This week on The Book Drop, we’re turning the show over to 1st Sky Omaha in the Morning for a full-on takeover. They dive into Black literacy during Black History Month, the excitement around Omaha Public Library’s future, and the books, films, and archives that help preserve untold community stories. Think civic conversation, North Omaha history, and lots of love for libraries as places of truth and connection.
Note: This transcript has been lightly edited for clarity and readability while preserving the original intent of the conversation. It is provided to improve accessibility and may not be a strictly verbatim record of the audio.
Transcript:
Paul: Taking it over. The Book Drop. First Sky Omaha in the Morning.
Buddi3: In the morning, or afternoon,
Paul: We’ve got to make a song for The Book Drop now.
Buddi3: The Book Drop, book drop, book drop. Right on.
[Music intro]
Amy: I'm over winter. Done. Let's exit.
Maggie: We've talked about this. I'm over winter seven days in, which is entirely too early to be virtually over.
Amy: The thing is, it's like I'm fine with it. And then once the chill sets into my bones, and I do believe that that happens, I feel like I can't get warm again until spring comes.
Maggie: Okay. I feel that. I think I've described this on the podcast previously that my, my hot dog, frozen hot dog analogy. That I am the hot dog. So if you’ve ever taken a frozen hot dog and you tossed it into a pot of boiling water. This is what happens when people tell me like, well, winter is better because you can just keep putting on layers, and in the summertime you can only take so much off and be like, first of all, I'm making a lot of assumptions about what I'm willing to take off.
Second of all, I am cold, and there's nothing worse than just continuously putting on layers and never getting warm. Now I'm overstimulated. So my analogy is a frozen hot dog. If you take a frozen rock solid hot dog, and you put it in a pot of boiling water for, like, a couple seconds. When you pull it out that outside is pretty toasty hot. Hot. If you squeezed it, there's a frozen core still inside. I am that hot dog. I am a hot dog. Like, we might get the top layer warmed up, but that frozen core. That's going to stick around until. I mean,
Amy: You heard it here, we’re hot dogs.
Maggie: You're listening to Hot Dog Talk on The Book Drop. Do you like a Costco hot dog? I don't mean to turn this into whole…
Amy: Of course. I mean, it's inexpensive and it's delicious. And it’s very…It's plain. It's easy. It's got the basics.
Maggie: It's always $1.50. My two year old frequently wakes up in the morning when I say what do you want for breakfast? She says a hot dog. And I'm like, no, I don't like, we're not going to do that right now. But what I do want to find out is how early does Costco have those hot dogs fired up? Because if I show up at 9 a.m., will they have a hot dog ready for me? Maybe this is how I start eating hot dogs or breakfast. Anything's possible in 2026,. Speaking of which, I feel like we need, like, a little check in moment before we get to our theme of our episode. I wanted to check in with you about your tarot practice. Because I know at the beginning of the month that was supposed to be, you go outside and you look for the omens. Then also, you've been drawing one per day. Tell me about how that's going.
Amy: It is going well. So soon I will be because we're recording this before February. So I haven't gone outside or figured out what my omen is. I'm very curious about that. I just thought about that today. So this is very timely. The tarot practice every day is doing well. You know, been pulling a single card every day for almost three years. Over three years.
Maggie: Do you have to do it right away or could you do it when you get into work?
Amy: No, it is my ritual in the morning.
Maggie: I was going to be like will you wait until you get to work and I'm here and I can be like pull it!
Amy: I could bring my, I have a couple decks. Maybe you'll pull one, and then I could start kind of having conversation with you about your single pulls.
Maggie: I would love that. Because this is one of the things I'm not necessarily like super bought into the culture, but I do love the idea of pulling something into me. Like I know when I see it around me
Amy: I know it's so, it's so interesting. So I would say now, because there are so many cards, just everyday cards in a regular deck, I have some extra Luna Lunar Blue Moon cards, along with my deck. So I'm learning what those attributes of meanings are with that extra cards in that deck. But I will say, it is when I pull a card now, I don't feel like I'm completely. I feel, I don't, I mean, I consult the books every single day. I have three books that I consult, but when I'm like that, I'm like, oh, yeah, I know what you mean. So it's, I, it is more intuitive for me. It's the meanings and like how it frames my day is more, it's coming easier for me.
So I love that part of it. I'm also just start following a Substack called the Tarot Lab. It's like this, like a deep dive into a single card. So I'm following that. So it's going well. Thanks for asking. Now I am going to bring my deck and we're going to do some pulls for you.
I'm so excited today about our episode, because it's, we did this last year, and it was so fun. So we had, 1st Sky Omaha take over again.
Maggie: In last year's, I believe we recorded our little intro, and then they recorded their piece, and then we were able to kind of, like, give our thoughts on it.
But this year, they recorded before we did this. This was kind of fun that we… I always feel like it's, not disingenuous, but it's part of like that editing magic sometimes, you say, like, I wonder what will happen? Okay. Pause. Wow. And it's kind of one of those things because we got to, like, already read it.
So, I'm really excited to hear your thoughts. I think we just should we just cut straight to our friends at 1st Sky Omaha,
Amy: Paul B Allen and Buddi3 (pronounced “Buddy”) Da Gawd, so excited that they were willing to take over the podcast again. And, we're thrilled about it.
Maggie: Take it away, fellas.
1st Sky Omaha with Paul B. Allen and Buddi3 Da Gawd Takes Over the Podcast
Paul: Hey hey hey. Welcome welcome, welcome. What's happening? This is the take over. It's going down.
Buddi3: Take over, take over. [musical whispering]
Paul: The Book Drop. My name is Paul B. with Buddi3 Da Gawd. And we are from 1st Sky Omaha in the morning. So it's a podcast live stream that we do Monday, Wednesday, Friday from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m.
It's kind of a neighborhood association, kind of a digital neighborhood association. Discussion about news and affairs and things that go down in our community. And, it's also kind of turned into a civics lesson, hasn't it?
Buddi3: Yeah, man. Very organically become a civics lesson. Shout out to all of our elected officials and leaders out there that, you know, take the time out of their busy schedules to come and speak to us. Let us know a little bit of what’s going on and all of you, you know, that, chime in to the chat. Listen. Yeah, we thank you. We thank you. It's definitely a conversation that has taken a life of its own. But as we always say, conversation rules nation.
Paul: That's right, that's right.how it starts. And, Yeah, man. So we're we're here doing this take over again. I, I'm so happy that, we get to do this again. I have so much fun doing it last year, that was that was real cool, man.
Buddi3: I can't believe it's been a year already. Like it doesn't feel like that.
Paul: Yeah, I can't, I can't wait to find out what you've been reading. So that's the, that's the highlight of this. Get the books. Get the books out. So it's time to do this. Time to do the thing. So. Yeah. Yeah, man. Let's let's jump in, bro.
Shout out to the library. You know, like, just just having this back is pretty incredible.
Buddi3: Yeah. I mean, the library's been pretty active. Kind of jealous you actually got the chance to see, you know, a little bit of what they've been doing firsthand. But, you know, since we did this last year, definitely have been in, close partnership and working with the, library, actually helping to get some artists involved in, in their new facility. So definitely shout out to all of our artists out there that will be having their work showcase at the new facility on 72nd and Dodge. Paul, again. You got the pleasure of kind of getting a glimpse, getting in the inside, very groundbreaking stuff with the library is doing. Yeah, I'll talk about that a little bit.
Paul: It's just the most, it's just the coolest thing. I really feel like Omaha Public Library is going to be setting the precedent for the rest of the country on how to step into the future with the libraries, not just in the design and architecture, but in the facility inside.
Man. Do space that's inside there, podcast studios. So many things that, that is the future now. It's it's happening right now and it's going down. So, you know, I'm just really happy that this is happening in Omaha. First, all the branches. But that 72nd branch looks like something out of Star Trek, man. It's cool. Super cool. I can't wait for you to come out here to see it. For sure.
Buddi3: One of the big things, for us at 1st Sky is a belief that Omaha is kind of a, microcosm. You know, Omaha really kind of, reflects a lot of what's going on across the nation. And we're definitely seeing a big push for literacy. Big, big shout out to those who are, you know, reading, staying active in reading.
I do want to give a shout out to our Omaha, local sister who's pushing it on a national level, actually, later on this year, I believe in March, Sister Clarice Jackson with Black Literacy Matters, will be having a literacy conference in Virginia. You can check her out. And Blackliteracymatters.com. I do believe there's tickets available.
Or, you know, and if she's not paying me to do this. But this is, again, a takeover of Black History Month and literacy in specially Black communities, when you talk about the history is, is important, man is important. And you don't have to pay me to push that because it's something that we all need to get involved in, in reading more and more.
