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'The Reckoning, Episode 1: Invisible History'

Creative PR Entertainment & Media

In a four-hour series for public radio, "The Reckoning" traces the history and lasting impact of slavery in America by looking at how the institution unfolded in Kentucky.  This history is the genesis of many of the issues that have exploded into public consciousness throughout the country in 2020.

The state remained in the Union during the Civil War, but many white Kentuckians fought to hang onto slavery and the wealth the enslaved provided.  In the years that followed, former Unionists and Confederates banded together to violently deny black citizens a seat at the table. As part of this story, we will meet members of two families, one white and one black, whose lives were intertwined through slavery. These families reflect how slavery touched nearly every person, place and institution in America, and how the country still needs to reconcile this painful past with the impact slavery has had on the present-day health, wealth and safety of African Americans.  

Episode 1: Invisible history

The history of slavery is often taught as a bitter chapter of America’s 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 families to learn anything about their enslaved ancestors. We’ll meet one Black family just beginning to learn about their family’s connections to a plantation in Louisville. Join us for this hour-long special on Sunday, November 1 at 7 p.m. The following episodes in the series will air each Sunday until November 22.