The Black Hum

Mar 10, 2026 · 33m

In this episode, we chart the path of E. Lionel Cross — soldier, trailblazing Black lawyer, and civil-rights advocate — and his campaign to hold the Ku Klux Klan accountable after the Oakville cross burning and kidnapping. It is a story about the power of the courtroom and the unfinished work of justice in Canada.*Download our Discussion Questions for your class*Host Cindy CharlesWriter Nuruddin QoraneExecutive Producer Ryan BarnettAssociate Producer Cindy CharlesVoice Director Sonia GemmitiResearcher Dr. Sarafina PagnottaSeries Consultants Kathy Grant & Mathias JoostThis series features interviews with Lt. Jerome Downey, Robert Downey, Jr., Michael Marville, Stephen Dame, Mathias Joost, Kathy Grant, Constance Backhouse, Dr. Dorothy WilliamsAdditional voices by Keith Francis & Matthew BarnettA Knockabout Media ProductionThis podcast was made possible thanks to funding from Veterans Affairs Canada’s Commemorative Partnership Program. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mar 3, 2026 · 29m

In this episode, we trace the rise of Rufus Rockhead and the making of Rockhead’s Paradise — the club that became the epicentre of Montreal’s jazz scene. It’s the story of how one man’s ambition transformed a city’s nightlife and created a powerful space for music, community, and resistance.*Download our Discussion Questions for your class*Host Cindy CharlesWriter Nuruddin QoraneExecutive Producer Ryan BarnettAssociate Producer Cindy CharlesVoice Director & Editor Sonia GemmitiResearcher Dr. Sarafina PagnottaSeries Consultants Kathy Grant & Mathias JoostThis series features interviews with Lt. Jerome Downey, Robert Downey, Jr., Michael Marville, Stephen Dame, Mathias Joost, Kathy Grant, Constance Backhouse, Dr. Dorothy WilliamsAdditional voices by Keith Francis & Matthew BarnettFeaturing "Hello Montreal" performed by Fred Waring & The PennsylvaniansA Knockabout Media ProductionThis podcast was made possible thanks to funding from Veterans Affairs Canada’s Commemorative Partnership Program. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Feb 24, 2026 · 27m

George Alexander Downey was a veteran of two world wars and the patriarch of one of Nova Scotia’s most storied families. From the forests of wartime France to the communities of North Preston, this is the story of his service, sacrifice, and the legacy he passed on to generations who would carry his fighting spirit into the boxing ring and beyond.*Download our Discussion Questions for your class*Host Cindy CharlesWriter Nuruddin QoraneExecutive Producer Ryan BarnettAssociate Producer Cindy CharlesVoice Director & Editor Sonia GemmitiResearcher Dr. Sarafina PagnottaSeries Consultants Kathy Grant & Mathias JoostThis series features interviews with Lt. Jerome Downey, Robert Downey, Jr., Michael Marville, Stephen Dame, Mathias Joost, Kathy Grant, Constance Backhouse, Dr. Dorothy WilliamsAdditional voices by Keith Francis & Matthew BarnettA Knockabout Media ProductionThis podcast was made possible thanks to funding from Veterans Affairs Canada’s Commemorative Partnership Program. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Feb 17, 2026 · 25m

A Black medical student. An all-Black battalion. A war that needed his skills but never fully recognized his service. In this episode of The Black Hum, we look at the life of Dr. Hewburn Greenidge as it stretched from British Guiana to Winnipeg to the timber camps of the Jura Mountains and back to the heart of the Amazon.*Download our Discussion Questions for your class*Host Cindy CharlesWriter Nuruddin QoraneExecutive Producer Ryan BarnettAssociate Producer Cindy CharlesVoice Director & Editor Sonia GemmitiResearcher Dr. Sarafina PagnottaSeries Consultants Kathy Grant & Mathias JoostThis series features interviews with Lt. Jerome Downey, Robert Downey, Jr., Michael Marville, Stephen Dame, Mathias Joost, Kathy Grant, Constance Backhouse, Dr. Dorothy WilliamsAdditional voices by Keith Francis & Matthew BarnettA Knockabout Media ProductionThis podcast was made possible thanks to funding from Veterans Affairs Canada’s Commemorative Partnership Program. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Feb 10, 2026 · 25m

