Memory Marks podcast and transcripts

This collection contains audio files and transcripts created by students as part of ENWR 2520: Writing the Memorial to Enslaved Laborers at UVA in the Fall of 2021. Students were broken into four groups and each created a podcast episode and supplied the transcriptions. Students researched and reflected upon the history of slavery at the University of Virginia—including its connections to present day racism and white supremacy in Charlottesville and beyond. In addition to the four episodes, students also created an audio collage of what they learned from the project.

Episode 1: hidden in plain sight. Production Team: Annie Cao, Erica Cummings, August Lamb, Ashley Thompson. This episode explores the dark history of the spaces that UVA students interact with on a daily basis. We investigate the history of some well-known buildings, the people they were named after, and what their presence means for UVA going forward.

Episode 2: “more than words, more than symbols.” Production Team: Abigail Grable, Tristan Guarnieri, Jesse Lynch, Alejandro Waquin. This episode focuses on several of the individuals who built the university, the process of finding and adding names to the Memorial to Enslaved Laborers (MEL), and how the presence of the MEL impacts the Charlottesville community.

Episode 3: the tale of two MELs. Production Team: Byron Bleuze, Jesse Brouillette, Yumna Rahman, Jeffrey Richbart. This episode reveals the story of how the MEL came to be. We examine the decisions that led to the creation of the memorial and the crucial (often unacknowledged) role that students played in making the MEL a reality.

Episode 4: nonlinear progress. Production Team: Yixuan Chen, Cabrel Happi, Heba Imam, Shakeel Panjwani. This episode traces Charlottesville’s and UVA’s nonlinear progress in addressing racial injustices and inequities, demonstrating how the past is still very much alive in our present moment.