And when you look at the history again, we were persecuted, prevented from reading. So having the freedom to read now and not doing so is just madness.
Paul: So true, so true. We had a discussion with the mayor on our show the other day, too. We have a new segment called the Monthly Meet Up with the Mayor.
And, I just remember his speech that he gave on that day that we were over there at the library, opening. And just so you know, the vibe that was happening there and just understanding that we got a mayor that really feels like it's important, that literacy matters. He's the one that appointed Clarice. So, yeah. Miss Jackson. So it was really something else to to to understand that we, we were now in a situation where we want to show the rest of the US basically how it should be done here as far as literacy is concerned. So how's the library system is concerned and so on and so forth. So, yeah, just did not expect to be around such a revolutionary situation with the library man in Omaha, Nebraska, of all places.
So, I think I think it's, like you said, a microcosm of what should be going on in the rest of the country is very least. And, Yeah, super cool, man. Super cool. So we're all about it. We told you last time we took this over that we're a couple of readers. We grew up on that Reading Rainbow, the Sesame Street.
Yeah, man. So, it was all about it. Just all about it. Spent a lot of time hanging out in libraries in particular. Same for you, buddy. Is that how you kind of grew up?
Buddi3: Yeah. Well, I yeah, you can, ask Mama Gawd again, had a very, very early introduction to libraries, before, you know, went to go get my own library card. I had a library at home, again, Dr. Seuss books and poetry books. And again, it's something that has been foundational to how I was raised. And I continue that, my children, all three of them have their library books and cards now. So again, it's a resource, that we will continue to, to big up and make a part of our lives.
And actually, Paul, I know, we have some list of books, and you know, as we transition into the discussion for today, I know, one of the books that you have is, close to home, part of the family, again, family writing, have some published authors in your family. Let's talk about it.
Paul's Book Recommendations for Black History Month
Paul: Yeah. That's, let's let's jump into, my reading list right now. It's on my nightstand. As a matter of fact, by the way, I had to decide that I was going to make it a habit again to read a chapter a night in everything, that I'm reading, you know, all the books that I'm reading at the same time, right before bed. And that seems to be the best time for me to, like, set aside some time to read. It's been working. It's been working. So, yeah, I was looking at the list of things that they have on the list for the for Black history. Of course, we're doing this for Black History Month. Oh, we got acknowledge that as well. Black history is kind of all year for us. So sometimes I forget that we also are doing this during the month of like, if it's still if it's still if it's still a thing in this administration, we'll see. But but yeah. So they have a list. The library has a list of books, that they suggested that you, people check out.
I didn't really, I hadn't seen anything on that list, and I didn't get a chance to read anything on that list. It's because I'm kind of heavily into the books that I'm into right now, so I'll kind of go through those and we can. Yeah, definitely start with the family's books. I happen to have some family members that are authors and, and like I said, you know what?
It's crazy. Their family members, they've told me about the books, but I haven't read through the book, so I probably should do that. Yeah. So, the first one is, my pops, Paul B Allen III is an author, and he wrote a book called Saturday Morning Chronicles. And, yeah, this is kind of a memoir of his.
He's a musician. He's been singing for many, many years. He's the songwriter. He's sang with the Platters, for a lot of years. And, he's got some wisdom about what's going on, especially, like some Motown wisdom, which I wasn't even under, realizing myself, like how much. I learned a lot from reading his book about his life, in his life with other musicians and people that he worked with throughout the years that are connected to some major, major hits in our country.
So it was really interesting. He, to memorize, in the form of short vignettes about musicians that he's worked with and the music that's inspired him, full of insider info as well. So you can learn a lot of stuff that you won't hear from anybody else because he was personally involved with those musicians, which I think is really cool.
And also he, the book that he wrote before that was called From Karaoke to The Platters. So his journey from how he started singing and then how he got into the group, the Platters, and traveled all around the world. That is actually in the the Omaha Public Library, thanks to our friend Amy Mather. And, and so after me reading this Saturday Morning Chronicles, I thought, this is, this one will be a great one to add next.
So I'll be making some phone calls to see see about that. So, so that's that's still that's one of them that I'm, that I'm, reading right now from the family. And the other one is from a cousin of ours out here in Omaha, Nebraska. It's called The Deuce. And, she wrote a book, basically, it's a memoir of hers as well, of memories of things that have gone on in The Deuce.
For those of you don't know, The Deuce is, the 24th and Lake Street area of Omaha. It's considered the Black community. It is considered kind of the Black Mecca, the Black Wall Street of Omaha for many, many years. And, and she comes from that time frame this year, she wanted to reminisce about the 50s through the 80s, when every building was full of businesses and clubs and, you know, was a thriving, thriving city until, you know, there was some uprising and some things happened and they kind of just defunded it and left it, left it for dead.
And, and we're in a renaissance right now, which is really interesting to me to be reading what I'm reading about the past, because, right now there's a renaissance for the 24th and Lake Street area, the Deuce, and we're happy to be a part of that, to trying to rebuild this whole scene. And, it's really people. People who, people like her, like my aunt, my cousin Patricia, she is of, seeing what's going on now and saying, hey, I'm seeing it.
Maybe it's coming back like the old days. So it's interesting to read this, is kind of her take on back in the day, you kind of going through her memory about, stuff that's going on, and that's got to be, one of the most comprehensive books on list of businesses that lined the streets of 24th of, like, clubs, from an era when The Deuce was thriving.
So, yeah, just first hand stories, about, all the fun that you used to have there, but also the tragedies. Also the things that happened, the, murder of Vivian Strong back in the day that that started the one of the riots that burned a lot of the streets around that area. And from a person who knew her was and was that age when that happened.
And, you know, it was reminiscent from a firsthand experience. Very interesting stuff that she wrote about this area. And, and, if you want to know anything about North Omaha, the Black community in North Omaha, and what it was in the past and why it's so important to us now, I highly suggest you check out The Deuce, man.
So yeah, man, so, luckily I got a couple little, couple little members of the family that are still educating me in my old age.
Buddi3: Not just you, man. Not just you. Yeah, actually, over the summer, I had the opportunity, went to a family member's house, and lo and behold, your cousin's book was right there on the coffee table.
So as I'm looking through, like, hey, this is this is, you know, my friend, this is his family's book. Turns out that my family has some stories and has some excerpts and are part of a few of the stories in that book. Again, it is very, very nice to continue to, learn about, you know, who we are and where we come from, in this community and to, you know, be able to continue to keep that story going to be a part of that story, as you mentioned, not just looking at the past, but also looking at the present and looking into the future.
So beautiful, beautiful thing and big, big shout out, actually, to, you know, the Omaha Public Library for again, hosting some of your family's books and hopefully we can get those other ones in rotation to get it right. Let's get it going
Paul:Shout out to Patricia Allen, shout out to pops. Appreciate it. Hey, before we get into the rest of the books that I'm checking out that I'm into right now too, I kind of want, anxious to hear about what you got going on because, because I know you're always reading something interesting and got me, I've been waiting them for the past few days. I can't wait to hear what he's reading.
Buddi3: Really? Again, you know, maybe as over the last year or so, you know, personally, you have learned about me, I'm a history buff. Big, big history. Well, yeah. And I'm actually finding myself, which I'll be talking about a little later on.
Well, my discoveries from the Omaha Public Library and shout out to the genealogy team and the team of the archives, with the Omaha Library. History documents. Not necessarily so much, like, you know, narratives or self-help books like I have, you know, been working through the E-Myth book. Thank you for that gift, by the way. But finding myself looking more into historic documents, looking more into, man, the Constitution and trying to really understand, what's going on and coupling that with the current events that are going on.
And to be honest, we're kind of seeing the dismantling of America, American society, American history is being rewritten. And, it is interesting to look back, to see some of the stories that have been forgotten. Some of the stories that have still yet to be told. And that's kind of where I find myself. Actually we were working on a project earlier this year, the Lanes of Change project.
Shout out to those who have checked it out if you haven't already, and you can check us out on YouTube at 1st Sky Omaha, Lanes of Change. I found myself looking through a few other, like National Library archives and just going through some of the, you know, just footage that they have. And it's millions and millions of footage, the internet, archive.com, and there's so many resources out there, that have, you know, so much just information and historical, things that really kind of help put things into perspective, if you will, and just to learn so much more, again, especially in this era of, AI.
It's interesting to look, you know, where the resources where, where are you sources. So big, big shout out to all the libraries out there, that are holding the integrity, holding the line and collecting, just collecting, collecting, collecting. Because, as you as we know, libraries and collections and resources are falling, by the day, especially with this administration.
