This episode, we're talking about one of my favorite TV shows of all time: Sanford & Son! We'll also get into Good Times and a little into The Jeffersons. All 3 of these shows are 1970s Black sitcoms under Tandem Productions. These shows were a window into the reality of Black life like nothing before them. Yet, what often gets overlooked in discussing these shows is the work that Black actors and writers did behind the scenes to demand respect for themselves and authentic depictions of Black people on screen. Enter my guest Dr. Adrian Sebro, author of Scratchin' and Survivin' Hustle Economics and the Black Sitcoms of Tandem Productions, to tell us some of these behind the scenes stories.Music CreditPeaceLoveSoul by Jeris (c) copyright 2012 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/VJ_Memes/35859 Ft: KungFu (KungFuFrijters)

We are once again doing something a little different on We the (Black) People. Boulder, Colorado just opened a Black history exhibit called Proclaiming Colorado's Black History and I have the lead curator - Colorado native and soul food scholar Adrian Miller - and the oral history liaison - Minister Glenda Strong Robinson, an NAACP and church historian in Boulder - on my show to talk about it. Boulder (and Colorado overall) is a small Black community with a mighty contribution to American history. We get into the story of how this exhibit came to be, how other Black communities can activate their history, and some of the stories they collected as they brought the exhibit to life.Want to learn more about the exhibit and listen to some oral history? Here's the website: https://museumofboulder.org/exhibit/proclaiming-colorados-black-history/Music CreditPeaceLoveSoul by Jeris (c) copyright 2012 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/VJ_Memes/35859 Ft: KungFu (KungFuFrijters)

Just a quick little clip show because We the (Black) People has been out a whole 3 years and that's wild.

This episode traces the changes in racism, antiracism, and racial awareness over the last 90 years that allow We the (Black) People to exist. Today, racism is illegal and talking about race is taboo, yet the internet makes racism and the fight against it much more visible. Professor Rob Eschmann, author of When the Hood Comes Off: Racism and Resistance in the Digital Age, explains the contradictions and activist possibilities the internet opens up for us. Music CreditPeaceLoveSoul by Jeris (c) copyright 2012 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/VJ_Memes/35859 Ft: KungFu (KungFuFrijters)

While fast food is now associated with poorer, Black communities and all kinds of health disparities in Black people, McDonald's wasn't originally interested in expanding franchises into Black neighborhoods. Professor Marcia Chatelain, author of Franchise: The Golden Arches in Black America, talks about how fast food became Black. It is a story that involves McDonald's as an ally of Black America, an enemy of Black America, but always a powerful institution that evoked a lot of reactions as it allowed Black people to open franchises and became increasing tied to its Black customer base.

We've talked about how important Haiti and Liberia were as symbols for Black Americans whether or not they ever went to either of the two Black countries. This episode is about those who went to Ghana - some by choice and some on the run. Ghanaian independence was a huge moment of Pan-African hope for a free Africa, and many Black Americans were fascinated by that prospect. Professor Kevin Gaines, author of American Africans in Ghana: Black Expatriates and the Civil Rights Era, is here to talk about the small group of Black Americans who visited or migrated to Ghana - figures like Maya Angelou, Pauli Murray, Julian Mayfield, and Malcolm X.And, similar to Liberia, the legacy of that era is a continued open invitation from Ghana to Black America.

I'm doing Black oral history work now, y'all. I got into a program that is training oral historians to collect community stories and it's super exciting. I want to share some of this exciting journey with you. So, I talked with my instructor Alissa Rae Funderburk (an oral historian at the Margaret Walker Center of Jackson State University) about how to get started collecting family oral history. She definitely makes me feel more equipped to do the work. And this won't be the last you hear about my oral history journey.Music CreditPeaceLoveSoul by Jeris (c) copyright 2012 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/VJ_Memes/35859 Ft: KungFu (KungFuFrijters)

It's a pretty short one this time around. Black Americans didn't write a lot of recipes and cookbooks in the 19th and 20th centuries, but what they did write tells a lot about Black identity. Professor Rafia Zafar gets into some of the interesting things she discovered while writing Recipes for Respect: African American Meals and Meaning.Music CreditPeaceLoveSoul by Jeris (c) copyright 2012 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/VJ_Memes/35859 Ft: KungFu (KungFuFrijters)

We're spending this May Day episode with Black women in St. Louis from the 1930s to the 1960s. Their fight for economic justice was about more than hours or wages, it was about dignity and quality of life overall. And they were marginalized in the workplace and in their communities. Maybe, they have something to teach us today. Professor Keona Ervin, author of Gateway to Equality: Black Women and the Struggle for Economic Justice in St. Louis, thinks so.Music CreditPeaceLoveSoul by Jeris (c) copyright 2012 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/VJ_Memes/35859 Ft: KungFu (KungFuFrijters)

This episode, we're going to discuss who and what makes hip-hop authentic with Professor Jeffrey Ogbar, author of Hip-hop Revolution. It's not an easy answer as hip-hop has evolved a lot in its short lifetime and has fans with strong, clashing opinions.Music CreditPeaceLoveSoul by Jeris (c) copyright 2012 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/VJ_Memes/35859 Ft: KungFu (KungFuFrijters)