Episode 1: The Lucky Ones

By the 1960s, the Alabama Industrial School for Negro Children was an early prototype of the for-profit prison. But it wasn’t designed that way. In this episode, we go back to the early 20th century when a Black woman and student of Booker T. Washington named Cornelia Bowen found ...  Show more

Survivors of Mt. Meigs share how they ended up in the juvenile justice system and what happened once they went down the long road to the reformatory. Lonnie and Johnny meet the foreboding superintendent EB Holloway, while Mary and Jennie must deal with the girls’ matron, Fannie B ...  Show more

On this episode of Our American Stories, Rona Simmons, author of The Other Veterans Of World War II, Stories from Behind the Front Lines, tells the story of Bill Scott, an African American combat engineer and photographer from Alabama who became one of the "black angels" for pris ...  Show more

As they depart for their respective tours, LF & DK kick off a three-part series on liberation movements born and bred in Birmingham, Alabama, this time discussing the alliance between the Alabama Communist Party and poor Black folks during the Great Depression era. Learn more abo ...  Show more

Growing up in the 1950s in Montgomery, AL., Rev. Farrell Duncombe or "Little Farrell," as he was known by his family and friends, had a mischievous side. In this short episode, he remembers the day he got called out by the mother of civil rights.See pcm.adswizz.com for informatio ...  Show more

On this episode of Our American Stories, Denisha Allen was born to a teenage mother into poverty in Jacksonville, Florida. Here's her story on how she overcame and succeeded. Support the show ( https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate)Support the show: https://www.ouramericanstor ...  Show more