Paul: And, I got to mention to, luckily there's physical copies, that's available to shout out to the library for keeping physical copies of things. This new library that we have on 72nd has an archive with a robotic arm that goes up and down and grabs stuff. And, man, I'm trying to tell you, but it just really impressed on me.
You know how much we need to also have an archive of physical, properties as well, in this age of AI and fake news and fake information, that can easily be tweaked in the digital realm. It's so great to be able to go crack open a book and find out what's happening, for real,
Buddi3: Man, or touch that microfilm again, looking at those old newspapers. It's hard to fake that news.
Paul: I can't wait to see, see some of the stuff that you dig out. I know that you got reminded me about, like, when we are on the show, the reason why I kind of choose what I read at night is because I kind of need a break from the stuff that we, we are always digging into for the show, which is what you’re talking about too, just really try to understand our, our, our times, keep up on news that's happening. That's, that's going on daily. That that is with the context of that news is the history. This is, you know, knowing that things are repeating in the way that men have and everything else that you gotta learn from kind of digging in and just understanding the context, which is a major part of what we do.
It's not just news dissemination on our show. We're actually trying to put things in context to show, you know, how they how they are attached to the past and find solutions for the future on those things. So, I appreciate that you still dig, dig through those things on your spare on your spare time. I got it, I gotta I gotta escape a little bit on mine because we do that some, we do that so much. I'm like, man, I can't take another article on this craziness. But it is really interesting to understand the historical context and stuff. And realize that this is all happened before, you know?
Buddi3: I'll be honest, I don't know, man. It might be a thing, man, because, when we get done with the morning show, I might catch two, 2 or 3 more hours of news. Like, I might go watch Democracy Now! For a couple of hours, you know? So I'm definitely always soaking it in. But, yeah, it helps. It helps to make, you know, make a sense of everything. But at the same time, you do need, you know, those those narratives and, few of those other types of, you know, stories and poems and things to just, you know, movies, books, music to help, escape some of that or at least, get a break from it as well. So, you know, it's all about balance. There you go. H
Paul: You want me to move on to another book, or you want to. Or you still going?
Buddi3: Yeah, we can keep it going. Yeah.
Paul: I know you have a few other selections. I got a couple of selections. Another thing that I'm reading. It's funny, my reading list is a couple of family members and a really close friend. So a really close friend, Orinda Fink.
She wrote a book called The Witch's Daughter. I'm reading that again as well. It's really interesting to read the memoirs of your friends because you think you know your friends, but then they write something, and you hear and hear in their life from their voice. The first time that she let me read, the first draft of the manuscript, I was, like, floored.
I was just like, we all should be writing memoirs so our friends can know us very, very well. Because I just had. No, I had no idea, you know, you think you know somebody well, and then you hear from their voice what they're from inside of them, how they feel about some of the things that's happened that, you know, this happened, you know, it's it's just a different thing.
So anyway, that's besides the point. Her book is called The Witch's Daughter, it's a memoir about growing up with an abusive mother, who insisted that they are both magic. So she grew up in this kind of magic realistic realm, that she didn't know what was real. What was not real. And then her mother kind of has, like, a borderline personality disorder that made it really tough for her to to, grow up.
So she really is a great writer. I'm amazed at the way that she's... She's a musician. She's a pop star. And so, you know, knowing that she also has these writing skills is just incredible. But she really broke these things down in this kind of, this journey of her to get to this healed version of herself, which is what we're all trying to do.
So it's it's just really interesting to read from her perspective, and understand, some of the context of the stories that I already knew about her just because we're friends. Really, but really, really, really great book. And, I think everybody should be checking it out. It is one at the Omaha Public Library that you can get, the audio version, with her reading it too, is available.
So I kind of have been digging back into that one as well, to read the latest of that. I've read two versions of it already, and this is the finished version that I'm finally getting to read. Man, it's just it's out of sight. So, I'm all about it. Those are my three that I'm kind of reading at the end of the night, Witch’s Daughter, Saturday Morning Chronicles and The Deuce, and then, I'm also reading a couple more books.
I'm part of the Omaha Reads selection committee this year. In, in, in this set of books that were that we had to choose from this time. Not a whole lot on the subject of Black culture, except for one. This this book called James by Percival Everett is on the list. And it seems, a lot of people who are on this committee have already read it and loved it, and it didn't need to be, we didn't need to cover that because it's already been covered.
But everybody else has decided to read it, too, because they're saying, its that good. I actually, got it a few months before I got on the committee. My friend Benjamin Alvarado sent it to me as a present. So it's been sitting on my counter anyway. But James by Percival Everett, it's a book about. It's a retelling of the Huck Huckleberry Finn book.
And it's told from the viewpoint of Jim the slave. So I just started it. I'm ready to get into it. I'm kind of like, everybody's saying it's great. That's quite the premise, to to, to do that, I, you know, I'm always talking about my favorite writer, Toni Morrison, and how she writes from the point of view of Black folks.
You know, she does not write for, you know, thinking that she, her audience is white America. It's her audience is Black America. She writes Black books for Black people from their perspective. And, and, and so that's why I'm super interested in this James book. One of the reasons why. So, looking forward to digging into it.
I appreciate Benjamin Alvarado gave me to me as a gift. I can't wait to dig in. But that is on that list. And the other one I'm reading on that list is called The Swimmers by Julie Otsuka. And, that's a pretty interesting one, too. It's it's kind of, we're kind. I'm kind of going through some things with my family now.
People, who are getting older and having all timers, come upon them and there's, and this book is kind of, about that. I'm, understanding a little bit about one of the characters who is slowly declining in their cognitive abilities there. And some things are coming back, Japanese-Americans, that are, this Japanese-American woman who's kind of, losing it and, all the all the, thoughts about her being in those concentration camps that we had here in America, early in life is starting to come back, which is also super interesting, because of the times that we're in.
But, yeah, it's really, really interesting. It's, you know, it's a group of people who are go to this public swimming pool, when a crack appears at the bottom of the pool, they start, things start cracking in their relationships. Basically, one of the swimmers, the one I was talking about, her name is Alice. She's slowly losing her memory.
And, you know, that pool is kind of like that swim time with her final kind of just hanging on to things, you know? But now that she's, like, disassociating and things are getting chaotic, you know, her memories of childhood, of the Japanese-American in concentration camps are coming back. So, so it's really interesting. And it's a family.
She's also, you know, because she's has an estranged relationship with her daughter. And, it's pretty deep. So I'm glad that I chose that one. That seems to be pretty interesting and very relevant for what's happening today as well. And it's something that, all of our cultures are, are having to deal with, you know, Black culture included.
We we never really got a lot of help when it came to, people in our family that were slipping into Alzheimer's and these other things, man, that, you know, we we kind of keep our elderly at home with us. So we, we have all really kind of dealt with that phenomenon. So it's interesting to hear other cultures having to deal with it, how they are expressing it as well. So, The Swimmers, Julie Otsuka, definitely check that out.
Buddi3: Yeah. That's, that's a heavy one, man. Actually, I had my grandma had passed several years ago, and she dealt with Alzheimer's in the later stages of her life. And my father was actually her caregiver. So, you know, to kind of see the swimming, you know, what a what a very, very powerful analogy.
Man, that's that's powerful. It's powerful. Great. Great selections. I am kind of curious. Please do tell them a little bit more about this selection committee that you you're talking about, that you're a part of. For those who don't know what it what is this entail?
Paul: Yeah, every year. Omaha Public Library, they put they put a list of books together, like a selection of books that they suggest, they use the members of the community to get together and kind of read through them and then make suggestions, and we all kind of get together and say, “hey, this was good,” or, “hey, this this one might not be great for public consumption.” And then, kind of make some determinations of how we build this list out, and then the list gets built, and then they promote that and put that out and encourage everybody in this in the city to, read what’s on the chosen list. So, it's always been some very, very good stuff, very diverse stuff.
This is my second year doing it. And, and I'm pretty happy with the selections. I was happy with selections last year. Happy that some of the ones that didn't get picked last year kind of came back this year for us to review again. And, and it's just a cool thing to really kind of get me back reading some, some newer stuff and older stuff, making some decisions and choices on that and just kind of thinking about how we can, make the suggestions on what people should be reading. You know, I'm looking forward to that kind of common denominator again. If we're all reading the same thing, we can all kind of have some discussion about things and understand things at the same time.
So I love the fact that they're putting this kind of curated list together, for, for, people that are into it to get together and do it is kind of like aa public book club almost.
Buddi3: Yeah. Yeah. Man. So again, big, big shout out to the Omaha Public Library. One of the many ways, that we align, one of the many ways that we work together and are happy to be partners with the Omaha Public Library. So again big shout out to everybody that's listening right now. To for those who don't know, you are in the middle of The 1st Sky Omaha Omaha Public Library, takeover of The Book Drop podcast.
