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Episode Date: November 20, 2025

“The abolitionists were the first to teach us that freedom must be shared, that justice must be collective, and that allyship is not performance but participation.” — Dr. Reiland Rabaka

Episode 23 of The Cause Podcast takes listeners deep into the heart of The Abolitionist Movement, exploring how the fight to end slavery laid the foundation for modern anti-racism, civil rights, and contemporary struggles for human dignity and liberation.

Dr. Reiland Rabaka traces the intellectual, spiritual, and political roots of abolition, emphasizing the movement’s radical insistence on equality and the shared responsibility of all people—across race, gender, and region—to dismantle racist systems. He highlights how abolitionists showed the world that allyship is not a passive stance but a commitment to action, sacrifice, and solidarity.

This episode pays equal attention to the movement’s most influential women, men, and collective activist networks, including:

• Harriet Tubman, whose tactical brilliance and courage rewrote the meaning of freedom.
• Sojourner Truth, whose fierce advocacy for abolition and women’s rights reshaped American political thought.
• Maria Stewart, one of the first Black American women to speak publicly about race and gender oppression.
• Ida B. Wells, journalist, researcher, and global anti-lynching activist.
• The Grimké sisters, early white women abolitionists who challenged both slavery and patriarchy.
• Frederick Douglass, whose speeches and writings established the moral and political blueprint for anti-racism.
• David Walker, whose Appeal sparked a national conversation about resistance, dignity, and Black self-determination.

Dr. Rabaka connects these historical figures to today’s conversations on social justice, emphasizing how their ideas about resistance, freedom, community, and collective liberation continue to shape activism across the United States and the Global South.

Listeners will walk away with a deeper understanding of:

• The philosophical foundations of anti-racism
• How abolitionists created the earliest frameworks for allyship
• The intersection of gender, race, and political activism
• Why abolitionist thought still matters in our current social and political climate

The Abolitionist Playlist

• “Go Down, Moses” (Traditional Spiritual)
  A spiritual sung by enslaved Africans in the U.S., equating their bondage with Israel’s captivity in Egypt. It became a coded call for liberation.
• “Follow the Drinking Gourd” (Traditional)
  A spiritual with hidden instructions for escape via the Underground Railroad, using the North Star as a guide.
• “Oh Freedom” (Traditional Spiritual, later Civil Rights anthem)
  Sung by both enslaved people and civil rights activists; a haunting cry for liberation “over me.”
• “Steal Away” (Traditional Spiritual)
  A coded hymn used by enslaved people to signal secret gatherings, resistance, and sometimes escapes.
• “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot” (Traditional Spiritual)
  With imagery of being carried “home,” this song offered both spiritual comfort and coded instructions for escape.

• “John Brown’s Body” (Union Army song, 1860s)
  A marching song celebrating the abolitionist John Brown, who gave his life to fight slavery.
• “Lift Every Voice and Sing” – James Weldon Johnson & J. Rosamond Johnson (1900)
  Known as the Black National Anthem, it commemorates resilience and the unending pursuit of freedom.

• “We Shall Overcome” (Traditional / Civil Rights Movement)
  Became the anthem of the 20th-century freedom struggle, echoing the abolitionist spirit.
• “A Change Is Gonna Come” – Sam Cooke (1964)
  Written after Cooke experienced racism; a stirring declaration of inevitable liberation.
• “Mississippi Goddam” – Nina Simone (1964)
  Simone’s furious protest against racial violence, echoing abolitionist urgency.
• “Keep Your Eyes on the Prize” (Civil Rights anthem)
  Rooted in the spiritual “Hold On,” this song reminds listeners to stay steadfast in struggle.

• “Say It Loud – I’m Black and I’m Proud” – James Brown (1968)
  An anthem of empowerment, connecting abolition’s vision of liberation with Black pride.
• “To Be Young, Gifted and Black” – Nina Simone (1969)
  A tribute to Black brilliance and resilience, a spiritual continuation of abolition’s hope.
• “Redemption Song” – Bob Marley & The Wailers (1980)
  Inspired by Marcus Garvey, Marley urges us to “emancipate ourselves from mental slavery.”
• “Fight the Power” – Public Enemy (1989)
  Hip hop’s uncompromising call for resistance against systemic oppression.

• “Glory” – Common & John Legend (2014)
  Written for the film Selma, it links past civil rights struggles to present-day activism.
• “Freedom” – Beyoncé ft. Kendrick Lamar (2016)
  A modern liberation anthem invoking water, chains, and survival through struggle.
• “Alright” – Kendrick Lamar (2015)
  A protest chant embraced by Black Lives Matter, echoing abolitionist hope against despair.
• “Black Man in a White World” – Michael Kiwanuka (2016)
  A soulful meditation on systemic racism and resilience.
• “I Can’t Breathe” – H.E.R. (2020)
  Written after George Floyd’s murder, connecting slavery’s legacy to ongoing racial injustice.
• “The Bigger Picture” – Lil Baby (2020)
  A contemporary protest song directly addressing systemic racism and mass mobilization.

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