A Black Utopia In North Carolina

“I thought I'd come to paradise,” said Jane Ball Groom upon arriving in Soul City, North Carolina. It wasn’t amenities or location that made Soul City paradise, but the promise of what it could be: a city built by Black people, for Black people. Our guests take us back to 1969 when the city was founded and built from (below) the ground up — and while the city itself was short-lived, we’ll see how the seeds it sowed laid roots for spaces that celebrate and center Black culture today.

That's a wrap on the season! Share you stand out moments with host Saleem Reshamwala on Twitter (@Kidethic).

For photos from the episode and more on the history of Soul City, head to the Souvenir Book of Soul City in the North Carolina digital collections.

Special thanks to Shirlette Ammons who we could not do this story without, and our guests Charmaine McKissick-Melton, Jane Ball-Groom, Lianndra Davis, Lou Myers, Tobias Rose, and Derrick Beasley. Extra special thank you to Alan Thompson, who recorded the saxophone music you heard in this episode from Parish Street on Durham’s Black Wall Street.

Our unsung hero for this week is Sammy Case who manages the cross-promotions for all of TED's podcasts - if you found Far Flung with Saleem Reshamwala from one of your other favorite shows, she’s the reason why!

Far Flung with Saleem Reshamwala is produced by Jesse Baker and Eric Nuzum of Magnificent Noise for TED. Our host is Saleem Reshamwala. Our production staff includes Hiwote Getaneh, Sabrina Farhi, Kim Nederveen Pieterse, Elyse Blennerhassett, Angela Cheng, and Michelle Quint, with the guidance of Roxanne Hai Lash and Colin Helms. Our fact-checker is Abbey White. This episode was mixed and sound designed by Kristin Mueller.