A New York Minute In History WAMC

May is Asian American and Pacific Islanders Heritage Month and in celebration this episode highlights the community history of Manhattan’s Chinatown, one of the oldest and largest Chinese and Chinese American communities in the United States. The episode tells the story of how during a time of change in the late 1970s the Chinatown community moved to preserve and archive its own history, which had long been ignored and marginalized by the dominant cultural institutions of the area.



Featured image: Chinatown, Manhattan. Image: NYC Tourism.com







Marker of Focus: Chinatown and Little Italy Historic District, Manhattan.







Guests: Dr. John Kuo Wei (Jack) Tchen, Director, Clement A. Price Institute on Ethnicity, Culture, and the Modern Experience at Rutgers University Newark and Ashley Hopkins- Benton, Senior Historian and Curator at the New York State Museum.







A New York Minute in History is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio and the New York State Museum, with support from the William G. Pomeroy Foundation. This episode was produced by Elizabeth Urbanczyk. Our theme is “Begrudge” by Darby.







Further Reading and Resources:







New York Before Chinatown: Orientalism and the Shaping of American Culture, 1776-1882 by John Kuo Wei Tchen (2001).



“Back to the Basics: Who is Researching and Interpreting for Whom?” by John Kuo Wei Tchen, The Journal of American History (1994).



“New York Chinatown History Project” by John Kuo Wei Tchen (1987).



Museum of Chinese in America



Welcome to Chinatown







Teaching Resources:







Museum of Chinese in America: Learn



New-York Historical Society Curriculum Library: Chinese American Exclusion/Inclusion



Library of Congress: Asian American and Pacific Islanders Heritage Month Resources for Teachers













Follow Along







Devin: Welcome to A New York Minute in History. I'm Devin Lander, the New York State historian.



Lau

In celebration of Women’s History Month, this episode tells the story of Grace Leach Hudowalski, the first woman to summit all 46 of the Adirondack High Peaks. Besides being an accomplished mountain climber, Grace was also the first president of the Adirondack 46ers Club as well as its historian for over 50 years. As historian, Grace answered thousands of letters from club members telling her of their exploits as they reached each of the 46 summits. An accomplished writer, Grace promoted the Adirondacks through her work as a tourism writer for New York State and through her many articles for the Adirondack Mountain Club Magazine.









Marker of Focus: Grace Leach, Essex County







Guests:



Laurie Rankin, President of the Adirondack 46ers club, and Jane Meader Nye and Tony Solomon, Adirondack 46ers club members and friends of Grace.







A New York Minute in History is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio and the New York State Museum, with support from the William G. Pomeroy Foundation. This episode was produced by Elizabeth Urbanczyk. Our theme is “Begrudge” by Darby.







Further Reading:







The Adirondack High Peaks and the Forty-Sixers(1970), edited by Grace Leach Hudowalski.



The Mountains Will Wait for You, (2013), a film about Grace Leach Hudowalski by Fredrick T. Schwoebel and narrated by Johnny Cash.



Hiking the Adirondack 46 High Peaks: A Guide to the Region’s High Peaks(2024), by Johnathan Zaharek.



The Adirondacks: A History of America’s First Wilderness (1998), by Paul Schneider.

In honor of Black History Month, this episode tells the story of the 1839 La Amistad Rebellion, in which 53 illegally enslaved Africans rose up against their Spanish captors off the coast of Cuba, took over the ship, and attempted to sail it to freedom. They eventually reached Long Island, where they were arrested by U.S. officials. Aided by New York abolitionists, the Amistad Africans fought various legal battles for over two years before the Supreme Court finally ruled in their favor in what was one of the most important court cases related to slavery before the Civil War.







Marker of Focus: Schooner "Amistad", Suffolk County









Guests:



Dr. Marcus Rediker, author of The Amistad Rebellion: An Atlantic Odyssey of Slavery and Freedom and producer of the film Ghosts of Amistad: In the Footsteps of the Rebels, and Dr. Georgette Grier-Key, Executive Director and Chief Curator of the Eastville Community Historical Society.







A New York Minute in History is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio and the New York State Museum, with support from the William G. Pomeroy Foundation. This episode was produced by Elizabeth Urbanczyk. Our theme is “Begrudge” by Darby.







Further Reading:







Marcus Rediker, The Amistad Rebellion: An Atlantic Odyssey of Slavery and Freedom, 2012.



Howard Jones, Mutiny on the Amistad: The Saga of a Slave Revolt and Its Impact on American Abolition, Law, and Diplomacy, 1997.



Alexs Pate, Amistad,1997.







Teaching Resources:







Consider the Source New York Slavery Resources—New York State Archives Partnership Trust



Ghosts of Amistad: In the Footsteps of the Rebels Educator Resources



Discovering Amistad Teacher Resources



PBS Amistad Lesson Plan









Follow Along







Devin: Welcome to A New York Minute in History. I'm Devin Lander, the New York State historian. 



Lauren: And I'm Lauren Roberts, the historian for Saratoga County. In honor of Black History Month, on this episode, we are heading out to Long Island. The marker of focus is located very close to the shore, near 185 Soundview Drive in Montauk. The title is Schooner “Amistad” and the text reads: In 1839, illegally enslaved Africans subdued captors on ship, came ashore nearby, then jailed in CT. Finally freed by U.S. Supreme Court in 1841. William G Pomeroy Foundation 2022. 



