Here and Now with Sandra Bookman: United Order of Tents, the secret society continues its fight for the community
NEW YORK (WABC) – In this edition of Here and Now, we talk to a few changemakers who continue the work of a secret society that dates back to the days of the Underground Railroad.
The United Order of Tents, the oldest black women’s fraternity in the country, dates back to 1847.
It was created to help enslaved people use the subway.
One of the oldest chapters of this secret society is based in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, and is still dedicated to its mission of serving the community.
Along with Sandra Bookman in the studio, she is president of Unted Order of Tents Eastern District No. 3 Essie Gregory and Vice President Erica Buddington.
Also on the show is Christian Cooper, the bird watcher who recorded a disturbing confrontation with a white woman in New York’s Central Park in 2020, now hosting a New series on National Geographic: “Extraordinary Bird Watcher with Christian Cooper.”
Cooper joins Bookman to talk about the journey and excitement for the new series.
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Here and Now with Sandra Bookman airs Sundays at 12pm on Channel 7.
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RESOURCES
We are also publishing resources in a number of areas that will grow and can be found below:
Ways to help
National Institute for Criminal Justice Reform
Voices of Community Activists & Leaders (VOCAL-NY)
Black LGBTQIA+ Migrant Project
Teaching the next generation
Create space to talk about racism at your school
Teaching for Black Lives – Reimagining Schools
Black-owned bookstores in New York and New Jersey
The Little Boho Bookstore (Bayonne)
Books
Born to Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
Raising White Children: Raising Children in a Racially Unjust America by Jennifer Harvey
So you want to talk about race by Ijeoma Oluo
The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Color Blindness by Michelle Alexander
White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism
Podcasts
Films
American Son: Available on Netflix
If Beale Street Could Talk: Available on Hulu
Just Mercy: Available on Amazon Prime
Selma: Available on Amazon Prime
The Hate U Give: Available on Amazon Prime
When They See Us: Available on Netflix
documentaries
13th: Available on Netflix
America Inside Out with Katie Couric: Available on National Geographic
Becoming: Available on Netflix
I’m Not Your Negro: Available on YouTube
