Urban Roots

BONUS: Architects Who Opened Doors w/ Michael Burson and David Kirk Mar 24, 2025

In this episode of the Urban Roots podcast, host Deqah Hussein-Wetzel sits down with two accomplished Cincinnati-based Black architects—David Kirk, President and CEO of DNK Architects, and Michael Burson, a longtime (now retired) architect who has worked extensively with Cincinnati Public Schools, and now serves as an owners representative for local architectural projects ---including the Robert O’Neal Multicultural Arts Center’s (ROMAC) rehabilitation of the Regal Theatre in Cincinnati’s West End neighborhood.

Guests David and Michael expand on how and why they fell in love with the profession and what the road to licensing looked like for both of them. In a field where only 2.8% of licensed architects are African American, Michael and David are the definition of architects who opened doors.

Being that Deqah worked closely with David and Michael to preserve the Regal Theatre and help Toilynn O’Neal Turner’s vision of the ROMAC take shape, this episode also celebrates our shared success in securing BOTH Federal & State Historic Tax Credits, which supports monetary funding for the project! If you don’t remember what the Regal Theatre is all about, you can go back to Juneteenth Cincinnati Short to learn more about the building's rich African American history.

PS: On Saturday, March 29th, Deqah is moderating a 9 AM panel discussion with panelists Michael, David, and Toilynn at the 2025 Invest in Neighborhoods Summittitled, Rehabbing the Regal: Community-Driven Approaches to Black Cultural Preservation and Neighborhood Redevelopment

And a huge thanks to our episode sponsor, Hub+Weber, for helping us continue to promote equity in the built environment. Hub+Weber is a Cincinnati-based architecture firm founded in 1973 that does more than renderings and construction documents — they are creative problem solvers who understand that each project is more than just a building to their clients. Founded in 1973, this architecture firm has has a long legacy in Cincinnati’s built environment.

Urbanist Media thanks Hub+Weber for their continued support and for sharing our values in promoting equity within the built environment.

Thank you to guests David Kirk and Michael Burson, and sponsors, Hub+Weber, who helped make this episode possible. This podcast is brought to you by Urbanist Media and is hosted by Deqah Hussein-Wetzel. Editing by Deqah, Connor Lynch, and Skyler Ficklin. Mixing by Connor Lynch. Our music is by Adaam James Levin-Areddy.

Urban Roots is brought to you by Urbanist Media, a non-profit that preserves place through story. You can make a tax-deductible donation to us via Venmo or Paypal.

Follow us on IG at urbanrootsculture. Drop us an email urbanrootspodcast@gmail.com

BONUS: Building Little Saigon w/ Erica Allen-Kim Dec 30, 2024

In this bonus episode, Deqah and Vanessa have a much-needed conversation with Erica Allen-Kim about her new—must-read—book, Building Little Saigon: Refugee Urbanism in American Cities and Suburbs, about Vietnamese American-built landscapes and cultural heritage. In this interview, Deqah and Vanessa dive deeper into themes from her book to explore the role that Vietnamese Americans played in physically and socially shaping their ethnic neighborhoods in American (and Canadian) cities and suburbs. They discuss how refugee and immigrant communities adapted urban spaces to meet their needs, the importance of Asian American preservation efforts, community advocacy, and legacy preservation, and the challenges these communities face today to remain extant.

Erica Allen-Kim is an Associate Professor in the University of Toronto’s Department of Architecture, Landscape, and Design. Her newest book, Building Little Saigon: Refugee Urbanism in American Cities and Suburbs, is out now and available for purchase!

Credits:

Your hosts are Deqah Hussein-Wetzel and Vanessa Quirk. This episode was edited by Deqah, Vanessa, and Skyler Ficklin. Mixing by Connor Lynch. Our music is by Adaam James Levin-Areddy.

Urban Roots is a project by Urbanist Media, a non-profit dedicated to preserving place through story.

Even though we do need money to keep going, we try not to spam you with ads. Instead, we add the occasional giving plug, encouraging our listeners to support us by giving. Anything helps, even $10 or $20. Please consider sending us a donation via ⁠Venmo⁠ or ⁠Paypal⁠.

*Want to give big? Consider sponsoring a bonus episode. Email us at: urbanrootspodcast@gmail.com

Follow us on IG at ⁠urbanrootsculture⁠ and on YouTube (⁠Urban Roots podcast⁠). Have a thought or question – drop us an e-mail

BONUS: Making Noise With No Money: The Decay Devils Oct 26, 2024

Deqah and Vanessa chat with Lori Gonzalez and Tyrell Anderson from the ⁠Decay Devils⁠, an organization that started as a group of friends in Gary, Indiana who loved playing in abandoned buildings. They then started making some noise—posting on Instagram, starting a nonprofit, organizing community events—and gaining notice from the public and “big money” people. In this episode they dish on the trials and tribulations, ups and downs, they've faced trying to preserve Gary’s Union Station. For anyone working in nonprofits, partially in the areas of preservation and community-engagement, this episode is a MUST-listen!

Credits:

Your hosts are Deqah Hussein-Wetzel and Vanessa Quirk. This episode was edited by Skyler Ficklin, Deqah, and Vanessa and mixed by Connor Lynch. Our music is by Adaam James Levin-Areddy. Thanks again to Lori Gonzalez and Tyrell Anderson.

Urban Roots is a product of Urbanist Media, a non-profit dedicated to community preservation. You can make a tax-deductible donation to us via Venmo or Paypal.

Follow us on IG at urbanrootsculture. Drop us an email urbanrootspodcast@gmail.com

Carolyn Cortner Smith Jul 03, 2024

Throughout its history, Decatur, Alabama has produced a number of unapologetically bold, creative, and “difficult” women who weren’t afraid to break the mold. In this episode, we’ll tell you the story of one of them: Carolyn Cortner Smith, believed to be the first licensed female architect in the state of Alabama.

Carolyn was born at a time when Southern women were expected to be gentile, acquiescent, amenable. Carolyn…wasn’t. As a young girl growing up in 1900s Decatur, Carolyn would assemble lean-tos in the backyard; she was mesmerized by the idea of building. In 1913, she was rejected from three architecture schools, in all likelihood because she was a woman. Nevertheless, Carolyn persevered — believing she would become the architect she knew she meant to be. By the time she was 40, in 1934, she owned and ran a lumbermill company, had designed/built multiple houses in her signature stone style, and was tapped by the City of Decatur to oversee some significant projects: the restoration of the Old State Bank, one of Decatur’s most treasured buildings, and the rehabilitation of City Park (now Delano Park) into a family-friendly area for recreation. Today, Delano Park’s structures have been beloved by generations of Decaturites, and yet too few people know of Carolyn’s struggles, accomplishments, and gifts to her hometown.

Guests in this episode:

Barbara Kelly (Delano Park Conservancy)
Norman Kent Johnson

The oral histories of Carolyn Cortner Smith you heard throughout this episode were courtesy of the Alabama Historical Commission. You can access these recordings via the Shelby County Museum & Archives website.

Thanks to Caroline Swope and the City of Decatur who made this episode possible. This material was produced with assistance from the Historic Preservation Fund, administered by the National Park Service, Department of the Interior. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Department of the Interior.

Barbara Kelly is part of the non-profit Delano Park Conservancy; you can learn more about them, and their mission to preserve Delano Park, at their website.

Credits

Urban Roots is a podcast from Urbanist Media. Your hosts are Vanessa Quirk and Deqah Hussein-Wetzel. This episode was written and executive produced by Vanessa Quirk, with support from Deqah Hussein Wetzel. It was edited and mixed by Andrew Callaway. Music by Adaam James Levin-Areddy. Editorial support from Andrew Callaway.

