The Black Hum – Details, episodes & analysis

If you were once rejected, would you still want to serve? It's 1915, and the Canadian Expeditionary Forces are taking heavy casualties. The growing need for more recruits leads Canadian military leadership to turn toward the very men they had previously barred from service.

Join us as we explore the remarkable history of No. 2 Construction Battalion, Canada’s only all-Black battalion during the First World War, uncovering their legacy, contributions, and the untold stories of Black Canadian soldiers in our latest podcast on military history, diversity, and heritage.

*Download our Discussion Questions for your class*

Written & Hosted by Cindy Charles

Produced by Ryan Barnett & Cindy Charles

Voice Director Sonia Gemmiti

Recorded by Tyler Rauman

This series features interviews with Lt. Jerome Downey, Sgt. Craig Smith, Douglas Ruck, and Lindsay Ruck.

Additional voices by Keith Francis & Matthew Barnett

Featuring "I Want to Be Ready" & "Live a-Humble" by the Tuskegee Institute Singers

A Knockabout Media Production

This podcast was made possible thanks to funding from Veterans Affairs Canada’s Commemorative Partnership Program.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Why did Canada not want a so-called "checkerboard army"? In 1914, the Canadian government called on all able-bodied men to serve their country in the Great War. However, when Black men went to enlist, they were turned away. In this first episode in our new series, we look at those early years of the war, when Black Canadians found themselves having to fight for the right to fight.

Join us as we explore the remarkable history of No. 2 Construction Battalion, Canada’s only all-Black battalion during the First World War, uncovering their legacy, contributions, and the untold stories of Black Canadian soldiers in our latest podcast on military history, diversity, and heritage.

*Download our Discussing Questions for your class*

Written & Hosted by Cindy Charles

Produced by Ryan Barnett & Cindy Charles

Voice Director Sonia Gemmiti

Recorded by Tyler Rauman

This series features interviews with Lt. Jerome Downey, Sgt. Craig Smith, Douglas Ruck, and Lindsay Ruck.

Additional voices by Keith Francis & Matthew Barnett

A Knockabout Media Production

This podcast was made possible thanks to funding from Veterans Affairs Canada’s Commemorative Partnership Program.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In 1914, the world was at war. Thousands of Canadian men rushed to their local enlistment centres, eager to join the fight. But, when Black men went to enlist, they were turned away. It was "a white man's war," they were told. Canada didn't want a "checkerboard army." What followed is a story of rejection and resilience, and of service in the face of bigotry.

From Knockabout Media, this is The Black Hum, a new 3-part series on the history and legacy of Canada's first all-Black battalion. First episode drops November 11.

Written & Hosted by Cindy Charles

Produced by Ryan Barnett & Cindy Charles

A Knockabout Media Production | Funded by Veterans Affairs Canada

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How does a forgotten piece of history become uncovered? In this, our final episode in the series, you will learn about what happened to the men of the No.2 after the war, and how their story came to light decades later.

Join us as we explore the remarkable history of the No. 2 Construction Battalion, Canada’s only all-Black battalion during the First World War, uncovering their legacy, contributions, and the untold stories of Black Canadian soldiers in our latest podcast on military history, diversity, and heritage.

*Download our Discussion Questions for your class*

Written & Hosted by Cindy Charles

Produced by Ryan Barnett & Cindy Charles

Voice Director Sonia Gemmiti

Recorded by Tyler Rauman

This series features interviews with Lt. Jerome Downey, Sgt. Craig Smith, Douglas Ruck, and Lindsay Ruck.

Additional voices by Keith Francis & Matthew Barnett

Featuring a musical performance "How Great Thou Art" by Reeny Smith & Family

A Knockabout Media Production

This podcast was made possible thanks to funding from Veterans Affairs Canada’s Commemorative Partnership Program.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this, a special bonus episode of The Black Hum, we speak with historians Kathy Grant and Mathias Joost to untangle several often repeated myths about No.2 Construction Battalion.

