One Mic Black History

One Mic Black History brings you the untold stories that shaped Black lives—and reshaped America. Each episode uncovers a hidden chapter of our history, told by us, for us. Because the stories left out say just as much as the ones we’ve been told. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/one-mic-black-history--4557850/support.

Episodes

Why Esso Backed Black Travelers During Jim Crow

October 12, 2025 • 8 mins

On Jim Crow roads, the lifeline wasn’t a law, it was a gas station. Esso used maps, credit, and a nationwide dealer network to turn the Green Book into safe miles.Audio Onemichistory.comFollow me on Instagram: @onemic_historyFollow me on Substack: https://onemicblackhistorypodcast.substack.com/Follow me on Threads: https://www.threads.net/@onemic_historyPlease support our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=25697914Buy me a Cof...

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How Afro Sheen Built Soul Train

September 29, 2025 • 8 mins

Johnson Products brand financed Soul Train when others wouldn’t. This is the story of the Afro Sheen sponsorship, the dollars behind it, and how they built an institutionAudio Onemichistory.comFollow me on Instagram: @onemic_historyFollow me on Substack: https://onemicblackhistorypodcast.substack.com/Follow me on Threads: https://www.threads.net/@onemic_historyPlease support our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=25697914Buy m...

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How Pullman Porters Outsmarted Jim Crow

September 22, 2025 • 11 mins

In the Jim Crow South, Black newspapers like the Chicago Defender were banned, seized, and silenced. But the porters found a way. Tucked in suitcases, hidden in stacks of linens, they smuggled news, hope, and opportunity across the South for just 2 cents.

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The Bet That Made Pepsi the Black Soda

September 8, 2025 • 8 mins

Under Jim Crow, Pepsi did what others wouldn’t, hired a Black sales team and put Black folks in its ads. Sales soared but then came the internal backlash. How did a nickel soda become quiet powerhouse and who tried to kill it? This is why Pepsi became ‘the Black soda.Audio Onemichistory.comFollow me on Instagram: @onemic_historyFollow me on Substack: https://onemicblackhistorypodcast.substack.com/Follow me on Threads: https://www.t...

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How the Sears Outsmarted Jim Crow

September 4, 2025 • 10 mins

This book sold the same stove, suit, or pair of boots to anyone at the same printed price. When Rural Free Delivery brought it to the mailbox, the Sears, Roebuck catalog landed on Black families’ porches it turned shopping from a ritual of humiliation into something closer to dignity. Here’s how the Sears mail‑order catalog quietly beat Jim Crow
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The Day The Police Dropped a Bomb On a Black Neighborhood

August 18, 2025 • 13 mins

In 1985, In a stand off with the Black organization MOVE. Philadelphia police dropped a bomb on a Black neighborhood, killing 11 people and leveling an entire city block.

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What They Don't Want You To Know about The Buffalo Soldiers

August 11, 2025 • 11 mins

In 1866, Congress decided to form the first all-Black Army regiments in peacetime: the 9th and 10th Cavalry, and the 24th and 25th Infantry. For many Black men, especially those just freed from slavery or who’d worn Union blue during the war, the military offered something rare: steady work, a chance for education, and maybe a little dignity in the era of Jim Crow.

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The Forgotten Black Paramedics Who Revolutionized Emergency Medicine

July 21, 2025 • 11 mins

Imagine calling an ambulance because someone you love is dying. You need urgent medical help—but instead of paramedics, The police shows up at your door. No medical training, no emergency equipment just the police vehicle. Hard to imagine, but this was real life for Black communities throughout America just 60 years ago.
This is the true story of everyday people from Pittsburgh’s historic Hill District ended up inventing emergency m...

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Why They Banned You From Celebrating July 4th

July 3, 2025 • 10 mins

In the aftermath of the Civil War, Fourth of July celebrations took on deep new meanings. While Confederate sympathizers hid away in bitterness, African Americans across the South embraced the day with joy, commemorating their newfound freedom with fireworks, speeches, and readings of the Emancipation Proclamation.

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Why They Keep The TRUTH About Black Medical Experiments Hidden

June 23, 2025 • 14 mins

For over a century, Black bodies were used—examined, experimented on, and exploited in the name of science. From plantation doctors perfecting procedures on enslaved women without anesthesia, to the government letting Black men die slow deaths in Tuskegee, to the stolen cells of a unsuspecting Black women changing medical history.

This isn’t ancient history. It’s a pattern. And it shaped the way Black communities view medicine, hosp...

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The National Guard in Black Neighborhoods

June 15, 2025 • 9 mins

Imagine waking to helicopters overhead and soldiers marching down your street—not due to war or disaster, but because your own government decided your voice had become too powerful. In 2025, this became reality in Los Angeles.

President Trump deployed 2,000 federal troops into California, branding immigration protests as an "insurrection." But ask Black activists, educators, and community leaders there—it felt all-too familiar: anot...