First Missionary Baptist Church Jun 19, 2024

The city of Decatur, Alabama is home to many historic Black churches, including one with a particularly rich history: First Missionary Baptist Church, in Old Town, the city’s predominantly Black neighborhood. Designed by one of the first African American architects, Wallace Rayfield, the church has — from its post-Civil War beginnings — been a cornerstone of Decatur’s African American community. During the segregation era, it was particularly vibrant, hosting hundreds of congregants, including many teachers, and taking an active stance in the Civil Rights movement.

However, de-segregation, and the decades of disinvestment that followed, have taken their toll on Decatur’s Black neighborhood of Old Town — and First Mission Baptist is no exception. Today, this historic property is struggling to stay afloat. But its congregation, and dedicated leader, Pastor Daylan Woodall, see that the church matters today more than ever — and are determined to make sure this important piece of Decatur history has a future. This episode not only features the voices of Pastor Woodall and his congregants but also Ms. Frances Tate — of Celebrating Early Old Town with Art and the imminent Scottsboro Boys Museum — and relies on the historical research of Peggy Towns.

Guests in this episode:

Frances Tate
Pastor Daylan Woodall
Stephanie Gray
Mary Lou Kelly
Brenda Smith
Nella Fletcher
Lester Fletcher

Thanks to Caroline Swope and the City of Decatur who made this episode possible. This material was produced with assistance from the Historic Preservation Fund, administered by the National Park Service, Department of the Interior. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Department of the Interior.

Also thanks to Peggy Towns, whose tour around Old Town and book, Scottboro Unmasked, gave us crucial context for this episode.

The non-profit Miss Frances Tate is a part of is called Celebrating Early Old Town with Art (CEOTA). The CEOTA board is currently developing the Decatur Scottsboro Boys Civil Rights Museum. If you’d like to learn more or get involved, visit www.sbcmuseum.org

Credits
Urban Roots is a podcast from Urbanist Media. Your hosts are Vanessa Quirk and Deqah Hussein-Wetzel. This episode was written and executive produced by Vanessa Quirk, with support from Deqah Hussein Wetzel. It was edited and mixed by Andrew Callaway. Music by Adaam James Levin-Areddy. Editorial support from Francis Ramirez O-Shea of Alta Gracia Media and recording help from Alexander Richey.

Ohio River to Freedom: New Richmond Jun 18, 2024

Today New Richmond is a charming town along the Ohio River with a relatively tiny Black population. But for a moment in time in the 19th century, it was not only a hotspot of abolitionist activity, it was also home to a vibrant Black community. How did that happen? And why are there so few Black families left today?

In this episode, part two of the Ohio River to Freedom series, the Urban Roots podcast team will explain this history. Along the way, they’ll take you on a tour of New Richmond’s abolitionist homes, schools, and churches — and introduce you to the people who are fighting to keep the town's Black history alive.

Guests in this episode:

Greg Roberts, resident and Vice President of Historic New Richmond
Mary Allen, resident and longtime member of Historic New Richmond and the Vice President of the Clermont County Genealogical Society.
James Settles, resident and great-grandson of Joseph Settles
Dr. David Childs, Ph.D., Northern Kentucky University

Thanks to Michael and Carrie Klein, who recorded the spirituals you heard throughout this episode as part of their 1996 Talking Across the Lines project. In this episode you hear "Oh Freedom Over Me" sung by Ethel Caffie-Austin and “Wade in the Water" by Emma Perry Freeman.

This series was made possible due to funding from the Ohio Arts Council, Cincinnati Public Radio, and the private donations of the Mohamed family and Hub+Weber.

Credits
Urban Roots is a podcast from ⁠Urbanist Media⁠. Your hosts are ⁠Vanessa Quirk⁠ and ⁠Deqah Hussein-Wetzel⁠. This episode was written and executive- produced by Vanessa Quirk, with support from Deqah Hussein-Wetzel and Francis Ramirez O-Shea of ⁠Alta Gracia Media⁠. It was edited by Connor Lynch and mixed by Andrew Callaway. Theme music by Adaam James Levin-Areddy and additional music from Artlist.

Ohio River to Freedom: Ripley Jun 17, 2024

Black Underground Railroad agents lived perilous lives. Because they could be killed or jailed for their work, they hid any and all evidence of their activities. So, today, historical records of their efforts are rare. Luckily, however, historians in the town of Ripley, Ohio have not only uncovered the stories of their local Black Underground Railroad workers — they’re actively preserving them for posterity.

In this episode, part one of the Ohio River to Freedom series, the Urban Roots podcast team will take you to Ripley, a town along the Ohio River that was once home to more abolitionists than any other small town in the U. S. They'll introduce you to some Ripley historians and share the stories of two Black Underground Railroad agents you likely never heard about in history class: Polly Jackson and John Parker.

Guests in this episode:

Dr. David Childs, Ph.D., Northern Kentucky University
Betty Campbell, The Rankin House
Dewey Scott, The John P. Parker House

Thanks to Michael and Carrie Klein, who recorded the oral histories and spirituals you heard throughout this episode as part of their 1996 Talking Across the Lines project, featuring people in Ohio and West Virginia who are descendants of enslaved people and underground railroad conductors, along with historians telling stories near and dear to them. In this episode you hear the testimonials of Ethel Caffie-Austin and Loran Williams and the spirituals "Oh Freedom Over Me" and “Freedom Train” sung by Ethel Caffie-Austin.

This series was made possible due to funding from the Ohio Arts Council, Cincinnati Public Radio, and the private donations of the Mohamed family and Hub+Weber.

Credits

Urban Roots is a podcast from Urbanist Media. Your hosts are Vanessa Quirk and Deqah Hussein-Wetzel. This episode was written and executive produced by Vanessa Quirk, with support from Deqah Hussein-Wetzel and Francis Ramirez O-Shea of Alta Gracia Media. It was edited by Connor Lynch and mixed by Andrew Callaway. Theme music by Adaam James Levin-Areddy and additional music from Artlist.

BONUS: Preservation for the People w/ Dr. Kwesi Daniels May 28, 2024

HAPPY PRESERVATION MONTH! To celebrate, we wanted to share with you a new podcast that we think you’ll love: Preservation for the People brought to you by The Black Art Conservators (BAC) and produced by Urbanist Media! In their first episode, Kayla Henry-Griffin and Nylah Byrd talk to Dr. Kwesi Daniels (Head of the Architecture Department at Tuskegee University) about conservation and preservation, the difference between the two, and what the future of the field might look like. When BAC reached out to us at Urbanist Media, asking if we could help produce their new podcast concept called Preservation for the People, we said yes, of course, because the project is SO mission-aligned. Huge thanks to our friend Rita Cofield of the Los Angeles African American Historic Places initiative with the Getty for introducing us to BAC! Preservation for the People is a new podcast from BAC, a collective of Black preservation professionals supporting each other, building community, and seeking change in the predominately white field of cultural heritage preservation. In Preservation for the People, hosts Kayla and Nylah, talk to other Black people in the preservation field about successes, struggles, and hopes for the future.

BONUS: Justin Garrett Moore on Humanities in Place Apr 09, 2024

EXCITING NEWS…Season 3 is coming soon! If you’re not subscribed to our podcast or our newsletter, please do so now! You can also follow us on LinkedIn and Instagram. That way, you’ll know immediately when a new episode drops.

Today we have a high-energy conversation with Justin Garrett Moore, program director for the Mellon Foundation’s Humanities in Place program and a renaissance man of urbanism. We talk with Moore about his childhood in Indianapolis, IN, his formative professional moments (at a high school internship and at the University of Florida), and the particular challenges he sees facing preservation today (including its fragmentation, over-emphasis on credentials, and the under-valuing of narrative). Plus, we dive deep into the Humanities in Place program, which funds nonprofits doing cultural preservation, urban development, placekeeping, and storytelling.