*Download our Discussion Questions for your class*

Written & Hosted by Cindy Charles

Produced by Ryan Barnett & Cindy Charles

Voice Director Sonia Gemmiti

Recorded by Tyler Rauman

This series features interviews with Lt. Jerome Downey, Sgt. Craig Smith, Douglas Ruck, Lindsay Ruck, Mathias Joost, and Kathy Grant

Additional voices by Keith Francis & Matthew Barnett

Featuring a musical performance "How Great Thou Art" by Reeny Smith & Family

A Knockabout Media Production

This podcast was made possible thanks to funding from Veterans Affairs Canada’s Commemorative Partnership Program.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the season premiere of The Black Hum, we trace the extraordinary life of Charlie Kelly, a standout baseball player from Ingersoll, Ontario, and a member of Canada’s No. 2 Construction Battalion. From local ballfields to the First World War, Kelly’s story reveals how sport offered both escape and opportunity. The episode culminates in the legendary “Forestry Game,” where Kelly took the mound before a crowd that included the King of England, challenging racial barriers through sheer talent. 

*Download our Discussion Questions for your class*

Host Cindy Charles

Writer Nuruddin Qorane

Executive Producer Ryan Barnett

Associate Producer Cindy Charles

Voice Director Sonia Gemmiti

Researcher Dr. Sarafina Pagnotta

Series Consultants Kathy Grant & Mathias Joost

This series features interviews with Lt. Jerome Downey, Robert Downey, Jr., Michael Marville, Stephen Dame, Mathias Joost, Kathy Grant, Constance Backhouse, Dr. Dorothy Williams

Additional voices by Keith Francis & Matthew Barnett

A Knockabout Media Production

This podcast was made possible thanks to funding from Veterans Affairs Canada’s Commemorative Partnership Program.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A Black medical student. An all-Black battalion. A war that needed his skills but never fully recognized his service. In this episode of The Black Hum, we look at the life of Dr. Hewburn Greenidge as it stretched from British Guiana to Winnipeg to the timber camps of the Jura Mountains and back to the heart of the Amazon.

*Download our Discussion Questions for your class*

Host Cindy Charles

Writer Nuruddin Qorane

Executive Producer Ryan Barnett

Associate Producer Cindy Charles

Voice Director & Editor Sonia Gemmiti

Researcher Dr. Sarafina Pagnotta

Series Consultants Kathy Grant & Mathias Joost

This series features interviews with Lt. Jerome Downey, Robert Downey, Jr., Michael Marville, Stephen Dame, Mathias Joost, Kathy Grant, Constance Backhouse, Dr. Dorothy Williams

Additional voices by Keith Francis & Matthew Barnett

A Knockabout Media Production

This podcast was made possible thanks to funding from Veterans Affairs Canada’s Commemorative Partnership Program.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

George Alexander Downey was a veteran of two world wars and the patriarch of one of Nova Scotia’s most storied families. From the forests of wartime France to the communities of North Preston, this is the story of his service, sacrifice, and the legacy he passed on to generations who would carry his fighting spirit into the boxing ring and beyond.

*Download our Discussion Questions for your class*

Host Cindy Charles

Writer Nuruddin Qorane

Executive Producer Ryan Barnett

Associate Producer Cindy Charles

Voice Director & Editor Sonia Gemmiti

Researcher Dr. Sarafina Pagnotta

Series Consultants Kathy Grant & Mathias Joost

This series features interviews with Lt. Jerome Downey, Robert Downey, Jr., Michael Marville, Stephen Dame, Mathias Joost, Kathy Grant, Constance Backhouse, Dr. Dorothy Williams

Additional voices by Keith Francis & Matthew Barnett

A Knockabout Media Production

This podcast was made possible thanks to funding from Veterans Affairs Canada’s Commemorative Partnership Program.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.