The story of

On this month's episode, Devin and Lauren uncover a system of Confederate spies, guerillas, and terrorists attempting to wreak havoc on Western New York during the final years of the American Civil War.









Marker of Focus: Escape Prevented, Niagara County







Guests: Anton Schwarzmueller (Project Coordinator) and Jim Ball (Board President) of the Niagara Frontier Chapter-National Railway Historical Society, Lindsey Lauren Visser, Buffalo City Historian







A New York Minute in History is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio and the New York State Museum, with support from the William G. Pomeroy Foundation. This episode was produced by Elizabeth Urbanczyk. Our theme is “Begrudge” by Darby.







Featured Image: John Y. Beall, credit: Library of Congress



Further Reading:



Transcript of the Trial of John Y. Beall, Library of Congress



An Irrepressible Conflict: The Empire State in the Civil War by Aaron Noble, Jennifer Lemak, and Robert Weible.







Teaching Resources:



Consider the Source New York Civil War Resources—New York State Archives Partnership
Trust



An Irrepressible Conflict Online Exhibit—New York State Museum



New York State Military Museum Civil War Resources



New York State Archives Military Records







Continuing Teacher and Leader Education (CTLE) Credit: The New York State Museum is an approved provider of Continuing Teacher and Leader Education (CTLE). Educators can earn CTLE credit (.5 hours) by listening to this episode and completing this survey Please allow up to two weeks to receive confirmation of completion.









Follow Along







Devin: Welcome to A New York Minute in History. I'm Devin Lander, the New York State historian.



Lauren: And I'm Lauren Roberts, the historian for Saratoga County. On this episode, we're taking you to a marker located at the Amtrak train station at 825 Depot Ave West in the city of Niagara Falls, out in Niagara County. The title of the marker is “Escape Prevented” and the text reads: On December 16 1864, local police officer D.H. Thomas arrested two Confederate spies nearby after their attempt to derail a passenger train south of here. William G. Pomeroy Foundation, 2022. 



So we've got Confederate spies attempting to derail a passenger train south of Niagara Falls, it sounds like a pretty interesting story, and one that I had never heard of in context of the Civil War. So let's start by refreshing our memories about what was going on in the country in the 1860s. 



Th

On this month’s episode, Devin and Lauren explore the story of Plymouth Freeman, a black Patriot who served in the Continental Army during the American Revolution, and discuss how disenfranchised communities have harkened back to the promises outlined in the Declaration of Independence as a strategy for inclusion in those foundational principles of freedom and equality.







Marker of Focus: Plymouth Freeman, Madison County









Guests: Donna Wassall and Karen Christensen of the Fayetteville-Owahgena Chapter DAR, Paul and Mary Liz Stewart from the Underground Railroad Education Center, New York State Museum’s Chief Curator Dr. Jennifer Lemak and Senior Historian Ashley Hopkins-Benton.



A New York Minute in History is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio and the New York State Museum, with support from the William G. Pomeroy Foundation. This episode was produced by Elizabeth Urbanczyk. Our theme is “Begrudge” by Darby.



Featured Image: Soldiers at the Siege of Yorktown (1781), by Jean-Baptiste-Antoine DeVerger







Further reading:







The New York State 250th Commemorative Field Guide—Office of State History and the Association of Public Historians of NYS.



Liberty Is Sweet: The Hidden History of the American Revolution by Woody Holton.



Slavery in New York edited by Ira Berlin and Leslie M. Harris.



Gateway to Freedom: The Hidden History of the Underground Railroad by Eric Foner.



My Bondage and My Freedom by Frederick Douglass.



Women Will Vote: Winning Suffrage in New York State by Susan Goodier and Karen Pastorello.



Votes for Women: Celebrating New York's Suffrage Centennial Jennifer Lemak and Ashley Hopkins-Benton.

For our first episode of this new season, we're celebrating Native American Heritage Month with a conversation regarding how historians can center authentic indigenous voices and work with Native American communities across the state in planning for the upcoming 250th anniversary of the American Revolution.













Marker of Focus: Native Voices, Chemung County



Additional markers of focus: Newtown Defense, Thick Swamp, Rowland Montour, Chemung Village









Guests: Dr. Joe Stahlman, Tribal Preservation Officer, The Seneca Nation of Indians, Dr. Nina M. Versaggi, Public Archeology Faculty, Binghamton University, Dr. Michael Jacobson, Public Archeology Faculty, Binghamton University. This episode also features parts of a public lecture given by Dr. Scott Manning Stevens at the New York State Museum on October 29th, 2023.



A New York Minute in History is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio and the New York State Museum, with support from the William G. Pomeroy Foundation. This episode was produced by Elizabeth Urbanczyk. Our theme is “Begrudge” by Darby.







Further Reading:



Ned Blackhawk, The Rediscovery of America: Native Peoples and the Unmaking of U.S. History.



Amy Lonetree, Decolonizing Museums: Representing Native America in National and Tribal Museums.



A. Lynn Smith, Memory Wars: Settlers and Natives Remember Washington’s Sullivan Expedition of 1779.



Scott Manning Stevens et al, Why You Can't Teach United States History without American Indians.  







Teaching Resources:



Akwesasne Cultural Center



Cayuga Nation



Delaware Nation