We talked to Justin about:

His youth and the internship that changed his life [4:23-11:23]
Going South and getting an education — in more ways than one [11:24-17:10]
The challenges facing preservation and the power of narrative [17:11-43:48]
Spotlighting organizations funded by Humanities in Place [43:49-51:21]
Humanities in Place: What it does and doesn’t do [51:22-1:15:08]
What’s close to his heart: Flanner House and Urban Patch [1:15:09-1:20:13]

Mentioned In this Episode:

Scalawag Magazine - A magazine focused on the South
Ekvn-Yefolecv - an intentional ecovillage community of Indigenous Maskoke persons who bought land in Alabama to build a place where they could preserve their culture through language.
New York LGBT Sites - broadening people’s knowledge of LGBT history beyond Stonewall and placing that history in its geographical context
The American Indian Community House - a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization serving the needs of Native Americans residing in New York City.
Flanner House - An African-American community service center in Indianapolis
Urban Patch - An Indianapolis-based organization focused on inner cities.

Credits:

Your hosts are Deqah Hussein-Wetzel and Vanessa Quirk. This episode was edited by Deqah and Vanessa and mixed by Connor Lynch. Our music is by Adaam James Levin-Areddy. Thanks again to Justin Garrett Moore and Zuri Phelps.

Urban Roots is a product of Urbanist Media, a non-profit dedicated to community preservation. You can make a tax-deductible donation to us via Venmo or Paypal.

Follow us on IG at urbanrootsculture. Drop us an email urbanrootspodcast@gmail.com

BONUS: Moving at the Speed of Trust (w/ Zahra Ebrahim) Dec 12, 2023

Housekeeping first! Please give to our GoFundMe Campaign – we need your help to earn $5,000 by December 31: https://www.gofundme.com/f/urbanistmedia

We’re also up for an Anthem Community Voice Award! Vote for us (Sign in and click “Celebrate”) by December 21!

Now our amazing guest: Zahra Ebrahim, the co-founder of Monumental, a social purpose business working to advance equitable city-building and urban development. Earlier this year she also helped start FutureBuilds, a BIPOC Real Estate Development Incubator. She’s currently an Urbanist-in-Residence at the University of Toronto’s School of Cities, a Next City Vanguard Civic Leader, and one of the Urban Land Institute’s WLI Champions.

Mentioned In this Episode:

A refresher on who we are [0:00-2:16]
Please donate to our GoFundMe! [2:17-5:51]
Please vote for us for the Anthem Awards! [5:52-7:10]
Introducing Zahra Ebrahim [7:11-8:26]
Zahra’s background and journey into this work [8:27-25:17]
Community engagement and moving at the speed of trust [25:18-31:34]
Deep and human, not broad and cold [31:35-44:35]
Do your homework and listen [44:36-53:39]
What do we preserve and why? [53:40-1:03:20]
Why diversifying real estate matters [1:03:21-1:10:29]
Credits [1:10:30-1:11:50]

Credits:

Thank you to Zahra Ebrahim and Elaine Gant. This episode was edited and mixed by Connor Lynch. Our music is by Adaam James Levin-Areddy. Your hosts are Deqah Hussein-Wetzel and Vanessa Quirk.

Urban Roots is a product of Urbanist Media, a non-profit dedicated to community preservation. You can make a tax-deductible donation to us via GoFundMe https://www.gofundme.com/f/urbanistmedia

Follow us on IG at urbanrootsculture. Or drop us an email urbanrootspodcast@gmail.com

BONUS: Rukaiyah Adams on Reimagining Community Wealth Sep 14, 2023

Today, pod squad, you’re in for a treat: Rukaiyah Adams is one of our favorite, most inspiring people on the planet. Rukaiyah had a long, successful career in investment banking before she moved back home to Portland, Oregon and joined the board of the Albina Vision Trust, an organization dedicated to restoring the historic Black neighborhood of Albina, where Rukaiyah grew up. Today, she’s the Chief Executive Officer of the 1803 Fund, and she’s raising hundreds of millions of dollars that she will invest not only in Albina but in community-based organizations in education, place, and culture and belonging across Portland, Oregon.

Credits:

Urban Roots is a product of Urbanist Media, a non-profit dedicated to community preservation. You can make a tax-deductible donation to us via Venmo or Paypal.

Follow us on IG at urbanrootsculture.

Drop us an email urbanrootspodcast@gmail.com

Thank you to Rukaiyah Adams. This episode was edited and mixed by Connor Lynch. Our music is by Adaam James Levin-Areddy. Your hosts are Deqah Hussein-Wetzel and Vanessa Quirk.

Juneteenth Cincinnati Shorts: Marian Spencer Jun 30, 2023

To celebrate Juneteenth, Urbanist Media's Urban Roots podcast has partnered with Cincinnati Public Radio (WVXU)⁠ to bring you Juneteenth Cincinnati Shorts: weekly, 90-second tributes to people and places important to Cincinnati’s African American history.

Today, for our last short, we feature Marian Spencer, the civil rights activist and Cincinnati pioneer who got her start in 1952. Back then, Ms. Marian Spencer was a mother of two kids who were begging her to let them go to Coney Island.

Ms. Spencer had a hunch they wouldn’t be welcome. She called and the girl on the line said: “I’m sorry, We don’t admit Negroes.” adding “But I don’t make the rules.” Ms. Spencer replied: “I know honey, but I’m going to find out who does.” Ms. Spencer did — and she changed the rules.

Tune in to 91.7 WVXU on Thursdays at 5:49 and 7:50 a.m. during Morning Edition and again at 4:50 p.m. during All Things Considered. Additionally, episodes will air on sister station 90.9 WGUC each Thursday at 9:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m.

If you missed the broadcasts, don’t worry – you can find each short on the Urban Roots podcast feed, our Instagram, and YouTube pages.

Credits

Juneteenth Cincinnati Shorts is brought to you by Vanessa Quirk, Deqah Hussein-Wetzel, and Connor Lynch. Special thanks to Jenell Walton and all the folks at Cincinnati Public Radio for the opportunity.

Juneteenth Cincinnati Shorts: Union Baptist Cemetery Jun 22, 2023

To celebrate Juneteenth, Urbanist Media's Urban Roots podcast has partnered with Cincinnati Public Radio (WVXU)⁠ to bring you Juneteenth Cincinnati Shorts: weekly, 90-second tributes to people and places important to Cincinnati’s African American history.

Today, we’re highlighting Union Baptist Cemetery, one of Cincinnati’s oldest African American cemeteries. It’s the final resting place of many of Cincinnati’s important Black residents, including the woman who integrated Cincinnati’s street cars, Sarah Fossett (along with her husband and his entire family), Jennie Porter, the first Black woman to become a principal in Cincinnati, and baseball legend Newt Allen Jr., one of the best second baseman the game has ever seen.

Find each short on the Urban Roots podcast feed or tune in to 91.7 WVXU on Thursdays at 5:49 and 7:50 a.m. during Morning Edition and again at 4:50 p.m. during All Things Considered. Additionally, episodes will air on sister station 90.9 WGUC each Thursday at 9:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m.

Credits

Juneteenth Cincinnati Shorts is brought to you by Vanessa Quirk, Deqah Hussein-Wetzel, and Connor Lynch. Special thanks to Union Baptist Historian Chris Hanlin.

