On the Yard

About On the Yard

On the Yard is where Black history speaks. From the archives of the Moorland-Spingarn Research Center at Howard University, each episode uncovers a powerful artifact—photographs, letters, rare books, film, and everyday objects—and traces the lives, ideas, and movements behind it. Guided by Dr. Benjamin Talton, Director of MSRC, alongside scholars and cultural voices, On the Yard connects memory to the moment, revealing how the past continues to shape Black life, creativity, and imagination across the globe.

Publisher

The Moorland-Spingarn Research Center at Howard University

Category

education · history · society & culture

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

18 Dec 2025

Latest episode

21 May 2026

Latest episodes

10 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   21 May 2026

   Enacting Social Change by Looking to the Past with Dr. Ibram X. Kendi

   On the season one finale of On the Yard, MSRC Director Dr. Benjamin Talton sits down with Dr. Ibram X. Kendi, historian, author, and the inaugural Carter G. Woodson Endowed Chair in History for the College of Arts and Sciences at Howard University. The conversation covers Dr. Kendi’s new book, Chain of Ideas, which examines the origin and rise of “the great replacement theory” as a dominant political idea. They also discuss Dr. Kendi’s new position at Howard, his groundbreaking work studying anti-Black racism, and his goals for advancing influential scholarship on Black history, social justice, and American policy. On the Yard is a production of The Moorland-Spingarn Research Center at Howard University and is produced by University FM.

2. 

   30 Apr 2026

   Haile Gerima and the Power of Storytelling

   Just across the street from The Yard, sits Sankofa Video, Books, and Cafe. For nearly 30 years, Sankofa has provided an expansive selection of film and literature on the global Black experience, but it has also long been a community center for Howard University students and residents of northwest D.C. For this episode of On The Yard, MSRC Director Dr. Benjamin Talton pays a visit to Sankofa Cafe and sits down with owner, storyteller, renowned filmmaker, and Howard alum Haile Gerima. They discuss Gerima’s films focused on the lives and experiences of people of African descent, including titles such as Black Lions, Roman Wolves and the cafe’s namesake, Sankofa. The conversation also delves into the commodification of Black stories by the film industry, Gerima’s experience filming in Ethiopia during the 1974 upheaval, and his experience teaching at Howard University. Episode Guide: 00:00 Welcome to Sankofa Cafe 01:09 Meet Haile Gerima 01:46 Storytelling vs. Filmmaking 07:35 Black Cinema And ‘The Plantation Economy’ 11:44 Sankofa Film And Symbol 15:23 Building A Community Institution 16:36 Haile’s Picks 21:04 Howard Years 25:36 Filming During Revolution 29:27 Ethiopia Identity Politics 31:36 Sankofa Community Power 34:38 Black Lions, Roman Wolves 38:17 Black Press Solidarity 39:42 Sankofa Cafe Farewell On the Yard is a production of The Moorland-Spingarn Research Center at Howard University and is produced by University FM. Episode Quotes: Black stories aren’t made to be for entertainment 04:35: Entertainment is an industry by itself, but I think when you think of our story as entertainment, we do injustice to it, in my view, because we have not begun to tell our story. We have been people who've been robbed our stories. Our stories have been completely undermined, dwarfed, and to reclaim our story, I don't think we can do justice to it if we keep thinking entertainment. I think our story should be just a story, and the outcome should be it's from its own inherent originality and genuineness instead of forced entertainment. Storytelling is the real battleground for Black stories 10:03: The issue here is, I think, especially Black people cannot afford to be entertaining because, fundamentally, all the contradictions are from the very idea of robbed people of their story. The story is the battleground. To me, the issue of race in America, and its crux, the crux of that issue is story, not being in charge of your story in the end. Films as a staircase for growth 11:54: Every movie is a staircase of my own evolution and growth. And so, for me, without the films, the short films I did that are very dear to me in the sense they are my vehicle of growth in spelling cinema, trying to put my story cinematically. Show Links: The Moorland-Spingarn Research Center Follow MSRC on Instagram and YouTube Sankofa

3. 

