Riding the Train For the First Time: Oral History for the Untrained Oral Historian

The Pipedream of Moving Up North

In this episode of Trains of Thought, host Khaya Salmon explores the emotional and cultural realities of Caribbean-Canadian immigration through intimate conversations with her mother, Jackie, and best friend, LaTonya. Inspired by the stories found in Stanley Grizzle’s personal archive, Khaya reflects on what has and hasn’t changed since the days of the sleeping car porters and their families who migrated north in search of opportunity. Through shared memories, moments of culture shock, and reflections on belonging, this episode offers a heartfelt look at the weight and wonder of building a life far from home and what it means to carry one’s roots across borders.   Music Credit:    Source: FreePik Title: Sun Loom - Nonak

Pilgrimage in a Fragmented Space

On this episode of Trains of Thought, Jephte Joseph explores pilgrimage as more than a journey and sits down with Andrew Jackson. A search for solace in spaces once sustained by determination, moulded to help us face reality, yet haunted by the urge to relive a past grown blurry. What happens when the place we seek slips away, leaving us scattered and returning only to fragments? In those fragments, we find not wholeness, but traces that remind us some returns can never be complete, yet still shape how we carry the past within us. Pilgrimage in a Fragmented Space delves into these themes, inspired by the stories of Black sleeping car porters, revealing the layers of immigrant life, displacement, (fractured) Black communities, and expropriation. Music/SFX Credits: Source: Blue Dot Session Title(s): Blue Arcadia, Gin Boheme, Set the Tip Jar, Color Country, and WestDesert Source: Epidemic Sound Title(s): Wait in Line and Beach, Sands, Kids Playing, Waves 01   'Copyright Small Axe Films Limited.'

Postcards from the Road: Black Porters, Untold Journeys & the Stories We Carry

On this episode of Trains of Thought, Kristian Rouse-Robinson sits down with Marty Lewis, diversity-in-travel advocate, content creator, and author of The ABC Travel Green Book.  From chance airport meetings to global adventures, Marty has become one of the leading voices of today’s Black travel movement, making sure Black travelers are seen, supported, and celebrated.  Together, they dive into Black travel, the spaces we’re reclaiming, and the often-overlooked stories of Black Canadian history.  Inspired by her great-grandfather’s letters from his days as a sleeping car porter, Kristian connects past and present to explore the Black travel movement, the legacies we’ve inherited, and the ones we’re building right now.

The Sisters Behind the Brotherhood

On this episode of Trains of Thought, Kayla Garnett conducts a meaningful conversation with Dr. Abel Bartley, and African American Studies and History professor at Clemson University. They delve into the stories of women who bolstered the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, exploring themes of resistance, perseverance, and resilience fostered by the wives, sisters, and daughters of the men at the vanguard of sleeping car porter unionization efforts. This podcast is for the curious... those who are open and receptive to movements in the past that inform our present.

Riding the Train For the First Time: Oral History for the Untrained Oral Historian

On this episode of Trains of Thought, Jean-Philippe Djehoury speaks with Dr. Stacey Zembrzycki, an oral historian and author of According to Baba, about two unlikely yet powerful oral historians: her Ukrainian-Canadian grandmother, Olga Zembrzycki, and Stanley Grizzle, a Black Canadian porter and civil rights leader. Neither had formal training in oral history. But both became key figures in preserving the memory of their communities—Sudbury’s Ukrainian immigrants and Canada’s Black railway porters. How? And at what cost? Together, we explore the concept of experiential authority: the intuitive power and pitfalls of storytelling from within a community. From ethical tensions to emotional breakthroughs, this episode is a guide for every passionate memory keeper wondering: Do I need to be trained to do this work? The response of our guest might surprise you. (Spoiler: Yes, you can do it without training. Tune in to know how!) Whether you’re an untrained storyteller, an emerging historian, or someone recording your community’s past at the kitchen table, this conversation is for you.