Sources

Union Baptist Cemetery website

Underground Railroad Freedom Center, Lesson Plan – Union Baptist Cemetery and Cincinnati’s African American History (Grades 6-12)

Juneteenth Cincinnati Shorts: Sarah Fossett Jun 15, 2023

To celebrate Juneteenth, Urbanist Media's Urban Roots podcast has partnered with Cincinnati Public Radio (WVXU)⁠ to bring you Juneteenth Cincinnati Shorts: weekly, 90-second tributes to people and places important to Cincinnati’s African American history.

Today, we’re highlighting Sarah Fossett, the hair stylist and Underground Railroad conductor who — with two acts of defiance in 1862 — spurred the integration of Cincinnati’s street cars. While we couldn’t quite fit it into this short, Sarah would go on to help found the First Baptist Church of Cumminsville. If you want to learn more about Sarah’s remarkable life of service, check out our season one episode on South Cumminsville.

Find each short on the Urban Roots podcast feed or tune in to 91.7 WVXU on Thursdays at 5:49 and 7:50 a.m. during Morning Edition and again at 4:50 p.m. during All Things Considered. Additionally, episodes will air on sister station 90.9 WGUC each Thursday at 9:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m.

And tune in on the Juneteenth Holiday -- Monday, June 19 at noon and 8 p.m. -- when WVXU will present a one-hour special featuring some episodes (including the South Cummunsvill episode where we talk about Sarah) from Season 1 of the Urban Roots podcast!

Credits

Juneteenth Cincinnati Shorts is brought to you by Vanessa Quirk, Deqah Hussein-Wetzel, and Connor Lynch. Special thanks to Urbanist Media board member and Queens of Queens City’s Sean Andres for making this episode possible!

Sources

Wendell P. Dabney, Cincinnati’s Colored Citizens. Dabney Publishing Company, 1926.

Sean Andres, Queens of Queen City, “Sarah Maryant Walker Fossett”, 2022.

Juneteenth Cincinnati Shorts: Intersectionality at the Cotton Club Jun 08, 2023

To celebrate Juneteenth, Urbanist Media's Urban Roots podcast has partnered with Cincinnati Public Radio (WVXU)⁠ to bring you Juneteenth Cincinnati Shorts: weekly, 90-second tributes to people and places important to Cincinnati’s African American history.

Today, we’re highlighting the Cotton Club in the West End’s Hotel Sterling. It was not only a mecca of jazz music AND the one place in Cincinnati where Black and white folks could dance, together, until about seven in the morning, it was ALSO a home for black queer performers at a time when most bars and nightclubs denied LGBTQ+ folks.

Find each episode on the Urban Roots podcast feed or tune in to 91.7 WVXU on Thursdays at 5:49 and 7:50 a.m. during Morning Edition and again at 4:50 p.m. during All Things Considered. Additionally, episodes will air on sister station 90.9 WGUC each Thursday at 9:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m.

And tune in on the Juneteenth Holiday -- Monday, June 19 at noon and 8 p.m. -- when WVXU will present a one-hour special featuring some episodes from Season 1 of Urban Roots podcast!

Credits: Juneteenth Cincinnati Shorts is brought to you by Vanessa Quirk, Deqah Hussein-Wetzel, and Connor Lynch. Special thanks to Queer Cincinnati's Jake Hogue for his help making this episode possible!

Sources: Cincinnati’s West End by John W. Harshaw. Page 118. / “Josephine Baker, 3 Cats, Tons of Luggage Arrive.” Cincinnati Post. June 15, 1951.

Juneteenth Cincinnati Shorts: Regal Theatre Jun 01, 2023

This year, Urbanist Media's Urban Roots podcast partnered with Cincinnati Public Radio (WVXU)⁠ to celebrate Juneteenth!

Juneteenth Cincinnati Shorts are weekly, 90 second tributes to people and places important in our region’s African American history. This first one is all about the historic Regal Theatre, located in the West End.

Find each episode here, or, tune in to 91.7 WVXU on Thursdays at 5:49 and 7:50 a.m. during Morning Edition and again at 4:50 p.m. during All Things Considered. Additionally, episodes will air on sister station 90.9 WGUC each Thursday at 9:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m.

Next week's short will feature "Intersectionality at the Cotton Club", with special thanks to Queer Cincinnati's Jake Hogue.

Tune in on the Juneteenth Holiday -- Monday, June 19 -- where WVXU will present a one-hour special featuring some episodes from Season 1 of Urban Roots podcast in a special series titled "Juneteenth Cincinnati: Urban Roots", which will air at noon and 8 p.m. on Juneteenth!

Credits: Your host is Deqah Hussein-Wetzel. This short was produced by Deqah Hussein-Wetzel (host/producer) by Vanessa Quirk (editor/producer) and Connor Lynch (editor/mixer/producer). Theme music is by Adaam James Levin-Areddy.

TRAILER: The Lost City of Vanport May 26, 2023

Located between Vancouver, Washington and Portland, Oregon, Vanport was a temporary wartime housing project built in 1942 to support the workers of the Kaiser shipyards. Working class people of African, Japanese, European, and Indigenous descent came for its well-paying jobs and affordable housing.

Despite the fact that segregation was the norm in Oregon at the time, Vanport was a multicultural place where people felt a sense of acceptance and belonging. The city was built on a floodplain, but residents were assured the surrounding dykes would never break. However, in 1948, a wall of water totally and rapidly destroyed the community. Those who survived were left devastated and had to begin their lives from scratch. The ripples of Vanport’s destruction continue to be felt in Portland today.

For the past eight years, the nonprofit Vanport Mosaic has been collecting oral histories from Vanport survivors and descendants and putting on an annual festival to celebrate their memories. May 30 will be the 75th anniversary of the Vanport flood — and this Vanport Mosaic festival will not be one to miss.

We are collaborating with Vanport Mosaic to develop a podcast series about Vanport and the lessons it still teaches us today. The whole team is on planes to Oregon now, as we speak, and we would love to see you at the Festival, too. Admission is free! See you there? https://www.vanportmosaic.org/festival2023

Voices Heard in This Teaser (In order of appearance):

LaVeta Gilmore
Luther Avery
William Stacey
Chisao Hata
Janice Okomoto
Bea Gilmore
Ed Washgington

Credits:

Thank you to Laura Lo Forti, LaVeta Gilmore, and Chisao Hata. Your hosts are Deqah Hussein-Wetzel and Vanessa Quirk. This episode was edited by Vanessa Quirk and Connor Lynch and mixed by Connor Lynch. Our music is by Adaam James Levin-Areddy.

Visit Urbanist Media for more information.

TEASER: Sarah Thomas and the Clooneys May 23, 2023

A few weeks ago, we got to sit down with Nick Clooney, famous broadcaster and father of George, and his wife Nina to talk about a black church that they bought years ago in Augusta, Kentucky.

After they bought the church, they discovered it had been founded in the 1830s by a formerly enslaved black woman named Sarah Thomas. The more they learned about their story, the more it blew them away.

Nick has not only created a non-profit to preserve the church, he has assembled a group of historians, many at Northern Kentucky University, and journalists, including us, to uncover more about Sarah and the church — and tell their stories.

We’re working on a bonus episode now of the interview with Nick and Nina, but that’s only the beginning. We’re also collaborating with folks at Northern Kentucky University — including Black church expert Dr. David Childs and Dr. Brian Hackett — to create a documentary series about the African American and abolitionist history of towns along the Ohio River (“River to Freedom”).

That said — we need your help! If you’d like to make this episode, and series, possible, please consider donating to our 501c3 Urbanist Media.

You can also support us via PayPal or Venmo. Please just note the word “Pod” when you donate. If you want to mail us a check, please first contact us at urbanrootspodcast@gmail.com.

