Edda Fields Black News Today

Edda Fields-Black discusses her monumental and illuminating new book, "Combee: Harriet Tubman, the Combahee River Raid, and Black Freedom during the Civil War."

From lectures, to concerts to soul sessions, events abound around the Steel City to mark Black History Month.

The Interlochen Arts Academy Orchestra conductor discusses the two unprecedented programs of music by Black composers he'll lead in March with the New York Philharmonic.

How did rice become a very commonly grown, rock-star grain in many parts of the world? What is the legacy of rice-growing in South Carolina, specifically? How has rice reshaped wetlands—and cultures? Following up on our conversation with Dr. Edda Fields-Black regarding the rice and the West African diaspora, we speak with another historian of rice: Peter H. Wood, Professor Emeritus of History at Duke University and Adjunct Professor of History at the University of Colorado–Boulder. Dr.

How did knowledge of grains from West Africa shape rural lands and cities in North America? Why has it taken so long for historians to address the agricultural knowledge work of enslaved persons? Dr. Edda Fields-Black, Associate Professor of History at Carnegie Mellon University, joins us to discuss these vitally important questions.

Watson: Its super hot, right? Super humid. Fields-Black: Very hot. You know, this is the mosquitoes’ heyday Watson: Id be running for that boat, too. I mean if I could. Fields-Black: Exactly. But this is the time when the rice is sown. This is sort of the prime fieldwork time for rice plantations. But this is also a time when the plantation owners and the overseers are absent from the plantation from early May until mid- to late-November. Watson: Thats intriguing. Fields-Black: So there are m...

On today's program: health reporter Sarah Boden explains how new state guidance on vaccine distribution could make it more difficult for small pharmacies