Nova Reid, producer, author, truthseeker and all-round remarkable Black woman, has made a podcast with Audible about other remarkable and unsung Black women: women who not only survived enslavement and unimaginable racism, but who thrived. It’s called Hidden Histories and, as Nova says, it explores the lives of:
Pioneers, journalists, and rule-breakers – remarkable figures from the 18th–20th centuries who made vital contributions to civil rights yet have been mythologised, are unknown, or erased from history.
Click on the image to listen on Audible.
When Nova was writing her first book, The Good Ally (reviewed here) she was, ‘Captivated by recurring themes of resistance from Black women’; women she was never taught about at school; women whose stories, as far as I know, have never been taught at any British school. But now you can discover them. Hidden Histories is published this International Women’s Month.
In the first episode, you’ll discover Queen Nanny of the Maroons, a Jamaican national heroine, who, ‘Instilled the spirit of freedom in her people’. Nanny escaped to the Blue Mountains from a slave ship in Port Antonio and was given refuge by the Taíno, the first Peoples of Jamaica. Nanny was a Priestess who eventually led the Maroons to victory against the British enslavers.
Other remarkable women in the series include Cubah Cornwallis, who healed a future king of England; ground-breaking journalist Barbara Blake-Hannah; the revolutionary activist Olive Morris; Dame Jocelyn Barrow, whose work shaped modern British politics; the poet Louise “Miss Lou” Bennett-Coverley, who gave voice to Jamaican identity; Gertrude Paul, a Yorkshire-based headteacher from St Kitts who fought for racial equality in education. And more.
I’ve deliberatly not searched for sites to link to these remarkable women because Nova tells their stories powerfully and passionately. We need to hear their stories from her. I’ve listened to the first episode, about Queen Nanny, and I’m seriously looking forward to hearing all the others. Here’s a preview. Congratulations Nova!
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