Credits:
Thank you to Nick and Nina Clooney, Carina Kolodny, and Dr. Brian Hackett at Northern Kentucky University. Your hosts are Deqah Hussein-Wetzel and Vanessa Quirk. This episode was edited by Vanessa Quirk and Connor Lynch and mixed by Connor Lynch. Our music is by Adaam James Levin-Areddy.

BONUS: Brent Leggs on Raising Millions for Black Heritage Apr 24, 2023

Today on the pod, we have a conversation with one of the biggest contributors to African American Preservation alive today...

Brent Leggs! If you’re in historic preservation – or a similar field– you probably heard of Brent. But for those of you who haven’t — Brent is a Senior Vice President at the National Trust for Historic Preservation. And while Brent has done many amazing things to preserve African American heritage, as the Executive Director of the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund, he’s raised over 80 MILLION DOLLARS for Black heritage organizations.

We talked to Brent about:

Brent’s education at University of Kentucky [6:35]
Brent’s childhood in Paducah, Kentucky [9:52]
Preserving the intangible as well as the tangible [16:34]
Preservation-Based Economic Development and who’s doing it well [33:44]
The African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund: deciding who to fund? [59:18]
Training future preservationists [1:09:14]
Brent’s ideal Urban Roots episode [1:10:46]

Mentioned In this Episode:

Lejuano Varnell, Sweet Auburn Works - Atlanta, Georgia
8th of August - Paducah, Kentucky
Bryan Stevenson, Equal Justice Initiative - Montgomery, Alabama
Jair Lynch and Howard University, U Street development - Washington, D.C.
Darren Walker, President of the Ford Foundation, and Phylicia Rashad, Actor and director - Co-Chairs of Advisory Council for the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund
Civil Rights Trail - Alabama
Dr. David Childs, Director of Black Studies at Northern Kentucky University
Palmer Pharmacy - Lexington, Kentucky
Eldorado ballroom - Houston, Texas
Faith Ringold - Englewood, New Jersey
James Weldon Johnson (and Sheryl Lee Ralph)
Lucille Clifton - Baltimore, Maryland

Credits:

Thank you to Brent Leggs. This episode was edited and mixed by Connor Lynch. Our music is by Adaam James Levin-Areddy. Your hosts are Deqah Hussein-Wetzel and Vanessa Quirk.

Urban Roots is a product of Urbanist Media, a non-profit dedicated to community preservation. You can make a tax-deductible donation to us via Venmo or Paypal.
Follow us on IG @urbanrootsculture. Drop us an email urbanrootspodcast@gmail.com

BONUS: Revitalizing Urban Main Streets Apr 01, 2023

Happy April Fool's...but it's no April fools here...today, we’re 100% introducing you to two boss women doing dope work with Main Street America revitalizing urban main streets across America: Dionne Baux, the Vice President of Urban Development, and Amanda Elliot, Senior Program Officer and Director of California Programs.

We met Dionne and Amanda last year at HAANDS — the Historic African American Neighborhood and District Summit — and this episode concludes our series with HAANDS attendees. BUT don’t fear, we will still be introducing you to more all-star practitioners in equitable preservation-based development in some upcoming bonus episodes. Stay tuned!

Mentioned in This Episode:

Sweet Auburn Works
Betty Reid Soskin, Park Ranger
Richmond, California / Richmond Main Street
The East Oakland Black Cultural Zone
Destination Crenshaw in LA

Credits:
Thank you to Dionne Baux and Amanda. Your hosts are Deqah Hussein-Wetzel and Vanessa Quirk. This episode was edited by Vanessa Quirk and Connor Lynch and mixed by Connor Lynch. Our music is by Adaam James Levin-Areddy.

BONUS: Preservation Through Podcasting Mar 08, 2023

The tables are turned! Your hosts, Deqah and Vanessa, were recently interviewed by Nicholas Sikellis for his podcast, The Intangible, for a conversation that got into both their backgrounds and their unique perspectives on historic preservation — as well as their passion for the more intangible/nontraditional aspects of preservation, like cultural heritage and economic development.

The interview was so fun that we asked Nicholas if we could share it on our feeds, and he graciously agreed. So, here, dear listeners, is that episode. Enjoy — and subscribe to The Intangible wherever you listen to podcasts.

BONUS: Supporting Resilient Communities in Texas Jan 30, 2023

Today, we’re introducing you to two all-star women we met at HAANDS — the Historic African American Neighborhood and District Summit — who are doing great work in Texas.

First up, Tanya Debose, a fourth-generation Houstonian, the Executive Director of the Independence Heights Redevelopment Council, and the founder of Preserving Communities of Color in Houston.

Then, Desiree Powell, a program coordinator for The Congress for the New Urbanism and the founder of Do Right By the Street (DRBTS), a planning firm that facilitates the creation of community-driven places in South Dallas, like the Sunny South Dallas Food Park.

We’ll be publishing more interviews with HAANDS attendees — and introducing you to more practitioners of preservation-based economic development — in the coming weeks. Stay tuned!

Credits:

Thank you to Tanya Debose and Desiree Powell. This episode was edited by Vanessa Quirk and mixed by Connor Lynch. Our music is by Adaam James Levin-Areddy. Your hosts are Deqah Hussein-Wetzel and Vanessa Quirk.

BONUS: Preserving Black Heritage in L.A. Jan 11, 2023

Rita Cofield is an associate project specialist working on the Los Angeles African American Historic Places (LAAAHP) at the Getty Conservation Institute.

Deqah first met Rita virtually on a National Trust panel on preservation podcasting, and Vanessa was connected to Rita by LA Principal City Planner Ken Bernstein (our special guest at the Biddy Mason Listen & Learn, which you should check out if you haven’t yet!). We got to know Rita in-person at the Historic African American Neighborhood and District Summit in Atlanta, HAANDS. We recorded this conversation there, and will be publishing more with HAANDS attendees in the coming weeks. So stay tuned :)

In this conversation, Rita shares her exciting work on the LAAAHP, which expands on work that was started with the SurveyLA project, a previous partnership between the Getty Conservation Institute and the Los Angeles City Planning’s Office of Historic Resources between 2010 and 2017 to survey and inventory parcels in the city and surface places historically significant to communities of color.

Rita also volunteers as Executive Director of the Friends at Mafundi, an advocacy organization that seeks to protect and preserve the historic Watts Happening Cultural Center (also known as the Mafundi Building) in Watts, California, a project close to Rita’s heart. She mentions a great mentor who she worked with on the project: Roger E. Mosley, actor, director, coach, and beloved mentor to creatives, academics, and athletes. The Watts community also recently lost Oscar Neal, a Watts activist, advocate, historian, business owner and former owner of the historic Jordan’s Café in Watts.

Credits:

Thank you to Rita Cofield. This episode was edited by Vanessa Quirk and mixed by Connor Lynch. Our music is by Adaam James Levin-Areddy. Your hosts are Deqah Hussein-Wetzel and Vanessa Quirk.

BONUS: Forging a Path for Preservation-Based Economic Development Dec 13, 2022

Lejuano Varnell is the co-founder of the Historic African American Neighborhood and District Summit, HAANDS, and the executive director of Sweet Auburn Works, which does preservation-based economic development along the historic Auburn Avenue corridor in Atlanta.

We met Lejuano when we were in Atlanta for the first, in-person HAANDS, and were lucky enough to receive a tour from him of Auburn Avenue, which is home to many historic African American sites, such as the Atlanta Daily World building (the headquarters of the first African American newspaper) and the Prince Hall Masonic Lodge (which used to house WERD Radio, the first African American owned radio station in North America). We were really inspired by the work he and the landowners on the Avenue are doing to make sure it remains a hub of African American culture and entrepreneurship moving forward. In this conversation, Lejuano breaks down their approach — which weaves both tactical programs and narrative storytelling — and gives us some insight into the future of HAANDS.