   16 Apr 2026

   Chocolate City

   By the early 1970s, Black residents comprised nearly 73% of Washington, D.C.’s population, making it one of the most prominent majority Black cities in America.  As a testament to that identity, residents in D.C. nicknamed it “Chocolate City.” Chocolate City was a rare urban space in the 1970s where Black-owned businesses thrived, go-go music dominated the radio stations, and Black people held genuine political power. Standing at the intellectual heart of this world was Howard University, the nation's most prominent HBCU, which featured as a crown jewel of Black academic and cultural life training generations of lawyers, physicians, artists, and activists who shaped the city and the broader African diaspora. On this episode of On the Yard, MSRC Director Dr. Benjamin Talton sits down with Sonja Woods, university historian at MSRC, Howard alum Abdur-Rahman Muhammad, and Dr. George Derek Musgrove, associate professor of history at the University of Maryland and co-author of Chocolate City: A History of Race and Democracy in the Nation's Capital. The discussion covers the cultural touchstones that built Chocolate City and the figures who were transformative to D.C., cementing it as not just a political capital, but as a capital of Black intellectual life. They also discuss Howard University’s place in the city as a gathering ground for some of the most consequential Black thinkers, writers and scholars in the world. Episode Guide: 00:00 Chocolate City Origins & Guest Introduction 03:34 Defining Chocolate City 05:12 Democracy Returns 08:45 The Art, Music, and Culture of Chocolate City 16:31 Howard University Shapes the City 18:13 Black Flight Tipping Point 22:15 Remaking Howard in 1968 26:28 Three-Year Campus Struggle 28:53 President James E. Cheek’s Howard Legacy 34:45 Working Beyond Political Party Lines 37:45 Reagan Visit and 1983 Protests 42:37 Jesse Jackson and D.C. Statehood 45:22 Final Reflections and Wrap On the Yard is a production of The Moorland-Spingarn Research Center at Howard University and is produced by University FM. Episode Quotes: The triple threat of Chocolate City 10:22 [Dr. George Derek Musgrove]: It's just an exciting place to be Black. So, it's those three things. It's all of these people, the fact that they're beginning to vote for themselves and put together this really remarkably robust Black Power government, and they're just producing all this artwork. And I'll just add, to put a cherry on top, that Parliament, when it came out with "Chocolate City" in 1975, you know, is really acknowledging all of this. It's saying, look, this is the city where we have the biggest crowds. We do three or four shows a year, and they're all packed and sold out. Blackness on everyday frequency 13:41 [Abdur-Rahman Muhammad]: When I stepped foot in Washington, D.C. I first came here on a high school trip, I believe it was '78, and '79 is when I actually visited the campus for the first time, and to say it was a culture shock is an absolute understatement. All of these radio stations, no matter where you flip the dial, Black music came out. You turn on the television, the news anchors are Black, the weather person is Black. You're hearing Black music everywhere, Black bookstores, Black little coffee shops. A global vision for the Mecca 40:05 [Abdur-Rahman Muhammad]: He saw [James Cheek] Howard University as a great institution that could compete with the greatest institutions of the world, and he had a huge vision. His dedication to equity and healthcare, and the medical school and the hospital, he fought great battles, you know, to inaugurate those programs, the Sickle Cell Center, and what have you. He loved Black people. He loved his community, but he didn't tolerate nonsense either. Show Links: The Moorland-Spingarn Research Center Follow MSRC on Instagram and YouTube Chocolate City: A History of Race and Democracy in the Nation's Capital

4. 

