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In this episode, we welcome Aran Shetterly to discuss his powerful new book, Morningside: The 1979 Greensboro Massacre and the Struggle for an American City’s Soul. Shetterly unearths the long-overlooked history of the Greensboro Massacre, a brutal attack in which members of the Ku Klux Klan and neo-Nazis murdered five labor and civil rights activists in broad daylight—while law enforcement stood by.

“The most vicious repression in America happens when Black and white workers unite. Greensboro was no exception.” — Aran Shetterly

Then we replay part of our 2023 interview with Jonathan Eig about his biography of the Reverend Dr. MLK, Jr., King: A Life.

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Black History Month on Writer’s Voice 

Every week this month, we’ll be featuring books about key times in America’s Black History, a history that enriches and enlightens us all. We talk with:

Aaron Robertson, about BLACK UTOPIANS; Aran Shetterly about MORNINGSIDE: The 1979 Greensboro Massacre; Victoria Christopher Murray about HARLEM RHAPSODY; Bernadette Atuahene about PLUNDERED
You might also like: 

• The Power of Asking Questions: Ethel Payne, First Lady Of The Black Press
• Freedom Summer, Bob Moses, and the Fight for First Class Citizenship

Connect with WV:

Follow us on Bluesky @writersvoice.bsky.social and subscribe to our Substack. Or find us on Instagram @WritersVoicePodcast 

You can support our show and the others you listen to by contributing through Lenny.fm. Your support helps us bring you more of the episodes, like this one, that you look forward to. Thanks for being a vital part of our community!

Key Words: Aran Shetterly, Morningside book, Greensboro Massacre, Nelson Johnson, Ku Klux Klan, Communist Workers Party, Martin Luther King, Jr., Jonathan Eig, King: A Life

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We sit down with award-winning author Victoria Christopher Murray to talk about Harlem Rhapsody, her novel about the Harlem Renaissance and the woman who made it possible. This gripping novel brings to life Jessie Redmon Fauset, a pioneering literary editor, mentor, and novelist who played a pivotal role in shaping the Harlem Renaissance—yet remains largely forgotten today.

“W.E.B. Du Bois and Jessie were always together. I tried to write the story without their affair, but there were too many plot holes. It was part of the truth.”

We also talk with the founders of a new publishing company featuring largely forgotten women authors of an earlier time. Bremond Berry MacDougall and Lisa Cooper founded Quite Literally Books — which is coming out with Jessie Redmon Fauset’s 1928 novel Plum Bun, along with two other books.

Black History Month on Writer’s Voice 

Every week this month, we’ll be featuring books about key times in America’s Black History, a history that enriches and enlightens us all. We talk with:

• Aaron Robertson, BLACK UTOPIANS
• Aran Shetterly about MORNINGSIDE: The 1979 Greensboro Massacre
• Victoria Christopher Murray about her novel of the Harlem Renaissance, HARLEM RHAPSODY
• Bernadette Atuahene about her history of how racist policies undermine Black home ownership In America, PLUNDERED

You might also like: Carla Kaplan: Miss Ann in Harlem

Connect with WV:

Follow us on Bluesky @writersvoice.bsky.social and subscribe to our Substack. Or find us on Instagram @WritersVoicePodcast 

You can support our show and the others you listen to by contributing through Lenny.fm. Your support helps us bring you more of the episodes, like this one, that you look forward to. Thanks for being a vital part of our community!

Key Words: Victoria Christopher Murray, Harlem Rhapsody, Jessie Redmon Fauset biography, Harlem Renaissance, W.E.B. Du Bois, Quite Literally Books, Dorothy Canfield Fisher, Nelia Gardner White

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

In this episode of Writer’s Voice, we talk with Aaron Robertson about his fascinating book, The Black Utopians: Searching for Paradise and the Promised Land in America. It’s about the hidden legacies of Black utopian experiments and what they teach us about the power of community today.

Then, we talk with best-selling novelist, journalist and activist Cory Doctorow about his new crime thriller, the latest installment in the Martin Hench series, Picks and Shovels. It tells the origin stories of forensic accountant Martin Hench and the most powerful tool for crime ever invented: the personal computer.

Black History Month on Writer’s Voice

Every week this month, we’ll be featuring books about key times in America’s Black History, a history that enriches and enlightens us all. We talk with:

• Aaron Robertson, BLACK UTOPIANS
• Aran Shetterly about MORNINGSIDE: The 1979 Greensboro Massacre
• Victoria Christopher Murray about her novel of the Harlem Renaissance, HARLEM RHAPSODY
• Bernadette Atuahene about her history of how racist policies undermine Black home ownership In America, PLUNDERED

Connect with WV:

Follow us on Bluesky @writersvoice.bsky.social and subscribe to our Substack. Or find us on Instagram @WritersVoicePodcast 

You can support our show and the others you listen to by contributing through Lenny.fm. Your support helps us bring you more of the episodes, like this one, that you look forward to. Thanks for being a vital part of our community!

Key Words: Black utopian communities, Aaron Robertson, The Black Utopians, Promiseland Tennessee, Black Christian nationalism, Albert Cleage Jr., Black History Month, Cory Doctorow, Picks and Shovels book, enshittification, digital rights, big tech antitrust

Continue reading →