Mentioned in this Episode:

Sweet Auburn Works
HAANDS
HAANDs Summit 2021: America's Black Wall Street w/ Dr. Jelani Cobb and Hannibal Johnson
Sweet Auburn Bread Company
Main Street America

Credits:

Thank you to Lejuano Varnell. This episode was edited by Vanessa Quirk and Connor Lynch and mixed by Connor Lynch. Our music is by Adaam James Levin-Areddy. Your hosts are Deqah Hussein-Wetzel and Vanessa Quirk.

Social Media

Handles

IG: @_haands / @sweetauburnworks

TW: @_haands / @sweetauburnwork

LN: HAANDS / Sweet Auburn Works

Audiogram - Audio

“The more you uplift the place-based narrative … the harder it is to erase it.”

Lejuano Varnell is the co-founder of @_haands — the Historic African American Neighborhood and District Summit — and the executive director of @sweetauburnworks. Every day, he does whatever it takes to improve his historic Atlanta corridor — and make it a place where small African American businesses can thrive. Listen to our full episode to hear more about Lejuano and how he’s building on the work of his predecessors to strike a path for preservation-based economic development in Atlanta — and beyond.

BONUS: Reflecting on HAANDS and the future of our pod Nov 29, 2022

We’re back from the Historic African American Neighborhood and District Summit (HAANDS) and we’re still buzzing! Deqah and Vanessa discuss the many things they learned about preservation-based economic development — and gush over the great people they met who are working to help their communities stay in place, connect with their past, and thrive into the future.

Our experience at the summit really crystallized the importance of storytelling (and the work we do) when it comes to preserving communities of color. We have so many ideas for future episodes; we just need support from listeners like you to make them a reality. If you believe that the work we do matters, and want to see more of it, please donate to our PayPal page or Venmo. If you donate today (Giving Tuesday), your donation will be matched.

If you want to know more about HAANDS, check out our previous conversation with co-founder Elijah Davis.

Credits:

Thank you to Claudia Polley and Krista Weatherholt of the Urban Legacy Lands Initiative who made our trip to Atlanta to attend the summit possible. Thanks to HAANDS co-founders Elijah Davis of Urban Impact and Lejuano Varnell of Sweet Auburn Works. This episode was edited by Vanessa Quirk and mixed by Connor Lynch. Our music is by Adaam James Levin-Areddy. Your hosts are Deqah Hussein-Wetzel and Vanessa Quirk.

BONUS: Bringing "HAANDS" Together to Preserve Black Neighborhoods Nov 10, 2022

Elijah Davis is the co-founder of the Historic African American Neighborhood and District Summit, HAANDS, for short. HAANDS brings together professionals in historic preservation and storytelling, economic development and entrepreneurship, and community organizing to share ideas about what can be done to “preserve, enhance, and elevate” Historic Black places.

In this conversation, we learn more about Elijah’s family connections to Mobile, his work in community economic development with Birmingham-based Urban Impact, and how he started HAANDS with his co-founder Lejuano Varnell of Sweet Auburn Works.

This year’s summit will take place over November 17 and 18 in Atlanta Georgia — and guess what, listeners… we’ll be there! Claudia Polley of the Urban Legacy Lands Initiative, which we featured in our Indianapolis episodes, has offered us a travel stipend to attend.

To help us cover the remainder of our travel costs, we’re hoping to raise $500 dollars from our listeners. If you believe in the work we do, sharing and preserving the histories of underrepresented people and places, then please donate to us via our PayPal page or Venmo. Note the word “HAANDS” when you donate.

If you’re interested in the future of black heritage lands, we think you’ll really enjoy this conversation — and maybe even get inspired to join as at the summit! Hope to see you there!

Credits:

Thank you to Elijah Davis, Claudia Polley, Krista Weatherholt, and ULLI. This episode was edited by Vanessa Quirk and Connor Lynch and mixed by Connor Lynch. Our music is by Adaam James Levin-Areddy. Your hosts are Deqah Hussein-Wetzel and Vanessa Quirk.

BONUS: Institutional Investors & Housing Nov 05, 2022

As you may remember, our first season explored the history of three African American neighborhoods in Cincinnati. We explored the times when those neighborhoods were thriving — and when disinvestment instigated many of the socio-economic challenges these communities continue to face today.

But one piece we didn't explore was how institutional investors have contributed to these communities’ affordability and housing challenges.

After we aired the season, Dr. Hayden Shelby, an Assistant Professor of Planning at the University of Cincinnati, reached out saying she was teaching a class on housing systems and institutional investors — and, instead of papers, she was asking her students to make a podcast. As part of Urbanist Media — the community preservation not-for-profit that produces Urban Roots — we've been helping Dr. Shelby, guiding her and her students to develop a new podcast, If Walls Could Talk.

In this conversation, we sat down with Dr. Hayden Shelby to learn more about the issue of institutional investors broadly and how they specifically operate in Cincinnati.

Dr. Shelby and her class will be hosting two community conversations about institutional investors (details below). We hope as many people as possible in Cincinnati take part in these conversations — it’s time to collectively create the solutions Cinci neighborhoods need to curb the negative impact of institutional investors and allow these communities to, once again, thrive.

In-Person: Saturday, November 12th from 9-1 AM at the University of Cincinnati’s College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning Building.
Zoom: Friday, November 18th from 2-4 PM on Zoom (register via link or email shelbyhm@uc.edu)

BONUS: Vishaan Chakrabarti on Community Preservation Oct 04, 2022

We’re trying something new: bringing you bonus content to keep Urban Roots in your feeds (and hearts?) between seasons!

First up is a fascinating conversation with Vishaan Chakrabarti, the co-founder and creative director of Practice for Architecture and Urbanism. Vishaan, who has years of experience in the urbanism and architecture fields (check out his TED Talks and New York Times collaborations for some examples of his work), and the folks in his studio are doing the good work of trying to make our cities more equitable. In this conversation, we talk about a seismic shift happening in preservation and planning: a move away from preserving buildings and towards communities.

We also pull back the veil a bit on what we’re up to — and give you some backstory about Urban Roots and Urbanist Media, Deqah’s anti-racist community preservation not-for-profit.

Tell us what you think! Send an email or voice memo to urbanrootspodcast@gmail.com, rate us on Apple podcasts, or follow us on Instagram @urbanrootsculture. And if you want to support Urban Roots, please consider donating to our Paypal @urbanistmedia.

Black Indy Part 2: Reclaiming Indianapolis' Black History Aug 14, 2022

In the 1950s and 1960s, Ms. Jean Spears was a young mother and burgeoning preservationist. She saved antiques from houses about to be demolished; she bought a home in a white slum and renovated it; later on, she did the same with a historic home in the black neighborhood near Indiana Avenue. In the eighties, she and some neighbors started digging into this black neighborhood’s history, uncovering the names of Black doctors, civic leaders, and other professionals who had lived there, many of whom had worked for Madam C.J. Walker. She helped rename the neighborhood to Ransom Place, in honor of Freeman Ransom, Madam Walker's prodigious lawyer. And in 1991, they succeeded in getting the Ransom Place Historic District included in the National Register of Historic Places.

Thanks in no small part to the connection to Madam C.J. Walker, Jean Spears was able to save this pocket of Black history, in an area that — as we explained last episode — the city of Indianapolis had almost erased from memory. But black Indy history is about more than Madam Walker, and other stories and places in the city need protection, too. In this episode, we’ll introduce you to three Black women who are carrying on what Ms. Jean Spears started — safeguarding these little-known stories of the past and guiding Indianapolis toward a brighter future.

