Interviews, Documentaries, and More
Telling Our Own Stories: Black History
Author Rachelle Chase shares the history of Buxton, Iowa in the Telling Our Own Stories: Black History. The Black History segment, produced by Professor Venise Berry and filmmaker Steve Berry, a brother and sister team, is part of a four-part series on Iowa PBS.
In September 2023, this documentary was nominated for an Emmy Award.
The African American Midwest: A 500 Year Fight for Freedom
Author Rachelle Chase shares why Buxton, Iowa is relevant today in this excerpt slated to appear in the documentary "The African American Midwest" currently in development. As stated in “The 1539 Project: Why Black Midwest and Iowa history matters,” producers of “The African American Midwest” hope to show that the Midwest is not only America’s geographic heartland — it is the beating heart of African American history.
Remembering Buxton, Iowa: A Town Lost to Time
In this hour-long special on Buxton, Iowa produced by KYOU, Rachelle Chase provides the history of Buxton, Iowa. Rachelle also shared her research and provided sources to the producers.
Dancing Through Redlines: The Jesse Cosby Story | Waterloo, Iowa
Rachelle Chase interviewed family members of Jesse Cosby while viewing photographs they donated to Fortepan Iowa. Rachelle also assisted with production of the documentary by identifying interview responses to be included and providing script input and final edits. Rachelle also narrates the story of Jesse Cosby, sharing his family’s memories, along with the story of segregation in Iowa marked by redlining and limited job opportunities for Black Iowans.
This video, produced by Fortepan Iowa, highlights the life of a remarkable man named Jesse Cosby living in 1950s Waterloo, Iowa. As a Black janitor working at the “white only” Waterloo Recreation Center, Cosby set out to offer recreational activities, like golf, tennis, and square dancing for Black children in Waterloo. He also created two choirs that traveled to small, mostly white-populated towns across Iowa, bringing Black gospel and choral music to Iowans. Cosby also became a renowned square dance caller.
Interviews and More
AViD Presents: Author Paul Kix, Moderated by Rachelle Chase
An activist has no hope for his homeland as Uganda's parliament passes LGBTQ+ ban
It also includes the term "aggravated homosexuality" which makes sexual intercourse with someone who has HIV a crime punishable by death.
Talk of Iowa host Charity Nebbe talks with author and columnist for the Des Moines Register Rachelle Chase, who was in Uganda wh
Uniting Through History - Hip History Contest Winners
Buxton, Iowa - Black Utopia (Rachelle Chase) - Iowa Civil Rights History
Buxton was the town that supported African-American doctors, lawyers and other professionals, with everything integrat
Book club unites through history
Many of us set resolutions to read more this year. A new book club can help you do that while opening your mind to history. Rachelle Chase, Founder of Uniting Through History, shares details on the History Book Club.
Learn more and sign up at unitingthroughhistory.org.
Yaa Gyasi's novel provides a painful look at slavery on an intimate, individual level
Homegoing, by Yaa Gyasi, with two expert readers; Makeba Lavan is an assistant professor in English at Grinnell College, and Rachelle Chase is the author of two nonfiction books about Buxton, Iowa.
It's all about the chase
Rachelle is full of surprises. She once wrote romance novels, rode motorcycles, almost appeared on a national television matchmaking reality show, worked in the corporate world in San Francisco, lived across the globe, shares an RV with her dog, and is a Black woman living in Ottumwa. Today, she writes about the stories that catch her attention in Iowa.
Traveling this summer? Here are book picks for all 50 states (and then some)
As the summer travel season kicks off, many of us look forward to exploring new places on trips away from home. To help with this, NPR asked poets laureate, state librarians, bookstore owners and other literary luminaries from all 50 states — plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico — to recommend quintessential reads that illuminate where they live.
Here are more than 100 recommendations for you —
Buxton, Iowa: One Of The Whitest States Once Had A Thriving Community Of Black Doctors And Lawyers
In fact, the most recent U.S. Census data shows that Iowa ranks in the top 10 of the Whitest states in the country where an estimated 90 percent identify as Caucasian.
It’s been this way for longer than most of us have been alive but there was a point in the state’s more than 170-year history when there was a predominantly Black town thriving on the level of Tulsa, Oklahoma and Durham, North Caro
Contest helps students unite through history
An organization is helping students unite through history. Rachelle Chase, Author of “Creating the Black Utopia of Buxton, Iowa” and founder of Uniting Through History, shares the details about the second annual hip history contest.
Learn more and sign up at unitingthroughhistory.org.
Historian/ Educator Launches $2K Scholarship Contest About Predominantly Black Town in Iowa
To help spread the word about this amazing town, Chase invites middle
Author Rachelle Chase On Buxton -- Tue. Nov. 23, 2021
Living in Harmony - Meet Author Rachelle Chase | Insight On Business the News Hour
The
Rachelle Chase - Lives Radio Show & Podcast with Stuart Chittenden
Juneteenth celebration to be held in Ottumwa
Recently President Joe Biden signed into law that Juneteenth will now be federally recognized as a national holiday.
Through the same week, the American Gothic Performing Arts Festival will take place the committee decided to include the Juneteenth event in their program.
This will be Ottumwa’s first Juneteenth festival.
Member
Rachelle Chase discusses new nonprofit, Uniting Through History
United Through History Launches Contest To Highlight Black History
Chase has now founded a new non-profit called "Uniting Through History," and has launched a Hip History Contest, in an effort to bring the history of Buxton to life.
“Young people today love to express themselves online and watch their favorite content creators," says Chase.
IN DEPTH: Lessons from Buxton; KNIA and KRLS
Local author makes her mark in the community for Black History Month
“I couldn’t really stop thinking about this community, so I would research, I would come to visit and I would just keep going there, and then when I was like ok I don’t want to write romance. I had about three romances out by t
ROC NATION REAL TALK - Rachelle Chase
Author Rachelle Chase Starts Uniting Through History
Life is about the chase. Those are the five words Rachelle Chase lives by. She really does it all. She is an author, public speaker, business owner, and model. Now she’s adding Executive Director to the list. She recently launched the non-profit Uniting Through History.
You can learn more at unitingthroughhistory.org.
Buxton, Iowa - A Historic, and Possibly Haunted, Townsite
It was called Buxton, and it was a diverse and almost one of its kind coal mining town developed by the Chicago and Northwestern Railway. At its peak, Buxton had around 5000 people. I spoke with Rachelle Chase, who’s an author of two books about the town - “Lost Buxton”, and “Creating the Black Utopia of Buxton, Iowa”.
“Blacks were treated equal to whites, there