#BlackHistory Episodes

The Philadelphia actor Brian Wilson talks with us about his life and career.

Johnnie Hobbs and Patricia Scott Hobbs talk about their experiences at the North Philadelphia institution which both served and shaped the city's African American community.

This Encore episode of the podcast - first released as Episode 35 in our Season One - goes on a journey to the Paul Robeson House and Museum in Philadelphia.

A reissue of our conversation with scholar Jonathan Shandell and director Jerrell Henderson, about a little-known chapter of Philadelphia's theater history.

1906: A coalition of African American men attempt to stop Thomas Dixon Jr.'s play "The Clansman" from being performed in Philadelphia.

The root causes of Thomas Dixon's political obsessions - and about his need to express himself in the world of the theater. Also: the two Philadelphia theatrical producers who were members of The Theatrical Syndicate.

We begin the harrowing and alarming story of "The Clansman" in Philadelphia. Although known as the progenitor to the 1915 D.W. Griffith film "Birth of the Nation," few are aware of its early controversial history.

This special episode of the podcast goes on a journey to the Paul Robeson House and Museum. We learn about Robeson's many connections to Philadelphia.

The history of the Philadelphia "Negro Unit" of the Federal Theatre Project in the 1930s - specifically the history of three plays produced by the FTP at the Walnut Street Theatre.

John A. Arneaux plays "Richard III" at the Academy of Music, then mysteriously exits the American stage. His co-star, the actor Henri Strange, remains - and strives to create a Shakespeare theater for Philadelphia's Black audiences.

John A. Arneaux starred in a one-night all-Black production of Shakespeare's "Richard III' at the Academy of Music in January 1887. Who was he, where had he come from, and why had he chosen Philadelphia for this audacious feat?