BROADCASTS.com

b'

You\\u2019re listening to a special-edition, three-part podcast series about Charleston\\u2019s Sch\\xfctzenfest, a mid-19th-century German gun and beer festival that initially was a diverse and welcoming environment, but which gradually evolved into a site of white supremacy.

In our first two episodes, we delved deeper into both the history of the fest itself and the kinds of beer you might see around Charleston in the 19th century. Now we\\u2019ll take a more contemporary view by talking to people living in, advocating for, and brewing in Charleston today.

First, I speak with a childhood mentor of mine, Mr. Sammy Backman. Mr. Sammy isn\\u2019t a brewer. He runs Backman\\u2019s Seafood, and has spent more than 50 years fishing South Carolina\\u2019s coast. The same fundamental forces that transformed the Sch\\xfctzenfest have followed Mr. Sammy\\u2019s boats his whole life. But in turn, he\\u2019s thriving, and he\\u2019s taught me since my childhood about the indelible mark Gullah Geechee communities continue to make on Charleston life.

Next, I catch up with KJ Kearney, host of Black Food Fridays on Instagram, who\\u2019s worked tirelessly to help Gullah Geechee communities be better recognized and included in the Holy City. On his Instagram series, KJ educates fellow Charlestonians about Black food traditions by preserving Gullah foodways and history. We talk about the power of food and beverage history to erode racial barriers, our love for (and our frustrations with) Charleston, and KJ\\u2019s work to make things better.

Finally, I talk with Jaime Tenny of Charleston\\u2019s own Coast Brewing Company. She discusses her brewery\\u2019s need to better include new communities, and how much learning she still needs to do before that\\u2019s possible. As our conversation shows, many breweries don\\u2019t know how to foster authentic inclusion within their spaces, even if they do know that it\\u2019s on them to learn.

Join us in finishing our journey through the Sch\\xfctzenfest, Charleston, and the centuries-long work of racial oppression. Here\\u2019s 60-year Charleston native\\u2014and part of my village\\u2014Mr. Sammy Backman.