Episode 76: Introduction (African American Heritage in the Ozarks, Part 1)

In 2021, the State Historical Society of Missouri was awarded an American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) grant through the National Endowment for the Humanities and Missouri Humanities for a project titled “African American Heritage in the Ozarks.” Over fifteen months, staff at SHSMO identified and compiled an extensive list of primary and secondary sources related to African American life in the region, provided public programming in numerous Ozarks communities, developed physical and digital exhibits, and conducted more than two dozen oral histories preserving the voices and memories of the people who call, or have called, the Ozarks home.

To begin the second half of Season 5 and the new series “African American Heritage in the Ozarks,” host Sean Rost introduces listeners to the some of the oral history interviewees and the key themes of Ozarks history that emerged over the course of the project.

For more information on the Emancipation Day in the Missouri Ozarks interactive map discussed in the episode, please visit: https://shsmo.org/interactives/emancipation-day-ozarks 

Episode Image: Mark Dixon interviewed by Gary Kremer at Benton Avenue AME Church, Springfield, Missouri, 2022 [Courtesy of Andrew Olden]