The Gist of Freedom Preserving American History through Black Literature . . .

John Brown Historian, Jean Libby! Known as the “Emperor,” Shields Green played a role in John Brown’s Raid on Harper's Ferry. As a young man he escaped through the Underground Railroad network to Rochester, New York, where Frederick Douglass provided shelter and introduced him to radical abolitionists.  He accompanied Frederick Douglass to Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, where the great abolitionist spoke to John Brown for the last time. Brown was unsuccessful in convincing Douglass to join him in the raid; he did, however, recruit the young Green.

Filmmaker, Marco Williams will join the Gist of Freedom and talk candidly with guest host Dr. Walter Greason about his groundbreaking film Banished!   BANISHED tells the story of three counties that violently expelled African American families from their towns a century ago-- and the descendants that return to learn a shocking history.   Screening Scheduled for Malcolm X & Dr. Betty Shabazz Center This Summer!   The Gist of Freedom and Marco Williams topic of discussion: Byrd Case, Arizona Immigration, (Undocumented) Latest project, Banished and Two Towns of Jasper.

 Greater D.C. Black Memorabilia, Art & Doll Show (Gaithersburg, Maryland) The educational exhibits will include slavery artifacts, Marcus Garvey, Black Panther Party, Tuskegee Airmen, Malcolm X, George Washington Carver, Dorothy Dandridge, Madame C. J. Walker  Jim Crow era, the Buffalo Soldiers, Negro League Baseball, r and others. There will be autograph sessions with Negro League Baseball Players and other celebrities. There will be onsite verbal black memorabilia appraisals for a fee of $5 per item. The show is indoors and will be held rain or shine. Vendor space still available. (301)649-1915 or view the website www.johnsonshows.com.    The 29th annual National Black Memorabilia, Art & Doll Show will be April 20-21, 2013 at the Montgomery County Fairgrounds, 16 Chestnut Street, in Gaithersburg, Maryland. This is located in the Greater Washington, DC area. Show hours are Saturday, 10 am - 7 pm, and Sunday, 10 am - 5 pm. Admission is $7. 

Join us Sunday night on The Gist of Freedom with host PrestonWashington as we welcome,  Mina Cockroft the General Manager of The Historical Eden Cemetery. Eden is the oldest public African-American burial ground in the United States! Underground Railroad agent, Henrietta Bowers Duterte, Philadelphia's first female undertaker who hid freedom seekers in coffins and funeral processions to safely transport them without any detection from the bounty hunters.Located on the former Bartram Farm  in Collingdale,PA the 108-year-old “Eden Memorial Park” — the inscription over the Gothic-style gray stone gates indicates — is the oldest public African-American burial ground in the United States. Among its famous residents are abolitionist William Still, father of the Underground Railroad, and contralto Marian Anderson, . Marian Anderson - Renowned Opera Singer Chris J. Perry - Founder of the Philadelphia Tribune William and Letitia Still - Author of "The Underground Railroad" Dr. Caroline Still-Anderson - Philadelphia's first Black female  physician. Daughter of William and Letitia StilDr. Rebecca Cole - Another female physician John Taylor - First African American to win an Olympic Gold MedalMs. Caroline Lecount- Principal of O. V. Catto School Francis Harper - Noted AuthorMrs. Henrietta S. Bowers-Duterte - First female Undertaker in the country & Undergroun

