When people think of slavery in the U.S., many think of the South. But slavery happened in the North. Thousands of people were enslaved in Connecticut, which was the last New England state to end slavery — just 13 years before the Civil War began.
It’s history many of us didn’t learn in school.
Connecticut Public’s journalists wanted to explore this hidden history: What happened, why it happened and why it matters today. It led to nine months of meticulous research, reporting and interviews with dozens of people, which resulted in our series, “Unforgotten: Connecticut’s Hidden History of Slavery.”
We offered our audience a multi-platform history lesson: radio storytelling, a podcast, a digital series, a television special, in-depth videos, pictures, social media elements and a community conversation at a local museum.
Here’s a look at the array of storytelling that is part of “Unforgotten."
Audio: 30-minute version
Audio: Complete version
Digital project: Landing page
Digital project: Five chapters
Each chapter features a radio feature, video and digital story.
Chapter 2: ‘This is my country': A family learns their ancestors were enslaved in Connecticut
About the series
About the series: Why we're reporting on Connecticut's history of slavery
Videos via YouTube playlist
We produced five videos for each story in the series. They were also featured in a 60-minute television documentary.
Podcast
Here's where you can listen to all five episodes of our "Unforgotten" podcast.
Community Conversation
Social media: Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/ctpublic/reel/C8ZzkgXo5lT/