Our Guests: We talk with Claudia Polley of the Urban Legacy Lands Initiative; Kaila Austin, an artist and historian (who also shared her oral history with Flinora Frazier with us); Judith Thomas, the Deputy Mayor of Neighborhood Engagement for the City of Indianapolis; and Paula Brooks, the Environmental Justice Program Manager at the Hoosier Environment Council.

Our Sponsors: This episode, the first of a two-part series on Black Indy, was made possible by a grant from Indiana Humanities. We need help for future projects so please consider donating to Urbanist Media on PayPal, Venmo, or Patreon!

Credits: Hosts and Executive Producers: Deqah Hussein-Wetzel and Vanessa Maria Quirk / Editor and Executive Producer: Connor Lynch / Mixer: Andrew Callaway. Music/Composer: Adaam James Levin-Areddy.

About Us: Urban Roots unearths little-known stories from urban history, especially histories of women and people of color that are in danger of being forgotten. Our mission is to elevate underrepresented voices and help preserve the places significant to them.

Find Us Online: Website | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | YouTube

Black Indy Part 1: Madam C.J. Walker and the Rise and Fall of Indiana Avenue Jul 31, 2022

Madam C.J. Walker was a brilliant entrepreneur who built a haircare empire and became the first African American woman millionaire. You might have heard about her, but not many people know that her headquarters used to be located in Indianapolis, along a once vibrant Black corridor called Indiana Avenue, a place that today is known for parking lots, high-speed traffic, and uninspiring university buildings.

Why do so few people know this story? Because, over decades, government planners and private developers slowly and systematically erased Indiana Avenue's history. Luckily, however, some Black Hoosiers are working to uncover — and reclaim — what almost disappeared without a trace. In this episode we tell their — and the Avenue’s — story.

Our Guests: We talk with some incredibly distinguished Black Indianapolis experts: journalist and Madam C.J. Walker biographer (and descendent) A’Lelia Bundles; Susan Hall Dotson of the I ndiana Historical Society; Claudia Polley of the Urban Legacy Lands Initiative; Wildstyle Paschall, an artist and community advocate; Devon Ginn of the Walker Legacy Cente r; and centenarian/Indiana Avenue author, Mr. Thomas Hart Ridley.

We also reference the research of Dr. Olon Dotson of Ball State University. You can find the aerial photographs we mention in the episode here: https://maps.indy.gov/MapIndy/

Our Sponsors: This episode, the first of a two-part series on Black Indianapolis, was made possible by a grant from Indiana Humanities. To help us fund future projects please donate to Urbanist Media on PayPal, Venmo, or Patreon!

Credits: Hosts and Executive Producers: Deqah Hussein-Wetzel and Vanessa Maria Quirk / Editor and Executive Producer: Connor Lynch / Mixer: Andrew Callaway. Music/Composer: Adaam James Levin-Areddy.

About Us: Urban Roots dives deep into little known stories from urban history, unearthing histories of women and people of color that are in danger of being forgotten. Find us at Website | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube

Remembering Biddy Mason Part 2: Building Black L.A. Jul 17, 2022

In our previous episode, we told you the first half of Biddy Mason’s remarkable story: how she was born into slavery in Mississippi, earned her freedom in one of the largest freedom suits in American history, and went on to become one of Los Angeles’ most well-respected healers.

Today, in the second of our two-part series, we're telling the final half of Biddy’s story: how she went from owning nothing at all to becoming one of the wealthiest women and philanthropists in the American West by the time she died in 1891.

You’d think this remarkable woman would be taught in every California classroom; her memory etched throughout the built landscapes of Southern California. But no. Apart from one (absurdly difficult to locate) memorial pocket park downtown, Biddy’s memory has almost been erased. The courthouse where her freedom trial was held is gone. Her first home, too. Her former real estate properties, if still standing, have no markers. Even the UCSF mural, one of only two historical depictions of Biddy, was very nearly demolished in 2020.

But a group of organizers and historians fought back to keep the mural — and Biddy’s story — safe from destruction. Now, the Biddy Mason Collaborative is uncovering more and more about this woman who built Black L.A. — and working hard to keep her memory alive.

Our Guests: This episode we speak with folks from the Biddy Mason Collaborative. We talk with co-directors Sarah “Sally” Barringer Gordon, a law professor at the University of Pennsylvania and Dr. Kevin Waite, an American history professor at Durham University (in the UK) and author ofWest of Slavery, and Jackie Broxton, executive director of the Biddy Mason Charitable Foundation. We also speak to Laura Voisin George, an architectural historian (and PhD candidate at the UCSB) and Sky Lea Ross, a phD candidate at UCLA and a therapist with Peace Over Violence.

About Us: Urban Roots is a podcast that dives deep into little known stories from urban history. It is an offshoot of Urbanist Media, a not-for-profit anti-racist community preservation collaborative.

Credits: Hosts and Executive Producers: Deqah Hussein-Wetzel and Vanessa Maria Quirk / Editor and Executive Producer: Connor Lynch / Mixer: Andrew Callaway. Music/Composer: Adaam James Levin-Areddy.

Find Us Online:Website | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | YouTube

Remembering Biddy Mason Part 1: Long Road to Freedom Jul 03, 2022

In the spring of 2013, Laura Voisin George was in the reading room at the Huntington library when she came across a historical detail that struck her as … unusual.

At the time, Laura was a PhD candidate studying one of California's first surgeons. While perusing a series of articles, she discovered the existence of 10 massive murals — built into a lecture hall at U.C. San Francisco's medical school — that told the history of California medicine in a colorful, elaborate, and explicit social realism style. Laura scanned a photo of one of those murals, the one depicting the mid 1800s, and was surprised to see a Black nurse, a woman working side by side with one of the leading doctors of Los Angeles (and a former slave owner to boot). In the 1800s.

Laura wanted to know more, so she started digging. Soon, she found this nurse's name: Biddy Mason. Then, she found so much more.

This season, we are dedicating two full episodes to telling the remarkable story of Biddy Mason. In Part 1, we talk about Biddy’s beginnings: how she went from an enslaved woman in Mississippi to one of the most renowned healers in Los Angeles. We also talk to a group of organizers and historians from the Biddy Mason Collaborative (or ‘the Biddy Mason Justice League’ as we like to call them) who are collaborating and uncovering more about this woman than we ever knew before — and working hard to keep her memory alive.

If you like this episode, make sure to stay tuned for Part 2, when we tell the second half of Biddy’s life: her journey to becoming one the wealthiest women in the West — and a founder of Black Los Angeles.

Our Guests: This episode we speak with folks from the Biddy Mason Collaborative: project co-directors Sarah “Sally” Barringer Gordon, a law professor at the University of Pennsylvania and Dr. Kevin Waite, an American history professor at Durham University (and author ofWest of Slavery); as well as Jackie Broxton, Executive Director of the Biddy Mason Charitable Foundation and Laura Voisin George, an architectural historian (and PhD candidate at UCSB).

About Us: Urban Roots is a podcast that takes a deep dive into little known stories from urban history. It is an offshoot of Urbanist Media, a not-for-profit anti-racist community preservation collaborative.

Credits: Hosts and Executive Producers: Deqah Hussein-Wetzel and Vanessa Maria Quirk / Editor and Executive Producer: Connor Lynch / Mixer: Andrew Callaway. Music/Composer: Adaam James Levin-Areddy.

Support us: Venmo | PayPal

Unearthing Black History in Brooklyn: Green-Wood Cemetery’s Freedom Lots Jun 19, 2022

Founded in 1838, Green-Wood Cemetery is one of the earliest (and most famous) rural cemeteries in America. Its grandiose, park-like setting is scattered with notable burial sites and architectural masterpieces. But, in our interviews with Green-Wood staff members (Neela Wickremesinghe, Jeff Richman, and Darryl Jones), we learn about a lesser-known area: the Freedom Lots, where African Americans were buried.

