This week, we're on a mini break to relaunch with improved audio, a collection of archival footage and resources paired with each episode and by request, a YouTube channel to feature captioned videos for each episode. We'll be back next week with episode 4, The Farmers Alliance & Rise of Populism in Kansas!

In this episode of Roots of Resistance: Radical Kansas, we explore the incredible community building of Nicodemus, the first all-Black settlement on the Great Plains. Founded in 1877, Nicodemus was built by formerly enslaved families seeking freedom and self-determination, overcoming systemic barriers, economic hardship, and racial exclusion to carve out a thriving community. We examine the Exoduster movement, the role of the Homestead Act, the challenges settlers faced, and the community resilience that kept Nicodemus alive.

Resources & Further Learning

Books on Nicodemus & Black Migration to Kansas:

• African Americans on the Great Plains: An Anthology edited by Bruce A. Glasrud and Charles A. Braithwaite
  https://www.nebraskapress.unl.edu/nebraska/9780803220308
• Exodusters: Black Migration to Kansas after Reconstruction by Nell Irvin Painter
  https://uncpress.org/book/9780807848164/exodusters
• Creating the Black Utopia of Buxton, Iowa by Rachelle Chase (provides broader context of Black communities in the Midwest)
  https://www.arcadiapublishing.com/Products/9781467140780

Primary Sources & Archives:

• Nicodemus National Historic Site (National Park Service)
  https://www.nps.gov/nico/index.htm
• Nicodemus Historical Society & Museum
  https://www.nicodemushistoricalsociety.org
• Library of Congress – Nicodemus Newspaper Archives
  https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/search/pages/results/?state=Kansas&city=Nicodemus&rows=20&sort=date

Descendants, Historians, & Journalists Covering Nicodemus:

• Angela Bates, Executive Director of the Nicodemus Historical Society, frequently writes and speaks about Nicodemus’s history and legacy. Check out her work here:
  https://www.nicodemushistoricalsociety.org/about
• Black Homesteaders of the South by Bernadette Pruitt (explores similar settlements)
  https://lsupress.org/books/detail/black-homesteaders-of-the-south

Articles & Essays on the Exoduster Movement:

• Black Exodus: The Great Migration from the South by Isabel Wilkerson (Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Warmth of Other Suns)
  https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2011/10/03/the-great-migration-isabel-wilkerson
• "Nicodemus and the All-Black Towns of Kansas" by the Kansas Historical Society
  https://www.kshs.org/kansapedia/nicodemus/11906

Black Farming & Land Justice Today:

• The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America by Richard Rothstein (examines systemic racism in land ownership)
  https://wwnorton.com/books/The-Color-of-Law
• We Are Each Other’s Harvest: Celebrating African American Farmers, Land, and Legacy by Natalie Baszile
  https://www.harpercollins.com/products/we-are-each-others-harvest-natalie-baszile
• The National Black Farmers Association – Advocates for Black farmers’ rights and access to land.
  https://www.blackfarmers.org
• The National Black Food and Justice Alliance – Focuses on food sovereignty and land justice for Black communities.
  https://www.blackfoodjustice.org
• Justice for Black Farmers Act – Legislation aimed at addressing historical discrimination against Black farmers. Learn more and support:
  https://www.booker.senate.gov/blackfarmers 

Take Action & Stay Engaged:

• Support Nicodemus Homecoming, an annual event celebrating the legacy and descendants of Nicodemus:
  https://www.nicodemushomecoming.org
• Visit and support the Nicodemus National Historic Site, the only remaining Black settlement west of the Mississippi:
  https://www.nps.gov/nico/index.htm 

In this episode of Roots of Resistance: Radical Kansas, we dive into the dramatic events of Bleeding Kansas, a violent period in the mid-1800s when pro-slavery forces and abolitionists clashed over the future of Kansas. 

