Some of the most meaningful stories in Tarrant County don’t live in textbooks, they live in people. A new podcast, created through a partnership between the TCU Center for Texas Studies and the Tarrant County Black Historical and Genealogical Society (TCBHGS), is making sure those voices are heard and placing TCU students, faculty and alumni at the heart of the process.
One History, Many Voices: The Tarrant County Chronicles Podcast aims to share oral histories through unscripted conversations with civic leaders and everyday residents whose stories have helped shape the region. The podcast’s first two guests include Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker, and, just in time for Juneteenth, Opal Lee, civil rights advocate and holder of a TCU honorary doctorate.
The project’s emphasis on local storytelling made the Center for Texas Studies a natural partner. LeAnna Schooley, the center’s executive director, said they arranged for on-campus recording space and connected TCU students with production experience to support the effort.
“We are all about community engagement,” Schooley said. “The TCBHGS has been a good friend to the center and to our students. We are delighted to return the favor.”
Dhananjaya “DJ” Perera ’10, artist, entrepreneur and TCU College of Fine Arts alumnus, serves on the board of TCBHGS and helped shape the podcast from concept to execution.
“As the youngest non-African American on the board, I am proud that President Ronnie Hunter and Executive Director Mrs. Brenda Sanders-Wise supported the storytelling vision of the podcast,” Perera said. “I am even prouder that the Center for Texas Studies at the TCU AddRan College of Liberal Arts agreed to partner in providing critical media and archival support.”
Perera said his time at TCU helped lay the foundation for his storytelling values and worldview.
“It was TCU that allowed me to maturely contextualize my role and stature in society from a cultural perspective,” he said. “Asking questions is similar to how one talks. It’s not what you say, it's how you say it that is the difference between earning trust and losing it.”
With more episodes on the way, the podcast, thanks in part to TCU’s ongoing investment in community-centered storytelling, will continue highlighting diverse Tarrant County stories, bringing history to life, one voice at a time.
“The goal of the quarterly podcast is to share oral Tarrant County history through engaging conversations with no slander and no politics,” Sanders-Wise explained. “We just want to promote positivity about area growth and accomplishments through the eyes of our city and county leaders, as well as unsung residents.”
