Comfort turns to horror when the night becomes weaponized – used to terrorize and control. This is the most ominous embodiment of the night. Its most salient symbols are those of burning crosses, and the nightriders delivering their messages of terror.
As a Weapon Credits
Nocturne is produced by Vanessa Lowe.
Nocturne is distributed by KCRW, and receives support from KCRW’s Independent Producer Project, which provides resources to creative storytellers around the world.
Rebecca Carroll consulted on this episode. Nick White was our editor. Special thanks to Anne-Ellice Parker for early consultation.
The poem, “Incident”, was written and read by Natasha Trethewey. Thank you to Sanford Jeames, Cheryl and Carlton, and Clint Smith for sharing their family stories. Thanks to Kimberly Russell.
Kidada Williams is a writer and historian who studies what happened to African American survivors of racist violence. Her writings include, “Never Get Over It: What Night-riding Meant to African American Families,” in Reconstruction and the Arc of Racial (in)Justice (2018).
David Cunningham is a professor of sociology at Washington State University. His writings include, Klansville, U.S.A.: The Rise and Fall of the Civil Rights-Era Ku Klux Klan.
We highly recommend The 1619 Project, from The New York Times. It is both a written work, and a podcast, which “aims to correct the record, reframing the country’s history by placing the consequences of slavery and the contributions of black Americans at the very center of the story we tell ourselves about who we are.”
Reports of Congressional hearings mentioned in this episode are available online. The 13 volumes, made in 1872, comprise the reports and testimonies from the Congressional committee that investigated the Ku Klux Klan and other insurrectionary movements in the former Confederacy after the close of the Civil War. Report of the Joint Select Committee to Inquire into the Condition of Affairs in the Late Insurrectionary States.
Music
Nocturne theme music by Kent Sparling
Additional music:
Kent Sparling \\ Jeffrey Foster \\ Kid Otter
Episode Artwork: Robin Galante
Special thanks to Peter Smith, Alex Espinoza, Jeremy Cherfas, Herrin Hopper, David Green, Mary Jo Eyler, Marta Pelrine-Bacon, Tara, Chris Glover, Ashley Cummings, Benjamin Yeamans, Maria Samuelsen, Misty Lytle, Sleep with Me Podcast, Tara, Tim Harincar