   2 Apr 2026

   The Spectre on Stage

   Theater, as a medium, has historically offered unique and groundbreaking ways to illuminate singular visions of and insights into Black life that challenge and move beyond more accessible or commodified forms of representation. On this episode of On the Yard, MarQuis Bullock, Head of Collections in MSRC’s Manuscripts Division, is joined by special guest Dominique Morriseau, award-winning playwright and author. Morriseau’s work includes the Tony Award-nominated play Skeleton Crew, Paradise Blue, Detroit 67, Confederates, Pipeline, Sunset Baby, Blood at the Root, and Follow Me to Nellie’s.  She's also the Tony Award-nominated book writer on the Broadway musical, Ain't Too Proud – The Life and Times of The Temptations. Morriseau and Bullock explore  the creative tensions Black playwrights and theater makers may be confronted with as they navigate the impact of historical precedent, what cultural expectations are imposed upon them and their work, how the ordinary rhythms of Black life intersect with the enduring weight of history, and how Black imagination and creativity within theater can accommodate, question, or even resist that entanglement. Episode Guide: 00:00 Introduction 04:47 Literary Influences and Inspirations 07:01 The Influence of Poetry on Playwriting 08:30 Black Aesthetic and Language in Theater 10:58 Accountability to the Past in Black Theater 14:22 Challenges and Realities of Black Playwriting 23:09 The Politics and Ideology of Black Plays 31:56 The Unique Power of Theater 37:30 Balancing Past and Present in Black Life 42:58 Sources of Artistic Inspiration On the Yard is a production of The Moorland-Spingarn Research Center at Howard University and is produced by University FM. Episode Quotes: The power of theater to reveal unseen realities 03:52:  By interrogating the unique possibilities of theater as a medium, I'm hoping that today we can illuminate how black theater, black creativity, offers singular visions of and insights into black life that challenge and move beyond more accessible or commodified forms of representation. There is no path to black liberation without confronting black pain 28:42:  There is no path to black liberation or black joy without confronting black pain. And telling black storytellers to skip the pain part is like telling your doctor to skip the journey of the medicine into the healing. That's crazy talk. We are not going to heal if we are not going to deal. Art always rebuilds broken civilizations 33:16:  Because theater, like it has always done, like art has always done in the past. This is why the past does matter because the past will teach you that art always rebuilds broken civilizations. It's always been the answer. And will again. And so theater is necessary to be a part of that movement of civilization mending and rebuilding. Show Links: The Moorland-Spingarn Research Center Follow MSRC on Instagram and YouTube Follow playwright Dominique Morisseau on Instagram

5. 

   19 Mar 2026

   The Meteoric Rise of Howard’s Swim and Dive Program

   For more than a decade, Howard University’s swim and dive team was plagued with a losing streak they just couldn’t seem to shake. But that all changed in 2014, when Howard swim team alum Nicholas Askew took over the program. By Coach Nic’s second season, the swim and dive team won its first dual meet in 15 years. Since then, he’s catapulted the program into success with record-breaking, undefeated seasons and even a cover feature in Sports Illustrated. While today it’s the only NCAA Division I swimming and diving program from an HBCU, it also happens to be one of the best in the country. Just last month, the program made history yet again with dual Northeast Conference Swimming and Diving Championship titles for the men’s and women’s teams. On this episode, Dr. Benjamin Talton, director of MSRC and On the Yard host, sits down with Nicholas Askew, director of swimming & diving and tennis, to talk about the remarkable transformation of the swim and dive team. They discuss Coach Nic’s blueprint to rebuilding the program, his own swimming legacy at Howard, and what Howard’s swim and dive team means for representation in a sport that’s historically lacked diversity. Episode Guide: 00:00 Howard’s Swim Team Hits Rock Bottom: The Losing Streak Begins 01:40 Coach Nicholas Askew Steps Up: Why He Wanted the Program Cut (and What Changed) 06:35 Taking Over in 2014: Rebuilding the Team From the Ground Up 08:11 Changing the Environment: Staff, Facilities, and Athlete Buy-In 12:06 Winning in the Classroom: GPA Standards, Study Hall, and Full-Time Coaching 17:46 Sports Illustrated & ‘Battle at the Burr’: How the Hype Became History 22:03 Why Stay at Howard? Legacy, 100 Years of History, and Nic’s Origin Story 26:40 Bigger Than Howard: HBCU Swim History and Representation in the Sport 32:10 Building the Pipeline: Camps, Learn-to-Swim, Community Impact On the Yard is a production of The Moorland-Spingarn Research Center at Howard University and is produced by University FM. Episode Quotes: Why academics comes first in this program 14:31: Academic success is the number one priority of this program, and if you're only coming to be an athlete here, then this is not a good choice for you. Because we're going to be, you know, really expecting high academic marks, because at the end of the day, Howard's love language is academics. On Coach Nick’s Howard Journey 25:53: When I got to Howard, to get that feeling of being really filled up in a space that I didn't even know that it was a void there, it was amazing to be around this Black excellence in the pool, in the classroom, on the Yard. And that's really what helped me continue to thrive in this environment, because when you're on campus, you need some motivation and inspiration, and you don't have to look far when you're at Howard. What’s really holding swimming back? 29:03: One is that there's that underlying myth that Black people don't swim. Two is really this country's ugly history with people of color and water and water spaces. And three is really looking at the accessibility of not just having a community pool, but also having spaces where you can continue to develop through the pathways Show Links: The Moorland-Spingarn Research Center Follow MSRC on Instagram and YouTube “Howard Swimming and Diving Makes History with Dual NEC Championships” | The Dig Battle at the Burr “How the Only All-Black Team in College Swimming Became the Sport's Hottest Ticket” | Sports Illustrated Follow the Swim and Dive team on Instagram

6. 

