A musical prodigy from Kansas becomes a renowned race woman in Chicago, a tabloid sensation in Harlem, and an internationally renowned musical force. These are the many lives and loves of one of the most famous women of the era: Nora Holt.

Snag your tickets to the live show!

To learn more about the show and keep in touch, check out https://ourancestorsweremessy.com

To access bonus content and support this independent production visit https://ourancestorsweremessy.supercast.com

To stay in touch email ouranestorsweremessy@gmail.com or follow the show @ourancestorsweremessy on Instagram

THE A-TEAM
The show is hosted by Nichole Hill (https://www.nicholelhill.com/). This week's guests are Natalie Tulloch and Christabel Nsiah-Buadi
Executive Producer A.A. Hernandez
Sound design by Pat Mesiti-Miller (https://www.patmesiti-miller.com/) with additional music from Mellat Makeda
Story Producer Martina Abrahams Ilunga (@m_tina)
Research Producer Chioke I'Anson (https://www.chiokeianson.com/)
Story Editing by Shonte Hill
Show art by Aseloka Smith (@naturallyherown)

SOURCES

1. Nora Holt: The Most Famous Woman You've Never Heard Of by Imani Perry
2. Nora Holt by Matthew Guerrieri
3. Nora Holt: New Negro Composer and Jazz Age Goddess by Cheryl A. Wall
4. "Strange What Cosmopolites Music Makes of Us": Classical Music, the Black press, and Nora Douglas Holt's Black Feminist Audiotopia by Lucy Caplan

Host Nichole Hill shares updates about the future of the show.

To learn more about the show and keep in touch, check out https://ourancestorsweremessy.com

To access bonus content and support this independent production visit https://ourancestorsweremessy.supercast.com

To stay in touch email ouranestorsweremessy@gmail.com or follow the show @ourancestorsweremessy on Instagram

In 1920, Emperor Jones was a bona fide Broadway hit. The controversial play’s lead is Charles Gilpin, the first Black man to head up an integrated cast on the Great White Way. Gilpin enjoys fame, accolades, and universal acclaim…but he does have a note for his playwright Eugene O’Neil. A note that will make and break careers and change the course of Black history!

To learn more about the show and keep in touch, check out https://ourancestorsweremessy.com

To access bonus content and support this independent production visit https://ourancestorsweremessy.supercast.com

To stay in touch email ouranestorsweremessy@gmail.com or follow the show @ourancestorsweremessy on Instagram

THE A-TEAM
The show is hosted by Nichole Hill (https://www.nicholelhill.com/). This week's guest are Chioke I'Anson and his daughter Amaya Zahar.
Executive Producer A.A. Hernandez
Sound design by Nichole Hill
Story Producer Martina Abrahams Ilunga (@m_tina)
Research Producer Chioke I'Anson (https://www.chiokeianson.com/)
Story Editing by Shonte Hill
Show art by Aseloka Smith (@naturallyherown)

SOURCES

1. The Emperor Jones by Eugene O'Neil
2. Preserving African-American Cinema: The Case of The Emperor Jones by Jennie Saxena with contributions from Ken Weissman and James Cozart
3. "The Truth About Haiti: An NAACP Investigation" by James Weldon Johnson
4. Charles Gilpin. The Kennedy Center
5. Jackson Ward and its Black Wall Street. National Park Service
6. Beyond Tulsa: The Historic Legacies and Overlooked Stories of America's Black Wall Streets. Time Magazine
7. The Richmond Planet is digitized and stored at The Library of Congress.
   
   
   
   

Episodes release bi-weekly.

In the summer of 1932, Anna and Percy learn that their scandalous love affair has been exposed on the front page of the most popular Black newspaper in DC. They were on their way to making history but now that the secret’s out, their futures hang in the balance.

To learn more about the show and keep in touch, check out https://ourancestorsweremessy.com/. To access bonus content and support this independent production visit https://ourancestorsweremessy.supercast.com/ .