In the season premiere of The Black Hum, we trace the extraordinary life of Charlie Kelly, a standout baseball player from Ingersoll, Ontario, and a member of Canada’s No. 2 Construction Battalion. From local ballfields to the First World War, Kelly’s story reveals how sport offered both escape and opportunity. The episode culminates in the legendary “Forestry Game,” where Kelly took the mound before a crowd that included the King of England, challenging racial barriers through sheer talent. *Download our Discussion Questions for your class*Host Cindy CharlesWriter Nuruddin QoraneExecutive Producer Ryan BarnettAssociate Producer Cindy CharlesVoice Director Sonia GemmitiResearcher Dr. Sarafina PagnottaSeries Consultants Kathy Grant & Mathias JoostThis series features interviews with Lt. Jerome Downey, Robert Downey, Jr., Michael Marville, Stephen Dame, Mathias Joost, Kathy Grant, Constance Backhouse, Dr. Dorothy WilliamsAdditional voices by Keith Francis & Matthew BarnettA Knockabout Media ProductionThis podcast was made possible thanks to funding from Veterans Affairs Canada’s Commemorative Partnership Program. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Feb 1, 2026 · 0m

The Black Hum returns for a second season, tracing five lives that reflect the broader Black Canadian experience in the twentieth century. These include Rufus Rockhead, founder of Montreal’s legendary Rockhead’s Paradise nightclub; E. Lionel Cross, Toronto’s first Black lawyer and a key figure in early civil rights battles; Charlie Kelly, a barrier-breaking baseball player whose career unfolded across colour lines; Hewburn Greenidge, the first Black graduate of a Canadian medical school west of Ontario; and George Downey, patriarch of the Fighting Downeys boxing family. This season brings these overlooked lives into focus. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Feb 4, 2025 · 43m

In this, a special bonus episode of The Black Hum, we speak with historians Kathy Grant and Mathias Joost to untangle several often repeated myths about No.2 Construction Battalion. *Download our Discussion Questions for your class*Written & Hosted by Cindy CharlesProduced by Ryan Barnett & Cindy CharlesVoice Director Sonia GemmitiRecorded by Tyler RaumanThis series features interviews with Lt. Jerome Downey, Sgt. Craig Smith, Douglas Ruck, Lindsay Ruck, Mathias Joost, and Kathy GrantAdditional voices by Keith Francis & Matthew BarnettFeaturing a musical performance "How Great Thou Art" by Reeny Smith & FamilyA Knockabout Media ProductionThis podcast was made possible thanks to funding from Veterans Affairs Canada’s Commemorative Partnership Program. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nov 25, 2024 · 20m

How does a forgotten piece of history become uncovered? In this, our final episode in the series, you will learn about what happened to the men of the No.2 after the war, and how their story came to light decades later.Join us as we explore the remarkable history of the No. 2 Construction Battalion, Canada’s only all-Black battalion during the First World War, uncovering their legacy, contributions, and the untold stories of Black Canadian soldiers in our latest podcast on military history, diversity, and heritage.*Download our Discussion Questions for your class*Written & Hosted by Cindy CharlesProduced by Ryan Barnett & Cindy CharlesVoice Director Sonia GemmitiRecorded by Tyler RaumanThis series features interviews with Lt. Jerome Downey, Sgt. Craig Smith, Douglas Ruck, and Lindsay Ruck.Additional voices by Keith Francis & Matthew BarnettFeaturing a musical performance "How Great Thou Art" by Reeny Smith & FamilyA Knockabout Media ProductionThis podcast was made possible thanks to funding from Veterans Affairs Canada’s Commemorative Partnership Program. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nov 18, 2024 · 22m

If you were once rejected, would you still want to serve? It's 1915, and the Canadian Expeditionary Forces are taking heavy casualties. The growing need for more recruits leads Canadian military leadership to turn toward the very men they had previously barred from service.Join us as we explore the remarkable history of No. 2 Construction Battalion, Canada’s only all-Black battalion during the First World War, uncovering their legacy, contributions, and the untold stories of Black Canadian soldiers in our latest podcast on military history, diversity, and heritage.*Download our Discussion Questions for your class*Written & Hosted by Cindy CharlesProduced by Ryan Barnett & Cindy CharlesVoice Director Sonia GemmitiRecorded by Tyler RaumanThis series features interviews with Lt. Jerome Downey, Sgt. Craig Smith, Douglas Ruck, and Lindsay Ruck.Additional voices by Keith Francis & Matthew BarnettFeaturing "I Want to Be Ready" & "Live a-Humble" by the Tuskegee Institute SingersA Knockabout Media ProductionThis podcast was made possible thanks to funding from Veterans Affairs Canada’s Commemorative Partnership Program. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.