Comments on: We’ve Forgotten James Powell

By: eli montgomery

eli montgomery — Mon, 11 Jul 2016 04:02:17 +0000

I heard this when it first came out and interestingly, it was one of the first things I thought about when I heard about Alton Sterling, and then Philando Castile, but before that Eric Garner, and Trayvon Marton, and Tamir Rice…and…

By: niam.

niam. — Sun, 21 Feb 2016 00:06:47 +0000

Just saw Kareem Abdul Jabba documentary ,it was very interesting and informative..in fact it led me to the name James Powell. . I looked up james powell on the Internet I was saddened to see that the only website that had any mention of him was this one..wow…gone,forgotten,never happened..these are historical moments though sad,should be part of our African American history. …

By: LacyJoy

LacyJoy — Thu, 07 Jan 2016 19:19:30 +0000

I hadn’t ever heard of James Powell. Thank you for sharing his story with me. A particularly poignant moment–“We remember the fire, but we’ve forgotten the match.”
Sadly, you could replace Mrs. Powell with any number of mothers who have wept over their son’s coffin; sons that have died at the hands of Abused Power and Racism.

By: CJ

CJ — Fri, 10 Apr 2015 20:12:16 +0000

Thanks for this episode – I had never heard of James Powell. This one gave me chills, and is still relevant today.

By: Ceci

Ceci — Mon, 23 Feb 2015 21:46:34 +0000

Hi Nate, I just found this brilliant podcast through Planet Money. I was just leaving my building on East 76th Street when this episode began. I knew the name James Powell, but didn’t know who he was, and I was chilled and stunned to find out that he was killed right on my sleepy, quiet street. You didn’t mention the location, but I could picture any number of buildings where poor James died.

I’ve lived in that neighborhood all of my life (26 years), and my parents, who were native New Yorkers and 12 years old when the Harlem race riots happened, never mentioned that our block was where it began. They probably never knew. Certainly almost no one in this neighborhood remembers. But I will never walk by 215 East 76th Street again without remembering James Powell.

By: Jilly

Jilly — Mon, 22 Dec 2014 22:05:32 +0000

Seems like America has not changed much since James Powell’s time, tragically. I have never even heard of James Powell before and I like to think I know about American history. Thank you for this podcast! Great episode.

By: Betsy

Betsy — Thu, 21 Aug 2014 04:13:07 +0000

How timely and how unfortunate that the United States has not learned the lessons necessary to prevent unarmed African American men from being targets for police gunfire. Shamefully we have forgotten James Powell.

By: Damon

Damon — Tue, 19 Aug 2014 17:58:33 +0000

Looks like some people are starting to remember James Powell...

By: pinellas

pinellas — Sun, 17 Aug 2014 20:54:02 +0000

Just listened to this & it strikes me as particularly relevant today, considering the recent events in MO, CA, etc. It appears to me that long-overlooked racial inequities. injustices & outrages seem to be coming to a head, noticed & reported by our media…..finally.

By: Rick

Rick — Wed, 06 Aug 2014 22:00:37 +0000

Great Episode Nate! One minor quibble: Chicago is on Lake Michigan, not the ocean

By: P jones

P jones — Tue, 29 Jul 2014 19:26:53 +0000

Worst episode yet…. middle-aged white guy wrote a poem about racism? Snore.

By: Ben Fast

Ben Fast — Fri, 18 Jul 2014 15:41:22 +0000

Thanks Nate for sharing this important reminder. As a history student it is often important to look for the “match” within the “fire” as you put it, but I feel many people often don’t get that far. This is a very important episode, keep up the good work!
Ben