If you live in Kentucky, it is hard to avoid hearing the state song, My Old Kentucky Home. But it is a song with a lot of historical baggage relating to the legacy of slavery and Jim Crow in Kentucky.

There are clear lines that connect the legacy of slavery to many of our present day issues, including the racial inequities of COVID-19 infection and deaths, wealth inequality, and ongoing police brut

In addition to being a slave trader and the kidnapper of Henrietta Wood (which we heard about in our last episode), Kentuckian Zebulon Ward made a fortune as a pioneer of the convict leasing system, w

In 1848, Henrietta Wood was delighted to be granted her freedom when her enslaver moved to Ohio, a free state. But five years later, she was kidnapped, taken across the river to Kentucky, and sold bac

In the years that followed the Civil War, many Kentuckians embraced the Lost Cause ideology, even if they had fought for the Union. And some joined armed vigilante groups that used violence and terror

Kentuckians fought on both sides of the Civil War but came together at wars end to oppose a common foenewly emancipated African Americans yearning for education, dignity, and a decent living. In the

The Civil War was a confusing time for enslaved people in Kentucky. Because the state remained loyal to the Union, the Emancipation Proclamation did not apply and slavery remained legal. And yet when

Due to prohibitions against enslaved people learning to read and write, there are only a few written records left behind by formerly enslaved Kentuckians. But thankfully, over 100 people were intervie

Kentucky was an important hub of Americas internal slave trade, with fortunes made by slave traders and those who invested in enslaved people as commodities. We hear from members of a white family th

The history of slavery is often taught as a bitter chapter of Americas past that has been rectified. But in Kentucky that history has been rarely acknowledged, and is poorly documented. This has made it particularly difficult for African American familie