Again, this is, for the Black History Month, edition. So again, shout out to the whole staff, man, the whole team for inviting us and helping us with this. I don't know. Is that all your selections? Is it my turn to jump into what I'm diving into?
Paul: Yeah, man, I think I got some more. I got some more, I don’t want to hog the whole show, you know? You know me, I can talk, I can talk over everybody, the whole show. So. Yeah. What else you got going on? I'm anxious to hear about it.
Buddi3's Recommendations for Black History Month
Buddi3: Yeah. Again, as I mentioned earlier, I took a different approach this year to The Book Drop. Not necessarily picking or going through a selection, a selection or a list of books. But more so looking, through the archives. So again, big, big shout out to our producer for this podcast, Margie, and also, the Genealogy and Local History librarians team at the Omaha Public Library for pulling a few of links to their archives and giving me access to a few of the archives that they have.
And, again, as I mentioned, the reason this kind of piqued my interest this year was, some of the things that we're seeing going on, not just you know, of course, ICE and just a whole question of, you know, what it is and what it means and what it looks like to be an American. But also just the education department, you know, some of the closures and, disruptions, that we've seen this year and that and, again, the library being one of the last bastions of hope, one of the last stewards of real documentation, real, literature definitely, definitely wanted to echo and really lean into that, this year.
So, I wanted to start actually with, telling a little bit of the North Omaha story again. One of the interesting part also is, the fact that a lot of these stories, a lot of the information that you can find, a lot of times the stories that have not been told, stories that, are forgotten, there are stories that again, just, haven't really made it past the, the photographs and, the, the initial articles that you can find in the archives.
So again, one of those collections, the Charles B. Washington Collection, which you can't find online, is a collection of photos. Of Charles B. Washington, who was the namesake of the North Omaha library located on 30th and Ames. And actually, there's a couple of photos that I picked from this collection, one of which is, hits close to home to you, Paul.
Which is quite interesting that you, you know, pulled some stories from your family. One is a picture of Charles B. Washington and Louis Armstrong sitting at The Ballroom. So again, we talk a lot about the history of the ballroom. And, you know, you and I are history, are music buffs. So we talk about the history and, you know, fan over it all the time.
But to actually see the legend Louis Armstrong in Omaha with another legend, Charles B. Washington, and to see it as I see a picture is worth a thousand words, possibly more, very powerful. Very, very powerful. Nice. Yeah, man. So again, there's that, also one is, that kind of piqued. My interest is one that's actually, him a photo of Charles B. Washington and a young woman holding a protest sign.
And what really piqued my interest is the historical notes that come with the photos. They again, kind of give a glimpse into the story. In February 1968, the Lake Charles organization sponsored a boycott and march to protest against stores along North 24th Street in Omaha, Nebraska. They had kept their windows boarded up since the 1966 riot.
So again, reading between the lines, there's two years that these stores held their store, boarded their windows up. And, can imagine some of the tensions between the store owners and the community members. But again, this is one example of stories that haven't really been told. Again, we hear a lot about the riots and some of the tensions in the 60s.
In North Omaha, following the murder of Vivian Strong. But you don't really hear much about the protest and the actual activity and what was really going on on the streets. So, photos like this really, really open up, the books of history, if you will. Wow. Man, that is really interesting. And that's great.
Paul: So. Tell me, again, like, if I wanted to go find this stuff myself. How did you, what did you have to go look up to find that stuff out?
Buddi3: So, again, our producer sent a few links, but all of this is available on the Omaha Public Library website. Anybody, regardless if you have a library card or not, can research this information.
And again, it's not just, history. It goes back pretty far. Actually, there's another collection that piqued my interest on this, which was the Indian Congress situation. Again, there's an Indian Congress, in the late 1890s in Nebraska. And actually simultaneously, there was an international conference happening around the same time. But the Indian Congress collection, is a collection, photographs, from the Indian Congress, because this the photographs that the official photographer of the Trans Mississippi and International Exposition, Frank Reinhart and his assistants, eight of them were a made of individual tribe members, their temporary lodgings and the various scheduled events of the Congress.
It was James Mooney, a Bureau of Ethnology ethnographer, who designed what was essentially a living exhibition of Native Americans, and it was he who contracted with Frank Rinehart to photograph the Indian delegates during the last week of the Congress. And again, if you're a frequent watcher, 1st Sky Omaha, we often, often actually every show, give honor, to our brothers and sisters of the Omaha tribe.
Of course, we, shout out to Brother Wells Levelle frequently, getting updates in, having conversations about what's going, going on, some of the reservations, and constantly remembering our native brothers and sisters. And again, in connection to like, what's happening and current events, with some of the Oglala Sioux Tribe brothers and sisters being wrapped up in these ICE raids again, telling the history of who that real Americans were, who the true Americans were, and what was really happening, during the turn of some of these centuries, again, really puts things in, as we like to say, context.
Paul: Interesting. I'll definitely be digging into the website then I hadn't even thought of really like what's on the Omaha Public Library website. Resources. Yeah. Good source, good source. We'll definitely have to check that out, man. That's interesting.
Buddi3: Yeah, man. And then also simultaneously during this, Indian Congress, there was also the International Exposition, which is something that was always interesting to me.
I went to King, Magnet Center, which is like on 16th or 20th, right off of, like 28th in Ohio, if you will. It's a middle school, but in that area, it was where the International Expo happened, during the late 1890s. And there's always like these grand, you know, plaques of these grand buildings.
And if you know anything about the International Expos, they were very, very grand conferences. I mean, they had, you know, buildings that were put up to, to represent other areas and there were shops and businesses and stores and, you know, you think of these mega conferences in a time where there's no internet. I don't know, even though there's phones at this time.
We talk about the late 1800s. So for some of that, something like that to happen in Nebraska is also, a glimpse into the past. But again, as a history buff, those types of things also, you know, help you really realize how connected the world was. And, you know, how the exchange of goods and ideas and, you know, unfortunately, sometimes humans happened during this.
But again, the story, the human story is something that continues to unfold. We have, I believe, still not heard the half of that story. And again, big, big shout out to the Omaha Library, especially in this time of Black History Month learning where we came and where we came from. And, where are we going
Paul: Love that. I got a book on that, on that expo. You definitely need that. I'll let you borrow that. You got to read that one, man. Very interesting stuff. You know, connected to the World's Fair and, and I have a, artist friend that lives in that used to live in Omaha. Allegra. That did, art piece where she showed some of the materials that they used to do that. Man, that World Expo stuff and and how fragile and how, it was really smoke and mirrors and cardboard and plaster, because they knew they were going to tear it down.
It looks like something opulent, like the World's Fair. Like like the White House, almost. Man. Some of the some of the architecture. But it was really made with throwaway materials. But it did bring a lot of people to the area. So, that's that's another woman. You definitely you check that book out. Because that's always fascinated me, too.
I would love to do something like that again. We need to have, like, a World's Fair again, type of deal.
Buddi3: I mean, it would be beautiful. You know, we need the exchange of culture and ideas and, you know, just just a a symbiotic relationship like that between nations and culture. That would be ideal, especially in the direction we're going. But yeah, that's that's very interesting. That is very interesting because you do see these photos and even again in the library's collection, there's, you do see some of the paintings and some of the like, where, where did all these buildings go? Where did these grand, fountains and some of these things that they had go.
But, as you mentioned it, it came and went, put it up and tore it down, man. But again, all of these things as, I'm continuously learning, are giving us stories that have not been told. And I think that's the biggest thing for me with this, is, you know, pushing the, the fact that the half of the story has not been told about what really has happened in this American saga and where we really are.
And, again, you mentioned earlier with the Toni Morrison and, not allowing the master narrative to dominate. There's so many other stories, so many other voices that have not been acknowledged that have not been flourishing. And again, only a glimpse of that, provided with the library's collection. So, again, big, big shout out to those librarians still holding the line, especially in this time of fake news and AI and just not knowing, where to, you know, who to believe in the information wars. So big, big shout out.
Paul: Not to mention the destruction of books that, you know, they are trying to get rid of this history. They're trying to get rid of those books. So it's, turned into a battle. Let's turn to a little bit of a war on that, on that front, where, you know, we're in that war in that era. You gotta you got to kind of put your books in the safe with other valuables these days so that you know, they don't they don't burn you out.
Picking it up right? Right where you left off. I would say if we were going to pick it up right there. Thinking about the history piece. There's some other entries that I wanted to talk about, too, because, you know. Okay, Omaha Public Library is not just about the books.
