Trey Kay, Todd Melby Published

Us & Them Encore: Leaving The White Bubble

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Us & Them host Trey Kay joined a small group to travel through America’s southern states learning about the country’s racial past and the impact of the civil rights movement today. This immersive journey took them across several states to places that have come to define periods in America’s racial history — from Charleston, South Carolina’s slave trade market to Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia. 

The group visited sites that put this country’s racist history on display, and Kay was along to hear them reflect on our nation and themselves. 

This episode of Us & Them is presented with support from the West Virginia Humanities Council and CRC Foundation.

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Two men, one sitting, one standing, smile for the camera.
James Person, one of the original Freedom Riders, in Atlanta, GA, with Us & Them host Trey Kay.

Credit: Trey Kay/West Virginia Public Broadcasting
Prof. Todd Allen speaking to a tour group at King Center in Atlanta, GA.

Credit: Trey Kay/West Virginia Public Broadcasting
Us & Them host Trey Kay at Ebeneezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, GA.

Credit: Trey Kay/West Virginia Public Broadcasting
A tomb is seen on top of a water memorial.
Final resting place for Martin Luther King, Jr. and Coretta Scott King in Atlanta, GA.

Credit: Trey Kay/West Virginia Public Broadcasting
A woman with grey hair, glasses and smiling, wearing a black hoodie, looks at the camera.
Betsy Disharoon in her art studio in the suburbs of Boston, MA.

Credit: Trey Kay/West Virginia Public Broadcasting
An old plantation home is shown on a sunny day.
McLeod Plantation is a former slave plantation located on James Island, near Charleston, SC.

Credit: Trey Kay/West Virginia Public Broadcasting
A man stands outside, in front of a tour group. He is speaking.
John Gardiner stands in front of small cabins, which once house enslaved people, and speaks about the history of the McLeod Plantation and the slave trade in Charleston, SC.

Credit: Trey Kay/West Virginia Public Broadcasting
A close up of a man wearing a face mask and glasses on a bus.
Aziz Abu Sarah, founder of Mejdi Tours, rides on a bus heading to Charleston, SC and tells travelers about his experience as a Palestinian growing up in Jerusalem.

Credit: Trey Kay/West Virginia Public Broadcasting
A group of people stand around a sign smiling.
Mejdi Tours’ Civil Rights Journey stops at the site of the future International African American Museum in Charleston, SC.

Credit: Trey Kay/West Virginia Public Broadcasting

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