You can read the Washington Afro American newspaper which is still in print and holds the distinction of being one of the oldest continously published Black newspapers in America. You can support the archiving and sharing of this newspaper at Afro Charities.

The show is hosted by Nichole Hill (https://www.nicholelhill.com/).
This week's guest is Nygel Turner (@unsp.gully)
Executive Producer A.A. Hernandez
Sound design by John DeLore
Story Producer Martina Abrahams Ilunga (@m_tina)
Research Producer Chioke I'Anson (https://www.chiokeianson.com/)
Story Editing by Shonte Hill
Show art by Aseloka Smith (@naturallyherown)

Episodes release bi-weekly.

Host Nichole Hill shares how listeners can support the show and a sneak peek at next week's episode.

• To access bonus content and support this independent production visit Our Ancestors Were Messy.Supercast.com.
• Follow the show and see updates from Tribeca @ourancestorsweremessy on Instagram.
• To learn more about the show and keep in touch, visit Our Ancestors Were Messy.com
• Send your messy family story to ouranestorsweremessy@gmail.com.

Zora Neale Huston and Langston Hughes finally set to work writing their play but outside influences and crossed wires spell trouble for this historic pair.

To learn more about the show and keep in touch, check out https://ourancestorsweremessy.com/. To access bonus content and support this independent production visit https://ourancestorsweremessy.supercast.com/ .

Check out The Interstate Tattler digitized and stored by the New York Public Libraries. Read the archives at Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture.

The show is hosted by Nichole Hill (https://www.nicholelhill.com/).
This week's guest is Alicia Walters
Executive Producer A.A. Hernandez
Sound design by Kyle Murdock (@kcreatesaudio)
Story Producer Martina Abrahams Ilunga (@m_tina)
Research Producer Chioke I'Anson (https://www.chiokeianson.com/)
Story Editing by Shonte Hill
Show art by Aseloka Smith (@naturallyherown)

Episodes release bi-weekly.

Host Nichole Hill shares how listeners can support the show and a sneak peek at next week's episode.

• To access bonus content and support this independent production visit Our Ancestors Were Messy.Supercast.com.
• Follow the show @ourancestorsweremessy on Instagram.
• To learn more about the show and keep in touch, visit Our Ancestors Were Messy.com
• Send your messy family story to ouranestorsweremessy@gmail.com.

It's the summer of 1927 and Zora Neale Huston and Langston Hughes are driving across the South searching for folklore, swapping stories, and enjoying being the newfound stars of the Harlem Renaissance.

To learn more about the show and keep in touch, check out https://ourancestorsweremessy.com

To access bonus content and support this independent production visit https://ourancestorsweremessy.supercast.com

To stay in touch email ouranestorsweremessy@gmail.com or follow the show @ourancestorsweremessy on Instagram

THE A-TEAM
The show is hosted by Nichole Hill (https://www.nicholelhill.com/). This week's guest is Alicia Walters (@aliciacreates)
Executive Producer A.A. Hernandez
Sound design by Kyle Murdock (@kcreatesaudio)
Story Producer Martina Abrahams Ilunga (@m_tina)
Research Producer Chioke I'Anson (https://www.chiokeianson.com/)
Story Editing by Shonte Hill
Show art by Aseloka Smith (@naturallyherown)

SOURCES

1. Zora and Langston: A Story of Friendship and Betrayal by Yuval Taylor
2. Dust Tracks on a Road by Langston Hughes
3. In Search of Zora Neale Hurston by Alice Walker
4. The Complex Literary Friendship Between Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston by Yuval Taylor
5. Jackson's classic collection of Black "toasts" is resurrected by Patricia Donovan
6. Get Your Ass in the Water and Swim Like Me: Narrative Poetry from Black Oral Tradition by Bruce Jackson
7. Check out The Chicago Defender digitized and stored at The Library of Congress
8. Read the archives at The Chicago Defender Archives
   

Episodes release bi-weekly.