They have this whole, this whole, website, called Kanopy that is basically like the Netflix of, of the library. And, I got to say something about, first of all, if I'm, I'm also a film buff, big time. I've traveled the world to study film and they're the only channel that I can go to that has the kinds of films that I was educated on is the Criterion Collection, the Criterion Channel. And Kanopy is not just rivaling Criterion, I really feel like they're kind of beaten them. There's some stuff. Yeah, yeah. Criterion collection will have stuff on their channel and then they'll take it away. And then I'll find it on Kanopy. This just this just in there, you know.
Yeah. So, so Kanopy is, is great. I have a lot, a lot in my, in my, in my box ready to, to watch there. I did check out something in anticipation of Black History Month as well. Something that I've always heard about and learned about which is, which was the Great Migration. So for those who don't know what that is, a lot of Black folks that came in as slaves and had to work in the South, at one point they, they were freed after the Civil War and, and they started to get these messages from places that they called the North, about promises of jobs and prosperity and freedom. And a lot of them were, were, really anxious to go in and take part in that. It also had to do with the fact that since they were free now after the Civil War, the that's when really the white backlash started happening in a big way. And there was more lynchings, more attacks, more things that happened because that they couldn't stand them being free and not working for them.
So that's the only not only was the promise of the North, something that they wanted to, to engage in, but also to flee the, the messed up Jim Crow situation that they were in after they were freed. So a lot of them packed up and moved. And it was a very interesting phenomenon.
And of course, my family is was also from the South and moved in, ended up in Omaha and ended up in Nebraska, by way of Chicago and some other, other places. So, everybody who is in Omaha, mostly, if they have any history here, if they have, if they've been back generations, their family was part of that Great Migration hearing about those jobs, the packing houses in places like that and coming up here to work.
We all have that in our history. Packing houses, like you say, the packing houses and the railroads. So that's all I've known about it. On Kanopy, there is a series of, of, films called the called Great Migrations, plural. So, this is hosted by Henry Louis Gates Jr. So you already know about him. Okay. Okay. Yeah.
And, so we're learning not just about the great migration of Black folks coming from the south and moving north, but we're also hearing about other migrations, like the second my great migration that happened closer to the 50s, in the 40s, in the 50s, where millions of people went moved north and that's when things really started jumping in New York and all these other places.
As far as Black culture was concerned, things happening there. So, that was interesting. And then they talked about the migration of white people out of the inner cities. White flight is also considered a migration. They migrated out of the city. When Black folks started showing up. And that's another part of the migration story.
And then they talked about the migration of more recently, the migration of Black people back to the South, which is super interesting. They feel like a lot of them felt like they were in places. And, you know, I was, listening on the show, they talked about Gladys Knight in the Pips song Midnight Train to Georgia, and they broke that down.
And that's, one of the only songs that talks about, you know, this brother went out to L.A. It was too tough for him. He couldn't make it. He was missing home. He was like I said, I'm out of here. You know, on the Midnight Train Back to Georgia, back home, which is, which is, what a lot of people.
So quote unquote, Black people feel like is their home because of the fact that that's where they were for so many generations. So and this was a big movement of, Black folks going back and reclaiming the South. Hence where you're at Atlanta. And they told the story about about how Lana became the powerhouse that it did because of that, education being a lot of the key.
So the great migration back to the South was super interesting. And then the, the last episode was talking about the migration of other, Black folks from other parts of the diaspora, other parts of the world that migrated to America, because since the 1900s, there was millions of people from out of African descent, Haitian descent, from the Caribbean that migrated to America that we don't even talk about when we talk about the Great Migration.
So, and they really redefined what it means to be Black in, in this country because of the fact that there were so many of them that came over Ellis Island, just like everybody else, for the same reason, you know? So you always hear about Black folks coming over here as slaves, as if that's the only way we got here.
First of all, we were here before that. If you want to get into that conversation. Second of all, Black folks who have come from other places to migrate over, just like every other immigrant comes over for prosperity and other reasons. Since then, it's been millions of people that have wound up here, too, on purpose.
So our story is Black folks in this country isn't just we all came over here as slaves. It's just not the story. So understanding these different kinds of migrations has been really interesting to watch. And, Buddi3, they got a whole section on how Outkast made some moves on putting the South back on the map, on that episode when they talk about the migration back home.
Man, Andre and then was the mouthpiece for that. So you guys you got to check it out. Super interesting. And this very last episode two talks about when I said, you know, a lot of Africans and people from the Caribbean came over. So they're talking about the Jamaicans that came over. So they talk about Kool Herc, they talk about the beginning of hip hop. They're talking about how hip hop has shaped the country, all because of these migrations. Super interesting. Documentary. Definitely got to check it out. It's called Great Migrations with an s on Kanopy.
Buddi3: Yeah, man. Definitely. I'm glad you chose that. The kind of, you know, cap it off, I think that's a great selection and really kind of ties in everything. As I was paying attention as we were talking. It is funny that, you know, between the historical, you know, documents and photographs and content that I selected and some of the historical stories that you selected, or whether, you know, b, the stories of your father and his musical career or, you know, Cousin Pattie in the stories of The Duece, it's all telling the human story.
And I think that's one of the biggest things that all this is, really about. And, you know, even tying it into Black History Month and why you, you know, we make these tongue in cheek comments about, you know, Black history is, is every day and, you know, was a month because it really is by saying Black History Month is almost separating us and our, our history, our story is a part of human history.
And looking at that and really reading that story for what it is, is a beautiful, beautiful thing. So again, big, big shout out.
Paul: And not to mention our story is American history as well. Man, you were talking about history. That's what it is. And we got to talk about it. And also here's, here's the thing that I want people to remember about Black History Month too. Black History Month is for white people.
We live our history every day. That's why we always come back and say, you know, Black history is all year for us. This is the day designated. This is a month designated for white folks and other folks to learn about our history that we already engage in on a daily basis. Yeah. So, so, so I, I don't mind at all to say, hey, what, you know, ask me what suggestions do you have to people, people who need to know need to check it out.
Now, of course, in our community, it's always good to like, reaffirm and, and, reimagine and also, you know, re-encourage everybody to go through it again and you always learn something new every time you go through any kind of history. So, it's great to be reminded, but, but really, this month is really for people who, who have not been concentrating on Black history all year long to take the month to do that.
So I hope yeah, I hope that you take those suggestions to heart and, and check out a few things, because it's a, it's a rich history in a big way.
Buddi3: There you go. There you go.
Highlighting cultural places in Omaha for Black community and experience
Paul: I'm going to talk about cultural places. Places in Omaha, especially that I think is very culturally significant.
And, and, and encourages, encourages the, the kind of, knowledge gathering that we, we try to talk about and we try to do all the time. So, let's talk about this thing to think a little bit while I name these. I want you to see if you can figure out when the name is. Well, cultural places in Omaha.
First of all, first and foremost, you know where I'm going with this Afro-American Bookstore, is one of the most culturally significant places in the Midwest as far as we're concerned. If you don't know about the Afro-American bookstore, you absolutely should go check it out. It's, on Lake Street in North Omaha right before you get to about 30th.
And it's been a staple for a while. There's been, the the owner, Marshall Taylor, who is now passed away, is been a mentor and a legend, and he's been the one that's built this whole thing. Him and his wife, Jeanette Taylor. Who's there now, Jeanette Taylor still is still there. And just as a Black bookstore in general, they they're in such decline in the country that we can literally probably count how many Black bookstores there are left.
A lot of the books that anybody choose when we do these takeovers, some of that comes from there because, they're not quite in the library yet, but, luckily we have a great, a great team at the Omaha Public Library that always listens to those suggestions in, in, and says, hey, okay, well, what do we need to get in there?
And they work on it, so, we we, we're lucky to have a library, a team of librarians and, administrators at the Omaha Public Library that will take those days to consideration. But that's kind of where we get a lot of the books that we dive into as well. And it's not just a bookstore. It's a place where the culture gathers and it's a place where, you know, Buddi3 was holding classes there when I met him.
We were in the back room learning things and hearing from the elders, and it's just a cultural icon of a place. And, I hope to do some work highlighting that this year, Afro-American Bookstore. That's still going on strong right now here in North Omaha. One of my favorites. Okay. Also, I'm going to I'm going to say culture House, my only culture house for you guys.
I know you probably will talk about Culxr House a little bit, but I will say, for cultural places that are very significant. And this is one that I don't know if a lot of people think about, but our barbershops and beauty shops in, in the Black community are absolutely, positively some of the most important cultural places, that we have had in the Black community over the years.
I was just taking my nephew to get his haircut. He was looking over at their section of children's books. Every so often groups of people get together and they say, ‘hey, let's do, let's have some reading initiatives and let's utilize the beauty shops and barbershops to do that.’ And every one you go to pretty much has a little kids section of books that they, you know, the especially young Black kids can check out and read and see themselves in.
