On this episode of Our American Stories in May three enslaved men Frank Baker Shepherd Mallory and James Townsend escaped from Confederate labor at Sewell's Point Virginia and crossed to Union-held Fort Monroe When their enslaver demanded their return General Benjamin Butler faced a problem Sending them back would mean returning three men to work on Confederate defenses aimed at his own fort Our regular contributor Jon Elfner and historian Kate Masur author of Until Justice Be Done share the story of how Butler's decision to hold the men as contraband of war helped open Union lines to hundreds then [... more]

Yanmi Park recounts her harrowing story of life in North Korea, where she witnessed extreme poverty, malnutrition, and human rights abuses. She shares her experiences of being sold into slavery, escaping to China, and eventually finding freedom in America, where she now advocates for the rights of North Korean women and warns of the dangers of losing freedom. [... more]