Black History Month on WCQS
Every Wednesday in February at 7 pm WCQS will recognize Black History Month with a special broadcast. Five extraordinary documentaries exploring the history of the Civil Rights Movement, an unsung hero of that movement, African American musical traditions and more.
Wednesday - 2/29
BACK STORY: Black and White -The Idea of Racial Purity
On this episode of BackStory, the History Guys look for the
roots of America’s
obsession with race, and ask why the line between black and white has remained
so bold despite centuries of racial mixing. Were the categories of “black” and
“white” already in place when Africans first came to America, and if not, when did they
take shape? How did the founders think about race, and what are we to make of
the contradictions between the public writings of men like Jefferson
and their behavior in private? What is the “one-drop rule,” and where did it
come from? In what ways have religion and science affirmed and challenged
notions of racial difference? It’s not hard to see the progress that’s been
made on the road to racial equality, but what have been the major setbacks and
reversals along the way?