And I think it's awesome how they are on that. It's easy to be at the barber shop and, and, you know, just chop it up and have a good time. But, you see that as cultural hubs as well. A lot of discussion happens at the barbershops and beauty salons. A lot of political conversations happen there.
Back in the day, the barbershops in the beauty salons were places where you can go get a loan to get your business started. Those brothers were making money in the community. And they were funding people starting small businesses, and also, heavily on the education. If you've ever seen the movie Barbershop, with Cedric the Entertainer and all those guys, they had a fund there for somebody to go to college.
I forgot what the plot was, but that's kind of indicative. They always had, they always encouraged the young people in the neighborhood to go make it to, you know, buying some shoes for their job interview or or, getting some sneakers because they're a great ball player in the community.
It's just been, it's just been a hub where you go find out what's happening, you get your information there and you get encouraged to do better. You get encouraged to look better, be better, feel better and do better. Shout out to barbershops and beauty salons in the Black community.
Buddi3: Namely, we just lost, the patriarch of the family, a brother Goodwin, just passed. And, you know, when you talked about the barbershops, the Goodwins was definitely one that jumped out, in my mind, big time. Shout out to the Goodwin family.
Paul: And, Brother Goodman was also he was, he was the one that employed Ernie Chambers. So the legendary Ernie Chambers worked out of Goodwin shop. And you're talking about where the political talk happened in the 60s. That was the kind of the Black city hall was that barbershop. Check out the Time For Burning.
Buddi3: Yep. Was just going to say A Time For Burning. There’s some scenes with Brother Chambers in that barber shop, he’s cutting head in the middle of the interview.
Paul: Every time I see that. I’m like, man, if I’m in that chair, I’d be like “Politics is cool, but watch what you’re doing. [laughter]
Buddi3 I love that big, big shout out to the barbershops.
Paul: Give me another cultural, a place in Omaha that you think is super significant.
Buddi3: Okay, okay. Well, I have two, one is the obvious one, of course. The Malcolm X Memorial Foundation grounds. Representing two actual, you know, eras of history, especially Black history in Omaha.
Of course, the original time when Reverend Little and his wife, the father, of course, a brother, El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz, you might know him as Malcolm X. Again, that area is the land that was owned by the Little family up until they were ran out of Omaha by the Ku Klux Klan. And just learning about what was going on in that era.
As far as Reverend Little and his wife, Mrs. Little being Garveyite and just some of the the movements that were going on, the organizations that were active, during that time, it is, very, very interesting to learn at that grounds.
And then also the second era connected to that grounds, again, the movement of Miss Rowena Moore and the work that she put in, to actually get that ground, you know, get a historical plaque, placed on that grounds to get, you know, the 17 plus acres secured in ownership and to set the foundation for what it is that we see today, and what we can see in the future, again, with the foundation recently receiving a grant, very excited to see, what the next chapter holds.
But, again, several arrows and several chapters in Black history in North Omaha, being told and held at the ground. So that's definitely, place is always going to be sacred. And we're talking about cultural locations. I'm glad you asked that.
But the other one is something that I recently learned about when we were talking, I think last week on the Morning Show. And this is something that has also opened up a, a little known, era or chapter, about North Omaha and, that is, shout out to our partners at Flatwater Free Press.
This, Black Castle, if you are familiar, brother Wesley Dacus is in the North Omaha Castle. Apparently this is a castle that was featured in the Green Book. Speaking of books, if you don't know about the Green Book, that was a very valuable resource, especially for African-Americans and, people of color trying to travel through Jim Crow America and, just to have that presence in Omaha.
You know, when you think of Jim Crow, you think of the South, you think of the Alabama's, the Mississippi's, the Georgia's of the world. But you don't think of Jim Crow being alive and well in Nebraska. But yet here you have a piece of history still alive, still erect. And, you know, you can visit this place today as far as this castle.
And that was located, right on, I believe, 20th and Burdette, there we go. Burdette and Florence Boulevard was right there on the corner. Kind of actually Florence Boulevard. So this, next block over, but, yeah, Burdette Street and Florence Boulevard still there. Still looks like a castle, and it's still a part of history.
Paul: That's crazy, I love it. I thought you was going to give me Culxr House, man. We got to give it. We got to give a shout out. Culxr House. If you don't know about Culxr House, man, shout out to Marcy Yates, who is, put something together that is not just for culture in the arts, but it's been kind of ground zero for Freedom Summer 2020 and protest and, political conversations in the like, and it's all about, getting together and becoming of, like, mind with each other when it comes to that through art and culture.
So shout out. It's kind of an obvious one. It's in the name Culxr House. Check it out. It's at 3014 North 24th Street. Definitely do your research and check that out, too. It's definitely a culturally significant place for us in North Omaha in a big, big way.
Before we get out of here, man, I want to give some flowers. There was, our producer suggested that we think of some folks who want to get some flowers to as well. So, yes, I did a little research on that, and I wanted to do that as our last part of the show, if you don't mind. You feel good about that?
Buddi3: Oh yeah. Oh, yeah. You know, we all about giving respect, putting some respect on folks name.
Paul: Well, I got a couple of folks that actually just passed away that I wanted to give some flowers to. I'm sorry that I, you know, it's one of those situations, you know, he didn't give them to him while they were here, unfortunately. But they did get a lot of accolades because they were, they were pretty significant to the culture.
James Bernard is one of them. He just passed away. 2025, December 29th. Just passed away. He's the co-editor in chief of The Source which is a huge, hugely, hugely important magazine to the hip hop culture, to our generations. The Source was kind of the Bible when it came to that.
If you put out a hip hop record, they and then, it got into The Source and if you got five mics and use the legend, with their, with their, rating system, you can get one mic, the two mics. Three mics. Yeah, a couple of my favorites got the five mic. So it was a serious, serious magazine.
And it was, the guys who put those magazines together, I feel were pioneers, in literature. So co-editor in chief of The Source, then he co-founded XXL, which was another man magazine that was super huge in the hip hop community as well. The late 90s. He just passed away. He actually passed away in March.
It wasn't found until December 29th. So that was kind of a little bit of a morbid story, but, but yeah, he just passed the, he's official officially passed, in March. And they declared him officially passed December 29th, 2025. So, and yeah, we also lost another legend in that, in that same community, Sasha Jenkins.
Excuse me. He passed away. Let's see, he passed away. May of 20, 25. He back in the day, he started that Beat Down newspaper in 92. It was really huge. I kind of remember that, he also started Ego Trip magazine, which was also huge in the culture as well. He started that in the 90s, 94.
He did stuff like, Ego Trips The (White) Rapper TV show. This was something that came on back in the back in the 90s. And, what he's really famous for in our circles is that he ended up being a writer on air. McGruder''s The Boondocks cartoon show in the later 90s and 2000s. So, he also was music editor at the, at Vibe Magazine, which was Quincy Jones's music magazine, and wrote articles for Spin, Rolling Stone, he coauthored Eminem's biography.
He has a film that is actually on Kanopy called Fresh Dressed, all about hip hop culture in clothing. Coming up, so you can check that on, on Kanopy as well. That was his directorial debut. So yeah, that was what stuff he wrote. He was a musician. He did a project with Murs and members of the Bad Brains.
He also directed Negroes on Ice with Prince Paul. That Prince Paul thing was hilarious. So he did a lot, many, he really did a lot. He was also a member of the National Arts Journalism Program, of which I had never heard until I read that.
And I was like, next thing I'm digging into. That sounds right up our alley. For real, the National Arts Journalism Program. He passed away in May of 2025. I feel like the hip hop, especially the hip hop editors and writers, super, super significant to the Black community, to our community.
And they don't get as much accolades and as many flowers as other writers. But they carry the culture in a huge, huge, huge way. So just wanted to give flowers to James Monroe, Sasha Jenkins and, and hopefully one of these days I'll turn into a is some kind of a music historian, journalist, writer for a major magazine.
That would be something I would love to do in my life. So shout out to them.
Buddi3: So I have just one, but it's something that hits close to home. I thought you might have shouted the brother out, but definitely have to recognize Brother Thomas Curry. Somebody who was a documentarian, in his own right.
Great photographer. Man. Man, storyteller in his own right as well. You know, speaking of the human story, somebody who had his own way of capturing and conveying that story and, did it, in a in a great, great way, man. So definitely going to miss, and, you know, kudos. Great job to brother Thomas Curry.
