This Week in Black History, Society, and Culture
"This Week in Black History, Society, and Culture" is a monthly podcast produced by Dr. Hettie V. Williams Professor of History in the Department of History and Anthropology at Monmouth University. Williams is the author of several essays, articles, book chapters and the author/editor of seven books. Her research interests include African American intellectual and cultural history, women's history, and race/ethnic studies. She is also the former director of the Trotter Institute for the Study of Black Culture at UMass Boston. Williams periodically interviews scholars, authors, activists, and community leaders on matters related to the history, society, and culture of Black and African American communities in the United States (U.S.) and the world. These podcast episodes are on a variety of subjects including, but not limited to, higher education, economics, criminal justice, reparations, mental health, history, science, gender, popular culture, women, and politics. A new episode will be released monthly on Monday mornings from September to May during each academic term.
This Week in Black History, Society, and Culture
Interview with Jonathan Daniel Wells on his Book The Kidnapping Club
In this episode, Dr. Hettie V. Williams interviews Dr. Jonathan Daniel Wells about his new book The Kidnapping Club: Wall Street, Slavery, and Resistance on the Eve of the Civil War published by Bold Type Books in 2020. Wells is a Professor of History in the Department of Afro American and African Studies at the University of Michigan. This is a stunning book about a network of prominent New Yorkers including judges, businessmen and police officers who were a part of a “kidnapping club” in Antebellum New York that was involved in kidnapping African Americans and selling them into enslavement. The text is also about African Americans such as David Ruggles who fought back against the kidnappers while advancing civil rights for African Americans in the long struggle for freedom.