The Gist of freedom presents an interview with Yusef Salaam, one of the five teens falsely accused of raping the Central Park Jogger! Yusef with speak candidly about surviving this miscarriage of justice with attorney activist Michael Coard! Attorney Coard  and Yusef will discuss  the documentary, Yusef's exoneration, his lawsuit and the young teens accused in the murder of a 13 month old baby."Mother's actions after fatal shooting of baby questioned"--------------The daughter of a Georgia woman whose 13-month-old son was shot in his stroller Thursday says she is upset about her mother's behavior after the tragedy.Daughter says her mother called the night of the shooting and asked how soon she might expect a check from a life insurance policy. She said her mother changed her story: "She told me that the baby was shot first, and then she told me that she was shot first."-----------------------The documentary “The Central Park Five” revisits two New York nightmares. The first and most famous was the rape and beating of a 28-year-old white woman who, very early on April 20, 1989. The directors argue that the convictions, and the years the defendants served for the crime they were later absolved of, were racially motivated.Salaam:  "Corey said something to the audience at a recent screening.  He said “God is good.”  It’s the recognition that you can put one foot in front of the other, …..but now you have more than her being victimized. 

Join The Gist of Freedom host Preston Washington with guest Professor Linda Mizell. We'll listen to and discuss the last chapter of Benjamin Quarles' book the Black Abolitionists. The following the topics will also be discussed: Black Militant abolitionists, John Brown and Black Institutions (The Rosenwald Schools and Secret Schools, PIT schools).    

---------------- Join us tonight on The Gist of Freedom as we discuss the uncermonious closures of historical black schools. with host Shellie Gaines and guests Nathaniel Hampton class of 45' and Dr. Arthur Symes 48'   Academy Award-nåominated actress Ruby Dee narrates the film, which tells the history of Bordentown Old Irondises, the only state-supported, elite co-ed, all-black boarding school north of the Mason-Dixon Line, which operated from 1886 to 1955. Over its 70- year history, the school was a "unique educational utopia" and an incubator for black intellect that taught values and life skills for black children, according to the film.   The school, The Tuskegee of The North, bloodlines go back to Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. DuBois.    The school was forced to close due to the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision. It has since been converted to a juvenile detention center. We'll discuss this conspiracy to transforms our Historical Black educational Institutes into a state of obscurity    Bordentown School, also known as Old Ironsides, a prestigious historical Black school founded by a former enslaved minister, Reverend Walter Rice was forced to close as a result of the Brown v. Board of Education decision. The State of New Jersey converted it into a Juvenile Detention Center which is it's status today. A small percentage of the 400 acre campus is being used to house the detainees while the majority of the campus is left to rot.    

Join The Gist of Freedom as we broadcast Live From Long Island University at The 150th Emancipation Proclamation Celebration with historian Harold Holzer! Watch The Video In 1861, Congress passed an act stating that all enslaved people employed against the Union were to be considered free. In 1862, Congress passed The Second Confiscation Act. This law stated that property used by the Confederates to further their rebellion could be seized by the U.S. government. African Americans who had been once considered by the Confederates as their property, were therefore now considered by abolitionists as "contraband of war". And as such this war law, The Confiscation Act could be used to legally take the enslaved from Slavers. In an effort to placate the slave-holding Border States, Lincoln resisted the demands of the abolitionists, Black and White, for complete abolition.  In addition to the Confiscation Act, President Lincoln signed a bill, passed by Congress, which prohibited the army and navy from returning fugitive slaves to slave holder claimants. Any officer violating the law would be discharged from service, and would be forever ineligible to any appointment in the military or naval service of the United States.  This ended the shameful practice by northern generals of returning Africans to slavery for a fugitive slave reward, and it also stimulated the flight

Maya Angelou on Quilts & Slavery- Lesley Gist, the producer of The Gist of Freedom was blessed with the opportunity to call in on the Rolanda Watts Blog Talk Radio Show and talk with Maya Angelou. Maya explained why she decided to donate her work to the Schomburg Library. 

David Head, Granville T. Woods Historian joins The Gist of Freedom with host Preston Washington!   David will discuss the book Black Abolitionists and Emigrationists. Granville T. Woods Woods' most important invention was the multiplex telegraph, also known as the "induction telegraph," or block system, in 1887?. The device allowed men to communicate by voice over telegraph wires, ultimately helping to speed up important communications and, subsequently, preventing crucial errors such as train accidents. Woods defeated Thomas Edison's lawsuit that challenged his patent, and turned down Edison's offer to make him a partner. Thereafter, Woods was often known as "Black Edison." After receiving the patent for the multiplex telegraph, Woods reorganized his Cincinnati company as the Woods Electric Co. In 1890, he moved his own research operations to New York City, where he was joined by a brother, Lyates Woods, who also had several inventions of his own.

