Black History Month 2021

For many people, February is associated with Black History Month as closely as July is associated with Independence Day. But this year’s Black History Month lands differently. It’s the first one after national and local protests following the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. And it’s happening as hundreds of businesses and organizations make big public statements about equity and how Black Lives Matter. On this episode, we talk with professors and cultural curators on how to celebrate Black history smack dab in the middle of current historic Black moments. We also talk about a little known figure in Black Kentucky history: Julia Chinn, an enslaved woman and the common-law wife of Richard Mentor Johnson, who became the ninth vice-president of the United States.