   26 Feb 2026

   The Birth of a New Nation

   On March 2, 1867, U.S. President Andrew Johnson signed the Congressional Charter for Howard University, making it one of only two universities in the country whose existence was enshrined in federal law. The university was named after one of its most notable founders – Civil War general and president of the Freedmen's Bureau, Oliver Otis Howard. Howard University’s origins, in every respect, aligned with the birth of a new nation. And its role in shaping that new nation and the course of American history cannot be overstated. On this episode of On the Yard, Dr. Benjamin Talton, director of MSRC, is joined by Sonja Woods, university archivist for MSRC, and Howard alum Abdur-Rahman Muhammad. Together, they discuss the socio-political context surrounding Howard’s founding, and the historical figures who dreamed of a university that transcended racial and gender lines. Episode Guide: 00:00 The Founding of Howard University 01:36 Guest Introductions and Personal Howard Connections 02:54 Howard's Unique Position Among HBCUs 06:29 Early Challenges and Visionaries 18:58 The Role of the Freedmen's Bureau 25:44 Howard's Legacy and Influence 32:31 The Push for a Black President 36:18 Conclusion and Final Thoughts On the Yard is a production of The Moorland-Spingarn Research Center at Howard University and is produced by University FM. Episode Quotes: Howard was a vision way ahead of this time 07:06: [Abdur-Rahman Muhammad] It appears that Howard was conceived as a racially integrated university, you know, that that was actually the vision. It was an anomaly. It was an anomaly. It was far ahead of its time. People at the time didn't know what to make of it. You know, is this a Black university? Is this a white university? I mean, what's going on here? You know, you have to remember, Howard was founded almost a year and a half before the ratification of the 14th Amendment. Okay? I mean, just think about that, because education, the college degree, it supplies you with more than the ability to prosper in the job market. Education is a sign of social status, right? Even today, maybe one out of 10 people have a college… I mean, to have a college degree really meant that you were, kind of, a somebody. Abdur’s Howard origin story 01:42: [Abdur-Rahman Muhammad] Well, I first stepped foot on Howard's campus in 1979. That's the first time I visited the campus. And I enrolled the next year, 1980, in the Center for Academic Reinforcement, as it was called back then, the CAR Center. From Providence, Rhode Island, originally, I was part of the class of 1984, although that's not exactly when I walked. You know, that's one of those Howard stories. I actually took my degree sometime later, but I was, you know, class of 1984. I was here with so many illustrious personalities at that time, and I had a wonderful Howard experience and just fell in love with this venerable institution, this magical place. Howard was unique from the very beginning 04:01: [Sonja Woods] What makes Howard different from the very beginning is that it was, unlike Morehouse and Spelman, co-ed from the beginning. There's a committee of founders at Howard. There's 17 men... And then we're in D.C., so it's a federal location, different type of municipality. It's the South, but it's the federal city. Show Links: The Moorland-Spingarn Research Center Follow MSRC on Instagram and YouTube

7. 