Resources & Further Learning

• Bleeding Kansas: Contested Liberty in the Civil War Era by Nicole Etcheson
  https://www.kansaspress.ku.edu
• The Battle Cry of Freedom by James M. McPherson
  https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-battle-cry-of-freedom-9780195088491

Black Perspectives on Bleeding Kansas & Abolition

• The Half Has Never Been Told: Slavery and the Making of American Capitalism by Edward E. Baptist
  https://www.basicbooks.com/titles/edward-e-baptist/the-half-has-never-been-told/9780465030293/
• Slavery by Another Name: The Re-Enslavement of Black Americans from the Civil War to World War II by Douglas A. Blackmon
  https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/172146/slavery-by-another-name-by-douglas-a-blackmon
• The Black Abolitionists by Benjamin Quarles
  https://www.umass.edu/umpress/title/black-abolitionists

Primary Sources & Letters

• John Everett Letters, 1854-1864, Kansas Historical Society
  https://www.kshs.org/p/letters-of-john-everett/17077
• The Herald of Freedom Newspaper
  https://www.kshs.org/

Indigenous Perspectives on Bleeding Kansas

• The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee by David Treuer
  https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/567361/the-heartbeat-of-wounded-knee-by-david-treuer
• An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz
  https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/228195/an-indigenous-peoples-history-of-the-united-states-by-roxanne-dunbar-ortiz

Take Action

• Support organizations like the Kansas Coalition Against the Death Penalty and the ACLU of Kansas, working to continue the abolitionist spirit in Kansas today.
  Kansas Coalition Against the Death Penalty: https://ksabolition.org
  ACLU of Kansas: https://www.aclukansas.org
• Engage locally: Find organizations working on racial justice, reparations, or abolition in your community, and see how you can support their work.

Before Kansas became a state, Indigenous nations cared for this land for centuries. This episode explores forced removal, cultural resistance, and the fight for sovereignty, from the Trail of Death to the Ghost Dance and ongoing Land Back efforts.

Resources & Further Learning

• NDN Collective – https://ndncollective.org
• Friends of the Kaw – https://kansasriver.org
• Kansas Office of Native American Affairs – https://governor.kansas.gov/serving-kansans/constituent-services/office-of-native-american-affairs/
• IllumiNative – https://illuminatives.org

Books & Articles

• An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States – Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz
  https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/228195/an-indigenous-peoples-history-of-the-united-states-by-roxanne-dunbar-ortiz
• Our History is the Future – Nick Estes
  https://www.versobooks.com/en-gb/products/2546-our-history-is-the-future
• The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee – David Treuer
  https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/567361/the-heartbeat-of-wounded-knee-by-david-treuer
• As Long As Grass Grows – Dina Gilio-Whitaker
  https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/566067/as-long-as-grass-grows-by-dina-gilio-whitaker

Indigenous Creators & Scholars to Follow

• Nick Estes (@nickwestes) – Historian, activist, co-founder of The Red Nation
  https://twitter.com/nickwestes
• Dina Gilio-Whitaker (@dgiliowhitaker) – Author and scholar on Indigenous environmental justice
  https://twitter.com/dgiliowhitaker
• Rebecca Nagle (@rebeccanagle) – Journalist and host of This Land podcast
  https://twitter.com/rebeccanagle
• The Red Nation (@therednationmovement) – Indigenous resistance organization
  https://therednation.org
• Show Me Your Mask (@showmeyourmask) – Indigenous creator advocating for cultural representation and justice
  https://www.instagram.com/showmeyourmask

Take Action

• Support Indigenous-led organizations and Land Back movements
• Learn about treaty rights and ongoing struggles in your area
• Advocate for policies that support Indigenous sovereignty

Next Episode: Wednesday, February 5th
Bleeding Kansas – The grassroots fight against slavery that helped ignite the Civil War.

Roots of Resistance: Radical Kansas is a podcast about the everyday people who fought back - on picket lines, in courtrooms, and in the streets. From Indigenous resistance and labor uprisings to radical farm movements and disability justice, these stories prove that real change doesn’t start with politicians - it starts with us. New episodes every Wednesday!