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What They Didn't Teach You About Jaywalking

June 8, 2025 • 10 mins

Imagine an American city street around 1900, the sidewalks spill over as children play tag in the roadway, vendors call out to neighbors, and people wander wherever they please. The street is alive—a true communal space, owned by everyone. No crosswalks, no traffic lights—just freedom and connection.

But this all changed almost overnight. What replaced those vibrant streets? Automobiles, Laws, and, most shockingly, a tool to control...

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The SHOCKING Reason Why They Called Blues "Devil Music"

May 26, 2025 • 13 mins

Born from the pain, joy, and raw truth of Black life in the Deep South, the blues gave voice to what the church often couldn’t touch desire, heartbreak, defiance, and survival. While gospel promised heaven, the blues told the truth about life on Earth.

This clash shook the Black community, especially as sacred and secular worlds collided in juke joints and church pews. But beneath the controversy was a sound that shaped American mus...

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Nottoway is Burning

May 19, 2025 • 12 mins

On May 15, 2025, flames tore through Louisiana's Nottoway Plantation, reducing one of America's largest, largest most lavish antebellum mansions to ashes. Behind the grand columns and gleaming chandeliers lay buried truths of pain, oppression, and exploitation, Black stories glossed over in the narrative of American history.

Join me today while we discuss the destruction of Nottoway

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What Nobody Told You About the Hidden Meaning Behind SINNERS! Part 2

May 12, 2025 • 11 mins

Sinners isn’t just a vampire story, it’s a mirror. Set in Jim Crow Mississippi, it sinks its teeth into the real horrors Black folks faced: chain gangs, racial passing, and survival by any means. And it doesn’t stop there, Mississippi’s Chinese communities had their own battles, caught between exclusion and uneasy alliances.

Join us for Part 2 of my breakdown of Ryan Coogler’s Sinners

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What Nobody Told You About the History Behind 'SINNERS

April 27, 2025 • 11 mins

In 1932 Mississippi, twin brothers Smoke and Stack return home seeking redemption, only to awaken chilling horrors from their past. Step into a shadowy world filled with juke joints, cotton plantations, and dark Southern secrets. But how much of "Sinners" draws from actual events in Black history?

Join us for a journey, revealing that sometimes the scariest monsters aren't vampires, they're human.

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What They Didn't Teach You about Aunt Jemima

April 6, 2025 • 9 mins

In the world of breakfast staples, few names echo through American kitchens like Aunt Jemima. Yet, beneath the familiar face lies a story deeply intertwined with America's racial past. From minstrel shows to modern grocery aisles, Aunt Jemima's image has carried more than just a pancake mix; it has carried the weight of cultural stereotypes. This emblem of comfort food is also a stark reminder of our uncomfortable history.

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The Plot to Murder Fred Hampton

March 17, 2025 • 11 mins

Late on an evening in December 1969, Fred Hampton, a charismatic young leader, finishes a class on politics and law before sharing a quiet meal with his pregnant fiancée, Deborah Johnson. But beneath the calm surface, unseen forces are stirring. In the early hours of December 4th, an unexpected and violent raid unfolds. Within moments, a flurry of gunfire erupts, leaving Hampton and fellow Panther Mark Clark dead and the survivors ...

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How They STOLE Your Last Name and Hid It From You

March 3, 2025 • 12 mins

The story of Black surnames is shaped by the brutalities of slavery, where the enslaved had their original surnames removed and were given the names of their enslavers. these names have become a testament to resilience and the enduring quest for Black identity amidst a backdrop of systemic racism and slavery

Join us as we unravel the history and significance of Black Surnames

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Why Black Folks LOVE Soul Food

February 23, 2025 • 11 mins

This video showcases the history behind soul food, from fried chicken to chitterlings.
Join us as we explore the rich heritage and timeless love the Black community has for soul food.

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One Mic Black History

Episodes

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.css-r6mb8g{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:1;overflow:hidden;}How Afro Sheen Built Soul Train

How Pullman Porters Outsmarted Jim Crow

The Bet That Made Pepsi the Black Soda

How the Sears Outsmarted Jim Crow

The Day The Police Dropped a Bomb On a Black Neighborhood

What They Don't Want You To Know about The Buffalo Soldiers

The Forgotten Black Paramedics Who Revolutionized Emergency Medicine

Why They Banned You From Celebrating July 4th

Why They Keep The TRUTH About Black Medical Experiments Hidden

The National Guard in Black Neighborhoods

What They Didn't Teach You About Jaywalking

The SHOCKING Reason Why They Called Blues "Devil Music"

Nottoway is Burning

What Nobody Told You About the Hidden Meaning Behind SINNERS! Part 2

What Nobody Told You About the History Behind 'SINNERS

What They Didn't Teach You about Aunt Jemima

The Plot to Murder Fred Hampton

How They STOLE Your Last Name and Hid It From You

Why Black Folks LOVE Soul Food

Popular Podcasts

Why Esso Backed Black Travelers During Jim Crow

How Afro Sheen Built Soul Train