logo
episode-header-image
Jun 2021
28m 31s

Descendants: Episode One

Bbc Radio 4
About this episode

One year on from the toppling of the Colston Statue in Bristol, Descendants asks... how close is each of us to the legacy of Britain's role in slavery? And who does that mean our lives are connected to?

Yrsa Daley-Ward narrates seven episodes telling the stories of people whose lives today are all connected through this history.

The story begins with Jen Reid – whose image first captured attention of the national and international press after a replacement statue of her appeared on the plinth where Colston once stood. In the first episode, we discover the connection between Jen's ancestors in Jamaica and another family 3000 miles away in Detroit. Scrolling backwards and forwards in time, their stories span 200 years and take us on a journey from a plantation field in Jamaica to a football pitch in Scotland and a connection to a legendary figure of the 20th century.

Producers: Polly Weston, Candace Wilson, Rema Mukena Editor: Kirsten Lass Academic consultants: Matthew Smith and Rachel Lang of the Centre for the Study of the Legacies of British Slavery at UCL Additional genealogical research is by Laura Berry

Up next
Jul 2024
Stealing Power
Meter tampering means altering a meter to prevent it from fully recording how much electricity or gas is being used, or bypassing the meter completely to energy usage being recorded at all. It may seem like a great idea, but there are consequences. It’s dangerous and it is a crim ... Show More
28m 31s
Jul 2024
The Club Nobody Wants to Join
There Is a club that no high school principal in the USA wants to join, but they are all incredibly grateful that its there. Because in the event of the worst possible scenario happening, they will need it The 'Principal Recovery Network' is made up of school leaders who have liv ... Show More
28m 31s
Jul 2024
Searching for Butterflies
In the mountains of Latakia, Syria, Mudar Salimeh devotes much of his time to searching for butterflies. A geologist, artist, and nature lover, Mudar's fascination with butterflies began in the spring of 2018 when a great number of caterpillars appeared in his art studio. Over ti ... Show More
28m 52s
Recommended Episodes
Jun 2023
Honoring My Enslaved Ancestors, Part One
Code Switch co-host B.A. Parker digs into what it means to maintain the legacy of her ancestors. In part one of two episodes, Parker goes to a symposium for descendants of slavery and meets people who, like her, are caretakers of "culturally significant historical places."Note: A ... Show More
33m 42s
Feb 2023
Honoring The Legacy Of The Clotilda Descendants
<p>To kick off our series on Black History Month, What A Day host Juanita Tolliver sits down with Veda Tunstall and Emmett Lewis, descendants of enslaved people brought to Alabama aboard the Clotilda, the last known slave ship in American history, and whose stories are featured i ... Show More
19m 58s
Jun 2023
Honoring My Enslaved Ancestors, Part Two
In the second of two episodes, Code Switch co-host B.A. Parker is figuring out what kind of descendant she wants to be. Parker and her mom decide to go back to the plantation where their ancestors were enslaved, because despite the circumstances of slavery, this is where their fa ... Show More
33m 40s
Jun 2020
Bristol: A tale of two statues
This week, statues have fallen like dominoes around the world, and a new discussion about the people commemorated in our public spaces has begun. We go back to Bristol where the week's events started, and learn why Colston's legacy is still so pervasive in the city. We also hear ... Show More
25m 41s
Jul 2020
Race in America: My enslaved ancestors
As Americans call for change following the killing of George Floyd, three women share the history of slavery in their families and discuss its impact on society today. Sharon Leslie Morgan in Mississippi is the founder of Our Black Ancestry Foundation, which provides resources fo ... Show More
27m 42s
Aug 2022
Inheritors of partition
In homes across the UK, partition is not history but a live issue for its young descendants. Over the course of a year, Kavita Puri follows three people as they piece together parts of their complex family history and try to understand the legacy of partition and what it means to ... Show More
28m 13s
Nov 2022
What Are We Really Made Of?
A legacy isn’t just something you leave behind, it’s something you carry on. Our DNA holds the stories of that legacy and in this episode, the Ellises unlock some of those stories with their report from 23andMe. Dead ass.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. 
1h 23m