   9 Feb 2026

   The First Black President

   It took 59 years and 12 white ministers before Howard University finally had its first Black president.  Mordecai Wyatt Johnson, Howard’s 13th president, took office in 1926 at just 36 years old. On this episode of On the Yard, President Johnson’s legacy comes to life – from his days as a Baptist minister to leading Howard through the most pivotal time of the 20th century. Dr. Benjamin Talton, director of MSRC, is joined by Dr. Krista Johnson, professor and director of Howard’s Center for African Studies, and Sonja Woods, university archivist for MSRC. Together, they discuss Mordecai Wyatt Johnson’s historic tenure as Howard’s first Black president, including his initiatives to position Howard as a global intellectual hub, his promotion of academic freedom, and his admiration for global figures like Gandhi, which shaped Howard's involvement in the Civil Rights Movement. Episode Guide: 00:00 Introduction to Mordecai Wyatt Johnson 02:15 Early Life and Background 04:23 Howard University During President Johnson's Tenure 07:03 President Johnson's Vision and Institutional Impact 09:30 Challenges and Controversies 13:30 International Influence and Nonviolent Action 31:55 Legacy and Influence on Future Leaders 36:24 Conclusion and Final Thoughts On the Yard is a production of The Moorland-Spingarn Research Center at Howard University and is produced by University FM. Episode Quotes: Mordecai’s legacy lives in the leaders who came after him [35:09] Sonja Woods: I think there's so many books and articles and things that need to be written coming out of the presidential papers, a serious one thing, though, is the number of college presidents that came out of his faculty, during his tenure, the number of college presidents. We have Dwight Holmes went on, and he was a Howard alum. He went on to be president of Morgan. Charles Wesley was the president of two HBCUs. Benjamin Mays left him, was president, Morehouse. William Stewart Nelson was the college president of two HBCUs. We got to throw Jennifer in there, Franklin Jennifer. We got to throw him in there. But that's minor compared to these other guys, who were alum and faculty sometimes, mostly faculty. But it's clear what they learned or what they were able to absorb from Mordecai, just looking at their titles, their roles, their positions at Howard. Howard’s global impact started at the top [06:23]: Dr. Krista Johnson: The more I have been digging into the intellectual and the scholarly scholarship of those two individuals in particular, but also the climate at Howard at that time, the more I came to understand that these were remarkable individuals, but there was also an institution and there was an institutional architecture that emerged here at Howard University that nurtured these intellectuals at the time and also really created an environment to have discourse and dialogue and conversation across races, across international boundaries. And much of that, it can be attributed to the first president, Mordecai Wyatt Johnson, who was, I think, had the foresight to position Howard as a global institution and an institution of global consequence. On the golden era of Black academia [01:41]: Dr. Krista Johnson: President Johnson presided over Howard University during really a fascinating time in its history, and really a growth era…The golden era of Black academia at Howard in particular, where you really just had some of the who's who of Black intelligentsia that were either faculty here at Howard or who were orbiting around Howard in terms of the conferences, the intellectual engagement that was happening right here on The Yard in those decades. Show Links: The Moorland-Spingarn Research Center Follow MSRC on Instagram and YouTube

8. 

   29 Jan 2026

   Gordon Parks and Black Religious Life

   Gordon Parks, one of the most consequential photographers in history, documented American life in the middle of the 20th century, with a focus on race relations and civil rights. Parks also spent a great deal of time examining the role of religion and spirituality, and how those traditions impact the environment and the communities from which they emerge. Thanks to a partnership with the Gordon Parks Foundation in 2022, Howard University is now home to the second-largest collection of Gordon Parks photographs. Many of those images were displayed in an exhibit at the Moorland-Spingarn Research Center this past fall titled, Temples of Hope, Rituals of Survival: Gordon Parks and Black Religious Life. The exhibit was curated by Dr. Melanee Harvey, associate professor of art history at Howard, and attracted the largest number of visitors to the Howard University Museum in its history. On this episode of On the Yard, Dr. Benjamin Talton sits down with Dr. Harvey to discuss Gordon Parks’ life, legacy, and work capturing and preserving the 20th-century Black experience. They also chat about future Howard exhibits showcasing Parks’ photos, and the incredible opportunity this collection presents for students studying visual arts and humanities at Howard. Temples of Hope, Rituals of Survival: Gordon Parks and Black Religious Life, runs through the end of January 2026. Episode Guide: 00:00 Show Introduction 00:50 Meet Dr. Melanee Harvey 01:57 Gordon Parks: A Pioneering Photographer 04:03 Gordon Parks' Impact and Legacy 06:16 Incorporating Gordon Parks into Education 07:46 Temples of Hope: Curating the Exhibit 08:28 Exploring Gordon Parks' Religious Imagery 16:44 Gordon Parks and the Nation of Islam 22:56 Gordon Parks' Global Perspective 32:12 Future Plans and Exhibitions On the Yard is a production of The Moorland-Spingarn Research Center at Howard University and is produced by University FM. Episode Quotes: Visualizing black religious practice [08:20] Dr. Melanee Harvey: One of my scholarly areas of interest has been examining visually how Black religious practice is documented. So, you know, this exhibition really doesn’t emerge from my interest in putting up on the wall images of Black religion. [08:34] Dr. Benjamin Talton: Now, is this memoirish? A little bit, because you have a religious background? [08:38] Dr. Melanee Harvey: Well, if you say it that way, not memoirish, but I will say I feel like I had the privilege to grow up the daughter of a minister, but also my mother’s father was a Baptist minister, so I’m like second-generation preacher’s kid. And so, I think with that in mind, I’ve always been in church spaces. And once I got to graduate school and started studying African American architecture and American art, those images and spaces were completely absent. So, it’s been a focus of my career to, kind of, fill that hole and also begin to probe and interrogate the way that images of religious practice have been used in America. The importance of study sets in the humanities, visual and liberal arts [04:54] Study sets are so central to I would say the humanities and visual art instruction at liberal arts institutions. And these are collections that, for all intents and purposes, do not leave the institution and are anchored there to really be study tools, right? Lessons of instruction. And I think that’s really how we plan on using it. I think, although we have introduced this exhibition that demonstrates community and spirituality, there’s still so many thematic topics to address within the collection. Gordon Parks understood his power [15:51] He [Gordon Parks] is often quoted as saying, you know, “The camera was my choice of weapon,” right? So, what is it? I think even in that choice of weapon, that means he understood his power, right? In image making, telling a story, and documenting a presence. Show Links: Gordon Parks Foundation Collection | Digital Howard Temples of Hope, Rituals of Survival: Gordon Parks and Black Religious Life Exhibit The Moorland-Spingarn Research Center Follow MSRC on Instagram and YouTube

