The Tattooed Historian is a history podcast that is accessible, edgy and fun. The host of the podcast is historian John Heckman. Heckman discusses a variety of interesting topics with historians and authors. Some of them include the Great Sea Island Storm of 1893, the American Civil War, and World War Two. From each episode you are given a valuable history lesson.
The latest episode is about the Great Sea Island Storm of 1893. The guest is Caroline Grego who wrote the book Hurricane Jim Crow: How the Great Sea Island Storm of 1893 Shaped the Lowcountry South. Grego describes the storm and talks about the devastation that mostly impacted black communities in the Lowcountry of South Carolina. It struck land between 12 AM-1:30 AM on August 27, which surprised people who were sleeping and resulted in thousands of deaths.
Along with destruction in their communities, African Americans suffered from Jim Crow laws that were enacted following the storm. The laws denied them political representation and confiscated their lands. Whites found ways to blame African Americans for destruction inflicted by the storm and some even criticized the Red Cross for giving them aid. It is shocking to hear how racist attitudes were maintained even at the time of a tragedy. Grego does a tremendous job of explaining the consequences of the storm and putting it into historical context.
The Tattooed Historian is an educational and interesting podcast. Topics in episodes are specific to a period of history and you will learn about aspects of an era you might not know about. Thus far, I have only listened to the episode about the Great Sea Island Storm of 1893 but I look forward to hearing more.
You can watch The Tattooed Historian on YouTube or listen to it on apps such as Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
John Heckman will be giving a Zoom presentation through the Yonkers Public Library called Virtual Reality and Engaging the Past. This presentation will be held on Thursday, May 17 at 7 PM. Register for it through the YPL website.