100 Objects: 5:.Blue Back Speller
Why was an ordinary schoolbook so treasured that enslaved people risked their lives for it
Why did an ordinary schoolbook become so treasured that enslaved people risked their lives to possess it? Roman Mars and historian Imani Perry follow the Webster Blue Back Speller from the early days of the United States, to the heart of Black intellectual life. Through the lives of Booker T. Washington and W. E. B. Du Bois, Roman and Imani uncover how a single object became a gateway to literacy, self-determination, and an enduring debate about what education, citizenship, and freedom should mean in America.
Presenter: Roman Mars
Producer: Priscilla Alabi, Brenna Daldorph, Isaac Fisher, Ellie Lightfoot
Executive producer: Annie Brown, Courtney Harrell, Kathy Tu
A BBC Studios and 99% Invisible production for BBC World Service
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- Mon 23 Nov 202604:32BBC World Service
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- Mon 23 Nov 202623:32BBC World Service except East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa
- Sat 28 Nov 202617:32BBC World Service News Internet