Paul: I'm glad you brought him up. Brother Curry was a one of a kind. He is the North Omaha historian as far as we're concerned. This brother paid his own, used his own money to publish his own books of photos that he took of people in North Omaha. The people, the events, to sit down with him and have him go page by page and say, this is so-and-so and she did this and she's this is her cousin. And I mean, our next project together was to record him doing that because you can look at his photos and you can not get the context all the way until he starts telling this story, because he was such a storyteller. So he's going to be honored over there at the Union for Contemporary Art.
I think they're going to put a gallery in his name. That's coming up. So definitely check that, Union for Contemporary Art. I'm sure there'll be some things there on the history of him. Brother Thomas Curry shout out to him, man. He definitely deserves his flowers. For real.
Buddi3: Yeah. Legend, legend. They say when we lose an elder, we lose a librarian. He was definitely a library of North Omaha history.
Paul: But we can do a whole hour on giving people flowers. But it's been an hour already, so we go ahead and go, you know, nap out of here. Yeah, yeah.
Buddi3: Again, big shout out to the library. Thank you, thank you, thank you for allowing us to do this a year already.
Paul: Let's do it again next time. Taking it over The Book Drop, 1st Sky Omaha in the morning, We got to make a song for The Book Drop Now.
Amy and Maggie Thank 1st Sky Omaha for Taking Over the Podcast
Amy: So I have a lot of, I just loved it. And I just, one of the biggest things that I loved, Maggie is they’re describing their show as a digital neighborhood association. That is phenomenal. That is so, that is exactly what it is. And I love that.
Maggie: And for I feel like every week when we talk about the horrors of just being too online or having too much access to things, and this is one of the ways that it's actually working really well.
And I kind of love that this episode is happening right after we did our News Literacy Week episode. It's that staying informed and how people are able to keep in touch with what's happening in our local community, they're doing, because they're podcasting is actually kind of live streaming Monday, Wednesday and Friday, seven to nine, reminds me of being a kid. And like your parents having the, you know, the radio on in the morning and like, you're getting the local news, but like, this is local. Like, these are the hyper local people.
Amy: Yeah. So important. And also it and we'll include this link in to in the show notes as well, is that I get their weekly recap, which I love. I'll send you a copy of it because that really helps me frame like what is, you know, along with the show, but what else is happening, what to pay attention to, in all the ways. Politics, art, music, everything, you know, whatever, whatever they're touching on it is like, summarized there. And I love it.
Maggie: Well, and that's interesting to think because they are, broadcasting so frequently and then get the report at the end of the week and kind of see how things progressed, how things kind of flow. Because news isn't always orderly. It doesn't give you everything all at once, right up front, which is another one of the problems I feel like with a 24 hours news cycle, is like we're constantly putting in little bits and sometimes getting it wrong or speaking too soon.
And it's it's kind of nice to like, okay, let's, let's get all the bits together. And I like that they do that. It's through email?
Amy: Yes. I get a weekly email on Friday. All right. Yeah, I would definitely be interested in that. Absolutely.
Maggie: I love that they're so excited about our new central library, which I mean, no brainer for us because we're always talking about it.
But so happy to hear that they're excited to kind of come see it.
Amy: I agree, and, I also love that, the discussion was around the takeover of Black History Month and literacy, with the emphasis on the importance of reading in Black communities. So important.
About the Black Literacy Matters Conference
Maggie: Did you know about the Black Literacy Matters conference?
Amy: No. When is that?.
Maggie: So, this year, I believe in Virginia, I think it's Norfolk, Virginia. So we do have a little bit of a tie here at OPL. One of our board members, Clarice, is I believe she's like started it.
Amy: We were oh, my God, that's so amazing. And I just met her, and she's great.
Maggie:. She's so great. Highly recommend visiting blackliteracymatters.org, just their website. Their resources, the things you're talking about, their recommendations, wonderful. Such a great resource. So, I want to say this is the second conference, is either the second or the third. We were, OPL was present at their very first conference because it was in Omaha.
So we got to have a booth there and it was really, really amazing because we had people from all over the country come, but of course we had tons of local people and I mean, educators, you know, people from, you know, school districts, right? The state from the education department, like all these.
But then also just like concerned caregivers, parents, grandparents, people who are just that believe in the importance of literacy. The barriers and the issues that Black children can face when it comes to that, either just for access, for reading disabilities for, you know, just trying to keep like interests of it. It's such a wide spectrum of experiences.
And I that was something I came away from that conference of just I'm so glad this exists. Amazing group, amazing conference. But also this is a local organization and they work year round here in Omaha. They're always, always doing that work. And so it's nice that they're here. They're doing like stuff nationally. But like how cool that we have it here in Omaha and how cool that Clarice is on our board.
Amy: And I also love that Paul mentioned the historical and cultural reading list, and he shares his personal reading list of his family memoirs, Saturday Morning Chronicles by his father, also Paul B. Allen, about the music and The Platters and also he mentions The Deuce by his cousin Patricia, a memoir of North Omaha's Black community on 24th and Lake Street during the 50s, through the 80s.
Also, a huge another shout out. I did this last year, but I will continue to do it because I think everybody needs to listen to the interview from Stuart Chittenden’s Lives podcast of Paul's story, and why he is so invested in storytelling about his community and, 1st Sky Omaha and why it exists.
So we'll drop that link into the show notes. It is one of the best interviews, and Paul is just a natural storyteller. And I was mesmerized. I said, that's probably the last time I was mesmerized by his story and absolutely loved it. It is one of my very favorite interviews that Stewart has done over the years, for sure.
Maggie: I, I just think it's very, very cool and interesting what it's like when you have multiple people in your family over in a book. Very impressive. One thing that it did call to mind. Did you ever watch A Time for Burning?
That kind of made me just think of just when I was it just the time frame that he was talking about with Patricia's memoir that I had just had? So if you, listeners, if you're unfamiliar, at the Time for Burning, it was a has Ernie Chambers won an Emmy? I want to say won an Emmy. It was a documentary, I think, for PBS.
Yes. Frontline might have been Frontline. Yeah, I know it won tons and tons of awards. It was a documentary made in the 60s about, I think it was integrating a church that was in North Omaha. Yeah. And Ernie Chambers is in it, which is another one of those that I always like, I was talking to my husband recently about, well, I said, oh, it was Back to the future.
And Christopher Lloyd in that movie. Sorry, this I forgot. I swear this ties back in, like, Christopher Lloyd in that movie. And as a kid watching that movie and being like, yeah, that guy's like 70. And then now being 40 and being like, how old was Christopher Lloyd when he made that? Because probably he's like 80 now. We looked up. He was 46. But I feel that way about sometimes I see Ernie Chambers and like Ernie Chambers you were there. You've been the same age to me since I was five.
I did love also that they highlighted canopy, which is one of my favorite OPL resources. One of the ones he's watched is the Great Migrations, but with Henry Louis Gates Jr. who does The Roots, where the roots show was on PBS that I love.
I know it's so great. He also just has like a bunch of you just got on YouTube like. And just look up Henry Gates Jr., He just has like these like mini, like, history lessons. Oh, it looks so great. Harlem renaissance. It's what got me really into Harlem Renaissance. Like, actually, like looking at the historical background, it is amazing.
Amy: We may have to drop one of those in. I love it
Maggie: I yeah I'm a huge fan so please. Yeah. Get on Kanopy. You have access to it with your library card for free. And there's so many great ones and they're really good about making kind of special collections around different holidays, or celebrations, or recognition. So they have a great collection right now for Black History Month.
Amy: They're highly curated. Yeah, yeah. So I do love. Because often when I go to, Kanopy and or Libby, I do want to see and they actually our website like I love our curated lists. It helps.
Maggie: Last but I feel like we have to touch on. So you talking about, you know, our physical archives in our collections are microfilm. And how important it is to maintain those and having access to those in the age of AI and fake news. Which I could I could probably do an entire semester about of just like how AI and AI generated like videos and photos how much they have improved over just the last two years.
Insane. Like it is, is very easy to fool people like now with a lot of these things. Yeah. I don't know what the future holds with that. I think we're kind of living in it in real time of, like, I know how daily, how we process these things and what we needed to kind of do around them.
But I agreed with them, like, our physical media is still so important.
Amy: And they specifically talked about the Charles B. Washington Collection, the photos of Charles B. Washington with Louis Armstrong, and the ‘68 protest against the boarded up stores of North 24th Street. Also the Indian Congress and the International Exposition. Buddi3 discusses like the collection of the Indian Congress.
And, we have a huge collection of Trans-Mississippi International Exposition items, like items, and photos and some so many other like, pieces of information. Along with that, and also it gives a historical context of the Native American and global cultural exchange, which I love, that they highlighted that, as well, because that really is what that was about.