On iTunes The Gist of Freedom.. Happy Harriet Tubman Day!  Click & Listen to Black History weekly! Tonight at 6pm ET join host Preston Washington? as we present a live performance, Harriet Returns! World renowned actress Karen Karen Jones Meadows? will discuss and perform an excerpt from her award winning play, Harriet Returns!   Today is Harriet Tubman Day! 1820 – March 10, 1913 Remembering & Honoring an American Shero "Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world." --Harriet Tubman Harriet's Return...reaches inside its heroine's thoughts all the way to her soul...The playwright supplies Harriet with "voices" who embody, among other flesh-and-blood characters, the voices inside Harriet's head that guide her to her choices...The play imitates its heroine's pragmatism in a particularly moving way. Laurie Winer, Los Angeles Times ---------------------

Sunday, March 10th is ~ Harriet Tubman Day!    The Inaugural Delaware Harriet Tubman Commemorative 2 mile walk, ride, run & race event recognizing the 100th anniversary of Harriet Tubman's death  Sunday, March 10th Penny Marshall, chairperson,Harriet Tubman Journey, www.HARRIETTUBMANJOURNEY.ORG ------------ Listen to "Maya Angelou on Quilts  Slavery"  Delaware Gov. Markell proclaims March 10th as Harriet Tubman Day! In honor of this proclamation, the unveiling of the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway. “Ten for the Tenth” activities, 

Join The Gist of Freedom as we welcome William Jackson, M.Ed. Engineering, STEAM Instructor. Mr. Jackson encourages parents, educators and communities stakeholders to create an atomosphere to embrace young Blerds, Black Nerds. Because there is a growing number of prominent and successful people considered blerds such as President Obama,TV viewers are starting to see more and more blerd-type characters, such as Doc McStuffin in their television shows. little Zora Bell a 1st grader took technology into her own hands, becoming the youngest person to create a full-version mobile game application. Ball, who attends Harambee Institute of Science and Technology Charter School, located in West Philadelphia, presented her creation at University of Pennsylvania’s “Bootstrap Expo,” TheGrio reported. http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/31/showbiz/rise-of-black-nerds/index.html

  Herbert Seignoret, Associate Director of the Institute for the Exploration of Seneca Village History, will speak about Seneca Village, an African-American community in the 1800s located in Central Park.  Described as the "largest and wealthiest community of coloured people in this city, perhaps in this country." Within a few years the community developed into a stable settlement of over 250 working class people with African Americans owning more than half the households in the village. Two African Methodist churches were constructed in the village.  Join the Gist of Freedom as we resume our Book Dissucssion Black Abolitionists by Benjamin Quarles chapter 10  

Governor Markell proclaims March 10th as Harriet Tubman Day in Delaware. In honor of this proclamation, the Delaware Department of Transportation will be unveiling the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway Corridor Management Plan and presenting “Ten for the Tenth” activities, beginning with this date and culminating with the centennial of Harriet Tubman’s death. ------------ This Scenic Byway features true stories and real sites associated with Harriet Tubman The Inaugural Delaware Harriet Tubman Commemorative 2 mile walk, ride, run and race event  Ten Days of Harriet Tubman Activities   Dr. Larson answered the question about the Quilts, Myth or Fact? Click here to listen to Maya Angelou's Answer Harriet Tubman  Statue Location: Saint Nicholas Avenue, West 122nd Street and Frederick Douglass Blvd Harlem U.S.A. The  Harriet Tubman sculpture, designed by Alison Saar.&n