Black History Unveiled

Today’s minisode of the Black History Unveiled podcast is about the fight to reintroduce female genital mutilation (FGM) in The Gambia. And how it’s a part of a global movement where, primarily, conservative men seek to maintain and/or regain control over women's bodies and sexuality.

Today's episode of the Black History Unveiled podcast provides some background to the scenes unfolding in Haiti as we speak. Too many media outlets ignore the context and are only interested in creating the most spectacular headline. 

Today's episode of the Black History Unveiled Podcast marks the third and final part of the Haitian Revolution series. In the previous episode, we witnessed the outbreak of the revolt and the successful expulsion of the invading British and Spanish forces by the enslaved people of Saint-Domingue. However, instead of peace, the so-called "War of the Knives" ensued, with leaders of the newly liberated population vying for control of the colony. After two years of conflict, the former slave Toussaint Louverture emerged as the victor. But what had he really won? Officially, Saint-Domingue still remained under French sovereignty.Our story picks up when the French are gearing up to assert their authority. Louverture and the rest of the freed slaves are faced with an overpowering enemy and impossible odds, with the violence in Saint-Domingue reaching apocalyptic levels. The episode also provides keys to understanding why Haiti is in such a vulnerable position today.You can find Black History Unveiled wherever you get your podcasts. 

This is the second episode of our three-part series about the Haitian revolution: one of history's biggest upsets, a classic David and Goliath moment. In the first episode – which I recommend you listen to if you haven't already – we covered the creation of the French Caribbean colony of Saint-Domingue, which, from the late 17th century onwards, was the primary source of all coffee and sugar consumed in Europe. To make this possible, imported Africans were subjected to a particularly hideous form of slavery. As this episode begins—late summer 1791—the slaves—the island's majority population—are preparing to give their lives for a chance at freedom.

Today's episode touches on one of the most fascinating events in history. It's a story containing incomprehensible evil, incredible courage, and inspiring resistance. By understanding this story, you also understand more about why things look the way they do today. How, for example, can two neighboring Caribbean countries – sharing an island – have such enormously different conditions? How can there be prosperity, investment, and hope for the future on one side of the border, while on the other, there is mainly talk of societal collapse, poverty, and suffering?Many of the answers can be found here.The episode is about the colonization of a Caribbean island and the particularly brutal slavery that followed. But also about the revolt that culminated in creating what is usually called "the world's first black republic" – Haiti.

Today's minisode is about an Ethiopian prince whisked away to England under mysterious circumstances. Since then, a battle has been waged over his remains, with Ethiopia yearning for his return, a request staunchly denied by the British monarchy.

Today's episode is about an East African kingdom that, in the 2nd century CE, was described as one of the world's foremost powers, along with Rome, Persia, and China. A kingdom that erected grand monuments and whose coinage spread throughout the world. It was not only among the first in history to convert to Christianity – a couple of hundred years later, it may have played a decisive role in the survival of Islam as a religion. Today's episode is about Aksum.

Those of you who've been listening to the podcast know that I often caution against the pitfalls of drawing parallels between various forms of slavery, especially when such comparisons are rooted in misleading or deceptive reasoning. In this episode, I'm spotlighting a recent instance of this very issue. It's a striking example of a comparison that seeks to downplay the sheer scale and catastrophic impact of transatlantic slavery. It's whataboutism to an extraordinary degree.

In the second and final part of the series on transatlantic slavery, we take a closer look at the golden age of the slave trade. We examine what allowed the trade to become so lucrative and extensive and how slavery differed from place to place, establishing that the U.S. wasn't representative of the rest of America. We also explore how the slave trade institutionalized racism against Black people.