Black History Buff: Uncovering Untold Stories

Uncover one of the most important untold stories in African American history: how a 15-year-old Black teenager in New York challenged America's first prison-for-profit system and exposed the origins of mass incarceration.

William Freeman's story reveals shocking truths about Black history that have been buried for nearly 200 years. In 1840s Auburn, New York, this young African American man demanded wages for prison labor, threatening a system that would become the blueprint for today's prison-industrial complex.

This untold civil rights story reveals:

• How New York - not the South - invented convict leasing 45 years before the Civil War
• The systematic torture methods used on African American prisoners, including deadly water torture devices
• Why Freeman's demand for fair wages was revolutionary Black resistance to economic exploitation
• How Auburn State Prison's profitable model spread nationwide, targeting Black communities
• The tragic cascade from wrongful imprisonment to quadruple murder that shocked 1840s America
• Direct connections between 19th-century New York prison labor and today's mass incarceration crisis

Content Warning: This episode contains graphic descriptions of prison torture, violence, and murder.

This deep-dive into African American history is based on groundbreaking research from "Freeman's Challenge: The Murder That Shook America's Original Prison for Profit" by Dr. Robin Bernstein. Freeman's story illuminates how Black resistance to economic injustice has roots far deeper than most civil rights narratives acknowledge, showing how one teenager's challenge to New York's prison system predicted struggles that continue today.

An essential untold story connecting 1840s Black history to modern fights for civil rights and criminal justice reform.

You can purchase the book Freeman's Challenge using the affiliate link below:

In this episode of Black History Buff: Definitions, we explore the meaning of Critical Race Theory, a term that has sparked intense public debate but is often misunderstood or misrepresented.

Originally developed by legal scholars in the United States during the 1970s and 80s, Critical Race Theory is a framework for understanding how racism is not just a matter of individual prejudice, but something deeply embedded in laws, institutions, and social systems. It challenges us to think about how inequality is structured and sustained over time.

This short episode defines Critical Race Theory clearly and concisely, placing it in context with wider conversations about civil rights, legal history, education, and modern Black identity. It’s a valuable entry point for anyone looking to understand how race and power operate in society today.

Whether you are new to the concept or looking for a clearer way to explain it to others, this episode offers a calm, grounded definition that cuts through the noise.

Ideal for educators, students, and anyone exploring Black history, African history, and systems of structural inequality one definition at a time.

Stay curious. Stay proud. Stay blessed.

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The Black History Buff Podcast is a fully independent project. 

We aren't backed by a publishing house, advertising partners or a major enterprise. For our existence, we depend on our loyal listeners – we depend on you.

So, if you enjoy our content and want to support the creation of more, join our history village and support our mission to share hidden stories from Black Culture, join my free Patreon:

Membership benefits include:

• Early access to new episodes
• Bonus episodes and content
• Be part of the creation of new episodes 
• Guest memberships
• Get featured In Episode End credits 
• Ad Free Episodes

In this episode of Black History Buff: Definitions, we explore the Black Panther Party, one of the most iconic and misunderstood organisations in modern Black history.

Founded in 1966 in Oakland, California, the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense emerged during the civil rights era as a response to police brutality, racial injustice, and systemic inequality. But the movement was about more than patrols and protests. It was rooted in community care, political education, and radical imagination.

This short episode defines the Black Panther Party, explains its purpose, and places it in the wider context of African history, civil rights, and Black liberation movements around the world.

Whether you're studying African history, teaching Black history in the classroom, or simply want to understand the real story behind the headlines, this episode is a quick and powerful starting point.

Perfect for students, educators, and lifelong learners looking to deepen their understanding of Black identity, power, and resistance—one definition at a time.

Stay curious. Stay proud. Stay blessed.

The Black History Buff Podcast is a fully independent project. 

We aren't backed by a publishing house, advertising partners or a major enterprise. For our existence, we depend on our loyal listeners – we depend on you.

So, if you enjoy our content and want to support the creation of more, join our history village and support our mission to share hidden stories from Black Culture, join my free Patreon:

Membership benefits include:

• Early access to new episodes
• Bonus episodes and content
• Be part of the creation of new episodes 
• Guest memberships
• Get featured In Episode End credits 
• Ad Free Episodes

Before Auschwitz, there was Namibia.

In this powerful episode, we define the Herero and Nama genocide the first genocide of the 20th century, carried out by German colonial forces in Southwest Africa. Tens of thousands were killed, displaced, and imprisoned in concentration camps. Germany has since acknowledged it, but the silence around this atrocity remains loud.

This is a story of violence, resistance, and the importance of remembering. Because if we don’t tell it, who will?

The Black History Buff Podcast is a fully independent project. 

We aren't backed by a publishing house, advertising partners or a major enterprise. For our existence, we depend on our loyal listeners – we depend on you.

So, if you enjoy our content and want to support the creation of more, join our history village and support our mission to share hidden stories from Black Culture, join my free Patreon:

Membership benefits include:

• Early access to new episodes
• Bonus episodes and content
• Be part of the creation of new episodes 
• Guest memberships
• Get featured In Episode End credits 
• Ad Free Episodes

The same federal law that destroyed boxing legend Jack Johnson in 1913 just convicted Sean 'P Diddy' Combs in 2025, and the connection reveals a disturbing pattern of prosecutorial targeting that spans over a century.

In this explosive episode, King Kurus exposes how the Mann Act, originally passed in 1910 to stop a 'white slavery' trafficking network that never existed, became the perfect weapon against successful Black Americans who refused to stay in their place. From the first Black heavyweight boxing champion to one of hip-hop's biggest moguls, discover how the same vague federal statute continues to be weaponised across generations.

What You'll Learn:

• The shocking truth about the fake 'white slavery' moral panic that created the Mann Act
• Jack Johnson's incredible rise from Texas sharecropper's son to world champion who drove Jim Crow America insane
• How the 'Great White Hope' campaign and July 4th, 1910 fight triggered nationwide race riots
• The explicitly racist federal prosecution that forced Johnson into 7 years of exile
• Why P Diddy's 2025 conviction under the same law reveals the complexity of modern justice

Historical Deep Dive Includes: Jack Johnson's childhood in post-slavery Galveston, Texas; his gold-toothed grin, fast cars, and unapologetic lifestyle that enraged white America; the marriage to white socialite Etta Duryea and the tragic aftermath; Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis's role in both Johnson's persecution and baseball segregation; Johnson's exile years wandering Europe and South America as a fallen champion; the 2018 presidential pardon that acknowledged 'racially-motivated injustice'.

King Kurus connects today's headlines to yesterday's injustices, showing how understanding Black history helps us navigate modern complexities. Whether it's clear historical persecution or today's messy legal overreach, our job is knowing the difference, even when that difference isn't easy to see.

Jack Johnson, P Diddy, Sean Combs, Mann Act, white slavery law, Black boxing history, Jim Crow era, Great White Hope, federal prosecution, racial bias, criminal justice system, Black History Buff, King Kurus

#BlackHistory #JackJohnson #PDdiddy #MannAct #BoxingHistory #CriminalJustice #BlackHistoryBuff

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The Black History Buff Podcast is a fully independent project. 

We aren't backed by a publishing house, advertising partners or a major enterprise. For our existence, we depend on our loyal listeners – we depend on you.

So, if you enjoy our content and want to support the creation of more, join our history village and support our mission to share hidden stories from Black Culture, join my free Patreon:

Membership benefits include:

• Early access to new episodes
• Bonus episodes and content
• Be part of the creation of new episodes 
• Guest memberships
• Get featured In Episode End credits 
• Ad Free Episodes