Maggie: And they didn't mention it, but it did remind me also when he was talking about that, we very recently in our Genealogy and Local History Room had a display up from, we had a librarian named Carolyn Green, who I think was actually the last bookmobile librarian at OPL. I usually run into Carolyn's family members and oh, yeah, they'll come up and tell me who she was, and I'm like, I get so excited and like, I run, look at look at Poppy. This is what we have now. Yeah. Anyway, so she, in the late 70s, early 80s, just decided she was going to do this, just like, a little project. She wrote to a lot of Black celebrities asking them why they love libraries, why they love literacy. Like, why is reading important?
And just just saw what happened, and she got so many letters back. I know one of them was Malcolm-Jamal Warner. Cosby Show. So cute and so amazing. And we had them on display here at the Genealogy Local History Room. They are in our archives and we get to Central, if you would like to see those. I bet you could schedule a time with one of our librarians.
Amy: She's like our social media person before social media. I love it.
Maggie: She had a vision. Carolyn. You're great.
Amy: Oh, what a force. Do we have some books?
Amy and Maggie's Book Recommendations for Black History Month
Maggie: Let's talk. They talked about a few pics, but I think we had a few that we wanted to touch on. This title is amazing. It is Harriet Tubman Live in Concert, a Novel by Bob the Drag Queen. Are you familiar with Bob the Drag Queen? Amazing. One of the, one of our foremost drag queens currently working. And what a great name. Bob the Drag Queen. I know it's simple.
I do just want to read from the publisher because I think they did the best job describing this. So in the Age of Miracles, where our greatest heroes from history have magically unexplainably returned to shake us out of our confusion and hate, Harriet Tubman is back. She has a lot to say. Harriet Tubman and four of the enslaved persons she led to freedom want to tell their story in a unique way.
Harriet wants to create a hip hop album and live show about her life, and she needs a songwriter to help her. She calls upon Darnell, a once successful hip hop producer who was topping the charts before he was outed on a BET talk show. Darnell has no idea what to expect when he steps into the studio with Harriet, only that they will have to have a short period of time to write a legendary album so she can take it on the road.
Over the course of their time together, they not only create music that will take the country by storm, but confront the horrors of both their pasts and learn to find a way to a better future. Then her description just sounds like something that you would have as a dream, and then be like. ‘So I had a dream that Harriet Tubman wrote a hip hop album. And then she went on the road and…’
Mostly I love, Bob the Drag Queen is hilarious. But also, you know, very celebratory of Black history. I'm always very in your face about it. So I love this kind of the joining together of these forces just really delighted me. It's a great book. We have it in our collection.
The next book I wanted to tell you about is... I think, off mic. I might have asked you if you're familiar with the Ziwe. You said probably not. That's okay. I first got introduced to Ziwe through social media because she was really big on TikTok and Reels, and then she got a show on HBO, which is like a, like a little bit of a chat show. It's like an interview show.
But she's really great at making people feel uncomfortable in a way that I super, super enjoy. So her book is called Black Friend. She kind of looks at this as like the, like, their culture at large, like the whole idea of, you know, I can't be racist. I have Black friends.
Like, if you kind of, if I could describe this book game in one phrase, it would be that it's a series of essays. She is hilarious. I would say if you watch the Ziwe show, she is purposely trying to make people feel uncomfortable. If you watch the outtakes, she like is friends with all of these celebrities that she has on and a lot of a lot of the outtakes is them just like laughing uncomfortably, going like, ‘do people really think you're like this?’ And she's like, ‘I don't know, maybe.’ And they're like, ‘I'm so uncomfortable right now.’ She's like, ‘good.’ This is going to be great. I love Ziwe. I had to put her in there, I love it. What did you do?
Amy: Well, I've already. I've talked about a couple of these books before, but they're so great. I'm just going to continue to talk about them. So I feel like my theme this year is like what I'm currently reading, what I've read and also what I want to read. It's my three. So I'm still listening to When Trees Testify: Science, Wisdom, History, and America’s Black Botanical Legacy by Beronda L. Montgomery.
It's such a great book. I'm learning so, so much, and I feel that I want everybody to read this book, I really do. But so it is described as a stunning cultural and personal reclamation of Black history and Black botanical mastery, and it offers up lessons from the natural world shared to the stories of long lived trees.
So I just heard her bit about the Angel Oak. She did a whole chapter about oak trees, and the Angel Oak is on John's Island, which my, mom's best friend lives on John's Island. So many, many, many, many years ago, visiting my parents, we went to John's Island to visit our friend Pat, and we visited this massive tree. It is so huge. And so beautiful.
But to listen to her sort of just talk about like how the what it looks like and the age of this tree and how miraculous that it's been around so long and also its history, its joyful and sometimes not so joyful and hard history. It's just really, really, something I feel like everybody can read. And I think it's really powerful, very powerful.
My next one, which is on my coffee table. And I feel like it's a culinary coffee table book. And it is Recipes from the American South by Michael Twitty.. I mean, he's such an amazing author and is a historian, James Beard Award winning author as well.
And in introduction to this groundbreaking recipe collection, he says, and declares that no one state or area can give you the breadth of the southern story, or fully set the southern table, which I love. Like, I mean, that sentence alone, like think about. And so to answer this, he collects recipes from the American South, from the Louisiana Bayou to the Chesapeake Bay, showcasing more than 260 of the region's most beloved dishes.
And I have it on my coffee table. It's actually going to pick it up tonight and start reading through it because he I feel like is such a beautiful, beautiful writer. Almost like I mean, he is poetic and that's how I feel. And I felt that when I picked up and listened because I'm gonna, I read his, book, The Cooking Gene, a Journey through African American Culinary History in the Old South.
It's pure poetry, y'all. Like listening to this? I was so moved by listening to him, and he narrates the book so very moved by this book that I thought about it and I still think about it. So I actually may pick it up again and listen to it again.
Maggie: Well, I love that you picked a cookbook for this one too, because it just also reminds that how that people's history can be, squashed or like they tried to get rid of and they try to erase history, but so much of it truly lives on in food, like in the foods that people prepare. And so it comes down the line.
Amy: Yeah, yeah. Absolutely. And the one that's been on my TBR is, which I have not picked up yet, but I will is The Fraud by Zadie Smith. So it's basically about the true story of identity fraud. A trial in the 1800s known as the Tichborne Claimant trial.
And, as a Scottish housekeeper and an ailing novelist and so much more in the packed in this novel. And my friends say it was one of the best audio listens ever. Wildly entertaining. She does. And Zadie narrates the book, and apparently she does all the characters so differently and so well that I have had multiple people tell me how awesome the audio version of this book is. So, I can't wait to pick it up.
Maggie: I think I've probably had this one of my TBR for a while, but now that I especially know that the audiobook is good,, I'm there. I'm sitting here on my phone right now… Oh it's available. Sorry guys, I'm borrowing. It'll be ready, I promise. I'll get to it. If you see this borrow and be like, oh, she's still reading it. Stop it. No, let me have it
Amy: So that's on my future. Amazing. Yeah, as I have so many. But I want to lift it up in today's discussion.
Maggie: This is a great time, as always. Thanks again to our friends at 1st Sky Omaha. Thank you for being part of the Digital Neighborhood Association. Really running being the digital neighbors
Amy: And part of the book I podcast. You're our family. We're family.
Maggie: And being part of the selection committee for Omaha Reads.
Amy: Yes. Thank you Paul.
Maggie: which sounds like they are in the middle of looking at some titles right now. So I'm excited to see what comes up as the, the final selections for the top five or coming soon.
Amy: Yeah, I think so. Amazing. Very soon, actually. You're right. Any day
Maggie: I wonder if we could do, like, an Oscar style of when they announce the nominations. You and I just been like, oh, well. And nominated now.
Amy: Exactly, I love it.
Query of the Month: Tell us Your Favorite Local Content Creators and Influencers
Maggie: One last thing before we go. We last week, we read all of the query responses for our January question. This is now February, and we have a new question. So if you, listen to our podcast previously, you know, we asked a query every week. This year we are doing moving to once a month because it gives people a little extra time. Yes. They find episodes that they would like to participate. So, our question for February is tell us your favorite local content creators and influencers.
Amy: I love this, and I am still thinking about that. I might have a bunch.
Maggie: Yeah yeah yeah I'm excited.
Amy: We started getting a ton of, answers to this query already, so we may have to have a whole show.
Maggie: Oh, amazing. Okay, those answers all right. Yeah. Thanks, everybody.
Amy: Yeah. Thank you.
Every book, resource or thing that we mention that we can link to on the internet can be found in list form in our episode description, so if you miss something we talked about, check out that list.
The Book Drop is produced by Omaha Public Library. Our theme music is Trapped in Amber courtesy of the band Lucid Fugue.
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The Book Drop | OPL’s Podcast
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