In 2017, these seven lots were in very rough shape — some of the graves were destroyed past recovery. This episode tells the story of the people of color who took action to not only preserve what was left of these physical graves, but to commemorate the memories of the people buried there.

Our Guests: Green-Wood’s Director of Restoration and Preservation, Neela Wickremesinghe; staff Historian, Jeff Richman; and Darryl Jones (Neela’s former intern who now works for the cemetery full time)!

About Us: Urban Roots is a podcast that takes a deep dive into little known stories from urban history. The pod is an offshoot of Urbanist Media, a not-for-profit anti-racist community preservation collaborative.

Credits: Hosts and Executive Producers: Deqah Hussein-Wetzel and Vanessa Maria Quirk / Editor and Executive Producer: Connor Lynch / Mixer: Andrew Callaway. Music/Composer: Adaam James Levin-Areddy.

Support us by Donating: PayPal | Venmo

Season 2 Teaser Jun 13, 2022

Welcome back, folks! We hope you’re ready for another season of Urban Roots because Season 2 is coming soon – Juneteenth (June 19th) to be exact. Please join us on an urban journey as we explore hidden African American history in cities across the country.

Join us in Brooklyn, New York where we visit Greenwood Cemetery’s Freedom Lots — in Los Angeles, California where we find all the places Biddy Mason’s memory has been preserved — and in Indianapolis, Indiana, where we uncover the hidden gem of Indiana Avenue and learn why Madam C.J. Walker relocated her headquarters there in 1910 .

Our Indianapolis episodes are made possible thanks to funding from Indiana Humanities!

Credits

Host and Executive Producer: Deqah Hussein-Wetzel.
Host and Executive Producer: Vanessa Maria Quirk.
Editor: Connor Lynch.

About Us

Urban Roots is a podcast that takes a deep dive into little known stories from urban history and is brought to you by Urbanist Media, an anti-racist community preservation organization.

Follow us on Instagram and Facebook — @urbanrootsculture

Follow us on Twitter — @urbanrootspod and @urbanistmedia

Subscribe to our Urban Roots Podcast YouTube channel!

South Cumminsville: For the Love of the Neighborhood Jul 17, 2021

In this episode, the final of our Lost Voices of Cincinnati series*, we’re exploring the history of South Cumminsville, a neighborhood that, like many Black neighborhoods in Cincinnati, has been divided and diminished by top-down urban planning decisions and years of disinvestment. But it’s also a place with a long history of Black entrepreneurship, ownership, and activism — going back to the late 1800s, when unsung Cincinnati hero Sarah Fossett helped make South Cumminsville a vibrant community for African Americans. Today, it remains a place where residents support each other and fight every day to improve their community. *If you missed our prelude episode, then take a pause and listen to that show first! Also, check out our previous episodes on the Evanston and Avondale neighborhoods!

Our Guests: South Cumminsville community council president, Tim Canady, vice president Derek Fagin, Annie Williams, Alberta Warton, Queens of Queens City’s Sean Andres, Wilbur Canady, and Working in Neighborhoods’ Rigel Behrens.

Our Sponsors: The Lost Voices of Cincinnati series was made possible by a Truth & Reconciliation grant from ArtsWave. We need help for future projects so please consider donating to our Fundly fundraising campaign!

Credits: Hosts and Executive Producers: Deqah Hussein-Wetzel and Vanessa Maria Quirk / Editor and Executive Producer: Connor Lynch / Mixer: Andrew Callaway. Music/Composer: Adaam James Levin-Areddy.

Support us by Donating: Venmo | PayPal

Find Us Online:Website | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | YouTube

Avondale: It Takes a Village Jul 03, 2021

In this episode, the third of our Lost Voices of Cincinnati series*, we’re exploring the history of Avondale, a neighborhood that experienced a different kind of white flight and is still recovering from transformative events that occurred during the mid-century such as race riots and housing discrimination. We will discuss how these trends triggered decades of disinvestment and explain important historical terms like blockbusting and redlining. And we talk to the people who are fighting hard to preserve the neighborhood’s housing stock, promote local businesses — and bring the community back together.*If you missed our prelude episode, then take a pause and listen to that show first! Also, check out our previous episode on the Evanston neighborhood!

Our Guests: Avondale neighborhood community council president, Ms. Sandra Jones-Mitchel, Councilwoman Jan-Michele Lemon Kearney, and Invest in Neighborhoods board president, Andria Carter. We also got a deep dive into the history of housing in Avondale by retired University of Cincinnati history professor, Dr. Fritz Casey Leininger.

Our Sponsors: The Lost Voices of Cincinnati series was made possible by a Truth & Reconciliation grant from ArtsWave and our Fundly patrons.

Credits: Hosts and Executive Producers: Deqah Hussein-Wetzel and Vanessa Maria Quirk / Editor and Executive Producer: Connor Lynch / Mixer: Andrew Callaway. Music/Composer: Adaam James Levin-Areddy.

Find Us Online: Website | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | YouTube

Support us by Donating: Venmo | PayPal

Cincinnati History is Black History Jun 05, 2021

We are so excited to kick off our Lost Voices of Cincinnati series which explores the rich African American history of Cincinnati. You can think of this episode as a kind of prelude of sorts. We go back, way back, to Cincinnati’s beginnings, and tell stories you’ve probably never heard — like how a Cincinnati barber helped execute the biggest North American escape of enslaved people, ever; how and why a mob attacked Cincinnati’s African American community (with cannons, no less) in 1841; and how the West End became one of the most happening Black communities of the 1920s. We show how, throughout the city’s history, African American communities have always faced adversity — but have also always banded together to not only persevere, but thrive.

Our Lost Voices of Cincinnati series was made possible by a Truth & Reconciliation grant from ArtsWave and our Fundly patrons. We’d also like to thank Invest in Neighborhoods for their support.

Urban Roots is a podcast that takes a deep dive into little known stories from Urban history.

Credits: Hosts and Executive Producers: Deqah Hussein-Wetzel and Vanessa Maria Quirk / Editor and Executive Producer: Connor Lynch / Mixer: Andrew Callaway. Music/Composer: Adaam James Levin-Areddy.

Find Us Online: Website | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | YouTube

Support us by Donating: Venmo | PayPal

Lost Voices of Cincinnati Series - Trailer May 06, 2021

TheLost Voices of Cincinnati series will holistically explore the physical and social transformationsthree neighborhoods have experienced and endured in Cincinnati, Ohio — Avondale, Evanston, and South Cumminsville. There is so much that has been lost—some things were gained—and stuff that remains. Despite the odds, these resilient communities have worked hard to preserve their histories and build strong, vibrant neighborhoods today. This project offers these folks an auditory outlet to express their truth and help them reconcile with the permanent social and physical landscape changes rendered by past and present planning efforts. We hope that, though this project, within these communities of color, those lost voices of Cincinnati will finally be heard.

Introduction: Who We Are Sep 15, 2020

We often take history for granted, skirting around subjects as if we already know everything there is to know about a historical event, person, or place. But, what do we really know?

There are many stories that have not been told and many topics that have not been fully explored. This podcast challenges you to think beyond the familiar, and broaden the scope of what we see as urban history.

Urban Rootsis hosted by Deqah Hussein (historic preservationist and urban planner) and Vanessa Quirk (journalist and producer). This podcast offers a holistic narrative of urban America by utilizing rich archival materials, interviewing passionate local experts, and exploring “untold” stories.

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