listeners

38,685 Listeners

1,036 Listeners

1,561 Listeners

550 Listeners

23 Listeners

1,118 Listeners

1,007 Listeners

35,699 Listeners

6,578 Listeners

659 Listeners

382 Listeners

258 Listeners

278 Listeners

342 Listeners