Our New South

Levine Museum of the New South

Levine Museum of the New South (Charlotte, NC) presents an original scripted non-fiction storytelling podcast hosted by journalist Kevin Blackistone and professor of history Robert Greene II who set out to discover the historical background on key societal issues in the South, providing a framework to understand the path forward. The show investigates how we got here, fostering conversations with changemakers seeking to make a difference in the South in order to educate, and provide an opportunity for understanding to inform our collective future. read less
HistoryHistory

Episodes

Episode 7 - To The South, With Love
Mar 5 2024
Episode 7 - To The South, With Love
On this episode of 'Our New South', show hosts Kevin Blackistone and Robert Greene II celebrate Women's History Month discussing the preservation of history and culture in the South through poetry and fiction with three exceptional writers. Jesmyn Ward, a novelist and professor of English at Tulane University, is a two-time winner of the National Book Award for Fiction, and was named a MacArthur Genius Fellow in 2017. Beth Ann Fennelly, a professor at the University of Mississippi, was the Poet Laureate of Mississippi from 2016-2021, and in 2020, she was named an Academy of American Poets Laureate Fellow. Nikky Finney, a professor at the University of South Carolina and a Chancellor of the American Academy of Poets, and was recently appointed the Executive Director of the newly launched Ernest A. Finney, Jr. Cultural Arts Center in Columbia, South Carolina, a 21st century arts and cultural center named for her father. 'Our New South' is presented by the Levine Museum of the New South with thanks to the generous support of The Knight Foundation. 'Our New South' is produced by Next Chapter Podcasts, written and produced by Byron Hunter. The editor and sound designer is Kyle Murdock. The technical producer is Brian Douglas. Executive producers are Franky Abbott and Jeremiah Tittle. Special thanks to Levine team members Alexander Piñeres, Karen Sutton, and Cliff Whitfield. Please follow the show, rate & review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your pods. Learn more at ncpodcasts.com/ournewsouth and museumofthenewsouth.org/digital/our-new-south-podcast
Episode 2 - Movin' On Up?
Jan 30 2024
Episode 2 - Movin' On Up?
In this episode of 'Our New South', co-hosts Kevin Blackistone and Robert Greene II speak with Sherri Chisolm, the Executive Director of Leading on Opportunity in Charlotte, North Carolina, about The Chetty Report and her work to level the playing field on social and economic mobility and the recent migration of people of color back to the south. We also welcome Brian Straessle, Executive Director of The Sycamore Institute in Nashville, Tennessee, to discuss the challenges Southern cities have faced with respect to economic opportunity, and the work they are doing illuminate the issue, and rectify it in Tennessee and beyond.  At the conclusion of the episode, we hear the wise words of Arthur Griffin who serves on the Board of Mecklenberg County Commissioners, and is the former Chairman of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education, as well as Lori Thomas, who is the Executive Director of the UNC Charlotte Urban Institute and Charlotte Regional Data Trust. 'Our New South' is presented by the Levine Museum of the New South with thanks to the generous support of The Knight Foundation. The series is produced by Next Chapter Podcasts, written and produced by Byron Hunter. The editor and sound designer is Kyle Murdock. The technical producer is Brian Douglas. Executive producers are Franky Abbott and Jeremiah Tittle. Special thanks to Levine team members Alexander Piñeres, Karen Sutton, and Cliff Whitfield. Please follow the show, rate & review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your pods. Learn more at ncpodcasts.com/ournewsouth and museumofthenewsouth.org/digital/our-new-south-podcast
Introducing...Our New South
Jan 17 2024
Introducing...Our New South
This podcast series hosted by veteran journalist Kevin Blackistone and Professor of History at Claflin University Robert Greene II offers a unique look at the evolution of the New South and how historic Southern cities, including Charlotte, North Carolina, are confronting complex issues facing communities across the South and nationwide, ranging from equity in education and immigration to civil rights, racial equality, and socioeconomic mobility. The New South podcast series features inspiring stories and conversations that provide listeners with unique perspectives on how Southern cities are addressing these challenging issues by highlighting their historical roots in addition to providing direction for the future. ABOUT LEVINE MUSEUM OF THE NEW SOUTH: The “Our New South” podcast series is presented by the Levine Museum of the New South (LMNS), which, for over 30 years, has sought to confront some of the most difficult issues facing New South cities today by examining them from a historical context that deepens understanding, fosters empathy, and inspires action toward a better future. This podcast series was made possible by the generous support of the Knight Foundation. Kevin Blackistone is a longtime national sports columnist now at The Washington Post, a panelist on ESPN’s "Around the Horn," a professor of journalism at the University of Maryland, an occasional contributor to NPR and PBS, co-producer and co-writer of "Imagining the Indian," an award-winning 2022 documentary on the history of and fight against mascoting Native Americans, and co-author of "A Gift for Ron," a memoir by former NFL star Everson Walls published in November 2009 that details his kidney donation to onetime teammate Ron Springs. Robert Greene II is an Assistant Professor of History at Claflin University. He is also the Publications Chair of the Society of U.S. Intellectual Historians and the incoming President of the African American Intellectual History Society. Dr. Greene II has written extensively on the South, Black history and memory, and political history for publications such as Oxford American, The Nation, Dissent, Scalawag, and Jacobin, among others. Dr. Greene II is co-editor, along with Dr. Tyler D. Parry, of the edited volume "Invisible No More: The African American Experience at the University of South Carolina," and he is currently at work on a book titled "The Newest South: African Americans and the Democratic Party, 1964-2000" about the relationship between Democratic Party leaders in the South and African American voters.