Unpacking 1619 features interviews with scholars from around the country in which we unpack topics relating to the 1619 Project and race in America. Hosted by Adult Services Librarian John Piche.
John Piché
John Piché is an Adult Services Librarian at Heights Libraries. He has over 30 years of experience working in libraries, and an academic background in American History. In 2019, John launched a monthly 1619 Project discussion group at the Library. As the program grew in popularity, he began interviewing scholars on topics relating to the 1619 Project in 2020. He is excited to expand access to those interviews in the Unpacking 1619 podcast.
All Episodes
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Episode 33 - Black Power in Alabama with Hasan Kwame Jeffries
Jun 28, 2023 •
Hasan Jeffries discusses his book Bloody Lowndes: Civil Rights and Black Power in Alabama’s Black Belt. We talk about what made this rural Alabama County such an important and complicated location in the Civil Rights struggle. How school desegregation and voting registration was still accomplished in the shadow of some…
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Episode 32 - Racial Diversity with Pamela Newkirk
Jun 14, 2023 •
In Diversity Inc.: The Failed Promise of a Billion-Dollar Business Pamela Newkirk exposes the decades-old practices and attitudes that have made diversity a lucrative business while they fail to realize diversity. We discussed the history of exclusion, the role of Presidents Johnson and Reagan, and why higher education is such…
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Episode 31 - The Women of White Supremacy with Elizabeth Gillespie McRae
May 31, 2023 •
We begin with the shocking history of Virginia’s Racial Integrity Law which sought to identify citizens “passing” as white and how this law served to discipline Segregationist ideologies. Next, we look into how women found racist political power in local school boards, PTA, and other organizations to define the story…
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Episode 30 - The Southern Manifesto with John Kyle Day
May 17, 2023 •
John Day looks at the congressional statement drafted and signed by 99 congressmen in response to Brown V. Board of Education. The statement, nicknamed the Southern Manifesto, accomplished both the white supremacist’s goal of blocking Civil Rights while proving tempered enough to appease a moderate’s political fears. This often forgotten…
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Episode 29 - The Year of White Terrorism with David Krugler
May 3, 2023 •
Professor Krugler discusses his book, 1919: the Year of Racial Violence and How African Americans Fought Back. We specifically focus on Chicago and Knoxville riots with an eye on how Black World War I veterans factored into de-escalating the White mobs.
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Episode 28 - Color of Law with Richard Rothstein
Apr 19, 2023 •
Richard Rothstein discusses his book The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America, which recovers a forgotten history of how federal, state, and local policy explicitly segregated metropolitan areas nationwide, creating racially homogenous neighborhoods in patterns that violate the Constitution and require remediation.
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Episode 27 - Dave Brubeck's Civil Rights Advocacy with Kelsey Klotz
Apr 5, 2023 • 38:45
Kelsey Klotz is a lecturer at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. She received her PhD in Musicology with a certificate in American Studies from Washington University in St. Louis in 2016. Her research focuses on the intersection of race and sound in 1950s and 1960s American musical culture,…
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Episode 26 - The Eighth Amendment, Pt. 3 with Alexandra Natapoff
Mar 22, 2023 •
Professor of Law at Harvard Law School Alexandra Natapoff discusses her book, Punishment Without Crime: How Our Massive Misdemeanor System Traps the Innocent and Makes America More Unequal.
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Episode 25 - The Eighth Amendment, Pt. 2 with Vida Johnson
Mar 8, 2023 •
Vida Johnson is an Associate Professor at Georgetown Law. She discusses her article, “Bias in Blue: Instructing Jurors to Consider the Testimony of Police Officer Witnesses with Caution”.
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Episode 24 - The Eighth Amendment, Pt. 1 with Alex Reinert
Feb 22, 2023 •
The eighth amendment of the U.S. Constitution states: “Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.” This episode kicks off a 3-part series that investigates this amendment, beginning with a conversation with Alex Reinert. He discusses his article, “Reconceptualizing the 8th Amendment:…