This week our host Cynthia Whittaker Putman is once again joined by Cookeville resident Brandon Russell as they continue their conversation about race, diversity, and raising children in a rural southern town during this unprecedented time in our country.
Brandon shares from his series of “Black Facts” that he started in February of 2020 on his Facebook page. Here are a few that you will definitely want to hear!
Black Fact #1:Josephine Amanda Groves Holloway (March 10, 1898 - December 7, 1988). Holloway (pictured at Left) was an American woman who broke the color barrier for African-American girls to become involved in scouting in the state of Tennessee.
Black Fact #2:Morris Irby -- Morris Irby was the first African American player and scholarship recipient on the Tennessee Tech University baseball team where he still is ranked in the top 10 for most runs scored and most bases stolen. He holds undergraduate and master’s degrees from TTU.
Black Fact #3: Juneteenth -- What is Juneteenth? On June 19, 1865, Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger landed on Texas' Galveston Island with more than 2,000 Union troops. He stood at the Headquarters District of Texas in Galveston and read General Order No. 3 - “The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free.”
Black people who heard the news erupted in a moment of indescribable joy. Celebrations of Juneteenth — which combines the word June with Nineteenth — began in 1866, a year and a day after Granger’s announcement. Black men, women and children dressed in their finest attire and gathered to sing spirituals, pray, play baseball and eat. Often the menus included fried chicken, cornbread, greens and handmade strawberry soda. The red color of the soda symbolized blood shed during slavery.
Brandon also shared the importance of the landmark 1967 United States Supreme Court case Loving v. Virginia, which struck down laws making interracial marriage illegal.
For more great information, history and current events, check out Black in Appalachia, an initiative by our sister PBS station in East Tennessee. There are some really great Black in Appalachia documentaries available to stream via the PBS video app, including one about the 8th of August, which is Tennessee’s own celebration of emancipation. The film tells the story of how even though Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation did not apply to slaves in Tennessee, then-Military Governor of Tennessee, Andrew Johnson, emancipated his own slaves on the 8th of August, 1863. Stream it here online or via the PBS video app.
For additional resources on ways to talk with young children about racism, visit PBS Parents. It includes a great open discussion about racism that PBS KIDS produced and shared.
Have you heard? WCTE’s Get Ready To Learn is now available as a podcast!
Explore other episodes, or find Brandon’s first conversation on the radio show. Check back for his 2nd and 3rd conversations!
Additional free resources to keep parents & caregivers connected:
- Bright By Text is a great tool for parents and caregivers of children birth to 5. To get free learning games and easy-to-understand tips texted to you, text "WCTE" to 274448. It's free and so easy!
- We also invite you to check out the Connection Zone where you can find all sorts of activities for kids of all ages. Plus, check out the Monthly Activity calendar for little learners on our At Home Learning website. This is an educational one stop shop for free resources for summer learning!
Listeners outside the broadcast area of News Talk 107.7 and 1400 The Hub can stream the radio show by downloading the 107.7 and 1400 The Hub app.
%20(1).png)