9. 

   22 Jan 2026

   The Power of Protest

   Welcome to On the Yard, a podcast that delves into the archives at Howard University’s Moorland-Spingarn Research Center to uncover the figures and events in Howard’s history that have shaped the global Black experience. In this inaugural episode, the power of protest and its place in the fabric and legacy of Howard’s history is explored. Dr. Benjamin Talton, director of MSRC, is joined by Dr. Greg Carr, professor of African American Studies, and Dr. Dana Williams, professor of English Literature and dean of the graduate school. Together, they discuss the 1968 student protests that led to a symbolic second founding of Howard University, how those protests birthed essential programs like Jazz Studies and the Institute for Arts and Humanities, and the enduring impact of protests at Howard from the past century. Episode Guide: 00:00 The Impact of the 1968 Protest: A New Era for Howard University 03:21 Reflections on Citizenship and the Black University 06:07 Historical Context: Protests and Militancy at Howard 17:19 The Legacy of Nathan Hare and Black Studies 20:03 Striving Toward a Black University: Community and Liberation 24:00 The Institute for Arts and Humanities: A Vision for the Future 27:47 Challenges and Changes in Black Education 29:17 The Role of Howard University 32:20 Institutional Memory and Identity 42:39 The Importance of Preservation 45:58 Future Directions and Goals On the Yard is a production of The Moorland-Spingarn Research Center at Howard University and is produced by University FM. Episode Quotes: An institution that is windows to America and the world 09:34: [Benjamin Talton] That's part of the conversation I want to continue to have with this podcast is that it's not just about Howard or other black colleges and universities, because all of our institutions are windows into America and windows into the world. And what I'm really proud of Howard about, and Lincoln and Fisk as well, is that it's always been globally black, right? Since we were founded in 1867, our first African students were graduated in 1870. So, from the very beginning, we've always been global in our blackness, right? Protesting have ideals of our own 02:53: [Dana Williams] The question really is like, all right, now that the question of citizenship is, “settled,” because of course it never has been and probably will never be, what will be our own ideals? Will we adopt American ideals, or will we have any of our own? And I think part of what we see coming out of that protest is a real push to have ideals of our own. Pushing for the global concept of the black university 09:18: [Greg Carr] Let me just say, they weren't pushing for the black American university…They were pushing for the black university. That's a global concept. And that runs squarely against the sensibility of a lot of universities in this country, including, quite frankly, a lot of HBCUs. Show Links: The Moorland-Spingarn Research Center Follow MSRC on Instagram and YouTube

10. 

    18 Dec 2025

    Introducing On The Yard at Howard University

    Welcome to “On The Yard,” a podcast by the Moorland Spingarn Research Center at Howard University. Since 1914, MSRC has preserved the stories that define Black life around the world, including photographs, rare books, letters, political archives, film, and everyday materials that reveal lives filled with love, brilliance, struggle, creativity, and imagination. This podcast brings you into the treasured collection with each episode pulling out an archival gem and diving deep into its significance. With the help of intellectual scholars, cultural, and literary voices, MSRC staff connect the past to the present. This is Howard’s history as a window into the world and the global Black experience. Step “On The Yard” January 2026 wherever you get your podcasts. On the Yard is a production of The Moorland-Spingarn Research Center at Howard University and is produced by University FM.

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