Speaking Culturally

North Carolina A&T is leaving the MEAC and headed to the Big South in 2021. With the move, what elements of cultural heritage is A&T leaving behind and how will the pageantry of an HBCU translate in a predominantly white conference? Jeff Mills of the Greensboro News & Record joins Speaking Culturally to answer some of these questions.

Public historian and historical interpreter Lacey Wilson concludes the series on how do we interpret slavery in America going forward. Wilson says she doesn’t shy away from discussing slavery and incorporates the daily chores enslaved people would have performed on the plantation and inside the plantation home. Introducing the daily activities of enslaved people humanizes them and adds an element to the discussion of slavery, Wilson says.

Food historian, educator, and award-winning author Michael Twitty explains how we can examine elements of slavery through the foods that land on our tables. He also dives into slavery overall and the impacts it has had on the African American community.

Hannah Scruggs, of the National Museum of African American History and Culture, is the latest guest on Speaking Culturally discussing ways of interpreting enslavement in America going forward. Utilizing descendent voices is one way and humanizing enslaved women is another, she says.

Richard Josey, founder and president of Collective Journeys, LLC, kicks off Speaking Culturally’s series, “What’s Next in Interpreting Slavery.” The series will look at new ways to interpret enslavement in America and discuss the gaps that need to be filled in the narrative. Josey brings decades of experience to this discussion and focuses on inclusion of dark history in the narrative of enslavement. 

Preserving cultural heritage is the goal of Speaking Culturally. With this being the holiday season, Speaking Culturally has decided to gift Raleigh, North Carolina with, well, cultural heritage. Every fourth Sunday starting in January, I will be preparing a meal to share with those less fortunate on the streets of Raleigh. It would be great to get volunteers to help pass out meals and I'd love for other cultures to suggest recipes to use so we can share the heritage of other cultures. Happy holidays!

Diana Bell-Kite, curator of cultural history at the North Carolina Museum of History, speaks about how women in the 18th century preserved their cultural heritage through quilting. She also discusses how those stories captured through quilting speak volumes about the time period. Bell-Kite says women today are still using quilting to express themselves.

Introducing young, black inner-city males to the cultural heritage of African agricultural traditions is Kamal Bell's mission. Through his farm, Sankofa Farms, LLC, Bell is shaping the minds of the young men in his program by introducing them to the African diaspora.

An inclusive interpretation is critical to the success of any museum or historic site. Presently, despite very tangible connections to the history and culture of the LGBTQ+ community, many public history arenas avoid curating conversations that center gender and sexual minorities in affirmative ways. As a Public History PhD student at North Carolina State University, Matthew Champagne shares their expertise on the importance of including the history and heritage of the LGBTQ+ in interpreted spaces.

In our pilot episode of Speaking Culturally, we speak with Queen Quet, chieftess of the Gullah Geechee Nation. Queen Quet explores the importance of preserving the Gullah Geechee cultural heritage and how they are dealing with climate change, sea level rise and displacement. Some of the biggest challenges for the Gullah Geechee people, the largest enslavement descendant populations in the country, is adaptation and displacement. (Recorded on Saint Helena Island, South Carolina)