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SPEAKER_07: In 1995, Detective Tony Richardson was trying to figure out who killed a fellow officer. The case comes down to who is believed and who is ignored.
SPEAKER_00: Oh my goodness, we did convict an innocent man. I'm Beth Shelburne from Lava for Good podcasts.
SPEAKER_07: This is Ear Witness. Listen to Ear Witness on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
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SPEAKER_02: This episode of Womanica is brought to you by BetterHelp. As an entrepreneur, one of the most impactful things I've learned is how important it is to have a strong support system. Sometimes we all need some help and someone to talk to who's professionally trained to listen. That's where BetterHelp comes in. It's not a crisis line, it's not self-help. It's professional counseling done securely online. I wanna help you start living a happier life today. As a Womanica listener, you'll get 10% off your first month by visiting our sponsor at betterhelp.com slash EW. That's betterhelp, H-E-L-P, .com slash EW. Hey listeners, you may have noticed we've got a new look and feel. For two years, I felt so blessed to be able to learn about these amazing women and share their stories with you every day. Your listening is the embodiment of our show's mission and we honestly couldn't do it without you. We're really excited to be unveiling our new art and new name, Womanica. A streamlined, modern approach and a doubling down on our mission. As always, we love hearing from you. So please let us know what you think. Find me on Twitter at Jenny M. Kaplan or email us at pod at wondermedianetwork.com. Enjoy the show. Hello, from Wonder Media Network, I'm Jenny Kaplan and this is Womanica. If you're tuning in for the first time, here's the deal. Every weekday, we're telling the stories of women from around the world and throughout history who you may not know about but should. Each month is themed. This month, we're highlighting indigenous women from around the globe. Today, we're talking about a woman who deeply admired and honored both her black and indigenous heritage. She was a writer, journalist, historian and dramatist whose work was closely tied to her identity as a black Montaukit woman. Without her work, our understanding of the Harlem Renaissance, as well as knowledge of certain regional ethnic dialects would be lacking. Let's talk about Olivia Ward Bush Banks. Olivia Ward was born on February 27th, 1869 in Sag Harbor, New York. Her parents, Abraham Ward and Eliza Draper, were of mixed race, black and Montaukit descent. Although it was not uncommon for black and indigenous people to marry, it was looked down upon at the time. When Olivia was nine months old, her mother passed away. Abraham decided to relocate the family to Providence, Rhode Island. Then in 1871, he remarried and decided to separate the family. He sent Olivia to be raised by her maternal aunt, Maria Draper. Maria was raised in the Montaukit culture. She passed her knowledge in that component of her upbringing to Olivia, inspiring in Olivia loyalty and passion for her Native American heritage. At Providence High School, Olivia studied nursing and explored drama and poetry. Shortly after graduation, she married her first husband, Frank Bush. Olivia was 20 years old at the time and later described the marriage as most unfortunate. The couple had two daughters, Rosamund and Marie, before divorcing their daughter, and before divorcing in 1895. Olivia then became the sole caretaker and financial provider for her daughters and her aging aunt. She was motivated by her family's reliance on her. One of her main sources of income was her poetry. Olivia had refined her work over the years and in 1899 released her first book called, Original Poems. and the black experience. The book received high praise, specifically from famous African American poet Paul Laurence Dunbar. In 1900, Olivia took a job as the assistant theater director for the Robert Gould Shaw Settlement House in Boston. She held the post for 14 years. Throughout that time, she continued to pursue her literary career. Olivia was the literary editor for the Citizen Magazine of Boston, and she frequently contributed to the Colored American Magazine. In 1914, Olivia and her family moved back to Long Island. Olivia became the historian for the Montaukett tribe. Her role was particularly important because four years prior, in 1910, a judge ruled the tribe extinct, despite being in a courtroom full of Montaukett people. To this day, the tribe is not recognized by the state of New York. There's an ongoing fight to have its tribal land restored and to be recognized by the federal government. Olivia's work involved upholding and disseminating the tribe's history and traditions. Because of her, there are important written records of regional and ethnic dialects from that era. In the same year that she became the tribal historian, Olivia published her most well-known collection of poems called Driftwood. The collection includes many elegies for notable men in African American history, such as Frederick Douglass, Wendell Phillips, and Abraham Lincoln. In Driftwood, Olivia continued her examination of themes from her first collection of poetry. She further wrote about how the United States cannot reach its full potential without recognizing and addressing issues of racism and the long-lasting impact of slavery. ["The First Noel"] In 1916, Olivia married a Pullman porter named Anthony Banks and relocated to Chicago for his job. It was a fruitful time for Olivia's writing. The following year, Olivia put out her only published play, "'Memories of Calvary' on Easter Sketch." This was the last of her works heavily influenced by religion. Around 1920, Olivia wrote another play called "'Indian Trails' or Trail of the Montauk." It's believed that this was her response to the 1910 ruling, stating that the Montaukett tribe was extinct. Although the play only exists today in fragments, it speaks to the fractured cultural identity and unity of the Montaukett people. The play concludes with a hopeful vision of a reunification of the tribe with the tribe's land. The play reflected Olivia's connection to her Native American heritage. It also marked the end of her more indigenous-centered writing. As a member of the Black community in Chicago during the time of the Harlem Renaissance, Olivia turned her focus to Black life and heritage. She wrote about the need for social change and the collective plight of Black people in America. She formed friendships with some of the era's most distinguished figures, such as Paul Robeson, Langston Hughes, and W.E.B. Du Bois. As supporters of the arts, Olivia and her husband founded the Bush-Bank School of Expression in Chicago. Their goal was to support up-and-coming African-American artists of all mediums, including dance, music, and literature. The school was a space for Black artists to connect with each other and to cultivate their art. Chicago was the perfect location for the school, as the city became a hub for Black life and culture during the Great Migration. During this time, Olivia also reconnected with her theatrical roots by teaching drama at local Chicago public schools. By the late 1930s, Olivia moved back home to New York State. She settled in New Rochelle and worked as a cultural art critic for the New Rochelle Westchester Record Courier. Olivia stayed involved in the arts by joining the Works Progress Administration's Federal Theater Program in 1936. She also served as a drama coach for the community center of the Obsidian Baptist Church in Harlem. That same year, in 1936, Olivia became a certified teacher. Olivia Ward Bush-Banks died in New York City on April 8, 1944, at the age of 75. During her era, the fact that Olivia was a biracial female artist was, in itself, a statement. Much of her work was not accepted, and in some cases not published at the time, because of the fact that she so often wrote about her interracial identity. Even so, Olivia continued with her writing and teaching. Her works serve as an important resource in understanding Montaukett and Black culture at the time in which she lived. All month, we're talking about indigenous women. Special thanks to Liz Kaplan, my favorite sister and co-creator. Talk to you tomorrow.
SPEAKER_00: Evidence-wise, we have virtually no evidence.
SPEAKER_07: In 1995, Detective Tony Richardson was trying to figure out who killed a fellow officer. The case comes down to who is believed and who is ignored.
SPEAKER_00: Oh my goodness, we did convict an innocent man. I'm Beth Shelburne from Lava for Good podcasts.
SPEAKER_07: This is Ear Witness. Listen to Ear Witness on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
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