In Awakening from the Echoes of the Past, we explore Stacia’s transformation from 2000 to 2025. From the quiet rumble of the Quill to the deep impact of 10-10-10, we trace how memory, gender, and governance intertwine. Featuring reflections from Governor Francis, historians, elders, and heritage experts, this episode uncovers the emotional legacies of post-emancipation grief and the unspoken costs of resilience. What happens when silence is no longer enough? How do women lead, heal, and preserve in the face of historical fracture? Through personal truths and public shifts, we ask what it takes to move from survival to liberation and how the echoes of the past can guide a freer future.

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Produced by Simpler Media

>> : What I like about Stacia?

You are free.

I am free. And

you can move how you want,

where you want, when to go.

>> Unidentified (Podcast Host): Welcome to Whispers of the Past. I'm your host,

Fitavit. In this episode, awakening from

the echoes of the past, we step into the

2000s to 2025.

We begin with the land, volcanic,

alive. Beneath the soil of

Cintastasias, the quail sleeps. But

its silence is never empty. It

reminds us that even dormant truths still

carry pressure. And so does history.

These past 25 years have brought seismic

shifts. 10, 10, 10.

Constitutional change, the rise of women's

leadership, and the reckoning with enslaved,

unspoken legacy. But

transformation doesn't only take place in

parliaments or policies. It lives in

memory, in silence, in

the body, in the stories shared

across generations, in the voices

that until now lived on in the margins.

In this episode, we walk with those

voices, from governors and

grandmothers to historians and

heritage experts. We follow

the thread of gender and governance.

And we ask what happens when the past

speaks and we finally listen.

Before we talk about the people, the

politics or the power shifts,

we first look to the land.

Sintostatius, known for its quiet

rhythms and deep rooted resilience,

stands atop a sleeping giant.

Beneath the fertile hills and winding roads

of this tiny Dutch Caribbean island lies

the Quill, a dormant volcano

whose very presence reminds us that

transformation is always shimmering below the

surface. As we step into

the 21st century, the story of modern

day Stacia begins not only with laws and

leaders, but with the earth itself.

The landscape, both literal and symbolic,

continues to shift. We begin with

archaeologist Dr. Stelton, who explains

to us the Quill and what's to come.

>> Dr. Stelton: So the Quill is dormant. So

the Quill is what's called the stratovolcano. The

Quill's last eruption was about 1600 years

ago. And it's not a matter of if, but when it will

erupt again. Because the process, that one

tectonic plate sliding under the other is a continuing

process that is ongoing to this day. Right?

So as we speak, pressure is building

up underneath our little island and underneath

St. Kitts and underneath Ceiba and, and underneath

Montserrat, et cetera, et cetera. And at some point the

volcano will erupt again. It's just a matter of when. We don't know.

It could be 10 years from now, could be a hundred, or it

could be 500 or 1,000. We just. Yeah, there's no way of knowing. Even

though the volcano will erupt again, that does not necessarily mean, of course,

that the island will be destroyed or something like that.

>> Ms. Sutekau: Right.

>> Dr. Stelton: It could be that there is a pyroclastic flow of hot

ash and gas that goes the other way. And even if

there is an explosion of that involves lava or

molten rock, that doesn't necessarily mean that it will engulf the whole

island.

>> Unidentified (Podcast Host): Just as pressure beneath the surface builds quietly

until something must give, so too did the

political and social changes of early 2000.

Stacia begin to gather force.

In 2010, known across the Dutch

Caribbean as 101010 Sint

Eustace officially became a special

municipality of the Netherlands.

This was not a decision made lightly, nor a path

chosen freely. But in the face of

uncertainty, local voices,

especially those of women, rose with

clarity and conviction. It is

here we turn to Mrs. M. Sutekow, a long

term resident and one of the founders of the

center of Archaeology and research,

who reflects on the transformation of

governance, the evolving role of women in

politics and what it meant for Stacia to

step into a new identity, one shaped

by both resistance and reinvention.

>> Ms. Sutekau: Well, of course, um, Stacia

continued to grow in the early 200,000

2010 we became part

of Holland. Um, 101010

will always be a date that we work from,

from backward and forward.

Good things came about. I think that our

education system, in our medical system

to a certain extent have mainly the

educational system have improved greatly.

Um, women were very much involved in that

period of time, in the transition and the transfer

over to, uh, our current

form of government. A lot of women

politicians during that period started their own

parties. Um, Nora

Snake for one, Ingrid Whitfield.

Other people who have been really

prominent in the political

landscape of Statia came to the forefront

in those periods of time.

Um, we have to have nothing but

pride and respect for the way the women on

the island and we can proceed on

m. Of course our Alita Francis as

governor, Governor Frances has made a huge

difference in that. This is a time

when I think the

women's role was more

appreciated and more seen. We have really

wonderful young female politicians coming

up now that we should be very proud of.

In the early 2000s

this was, I think one of the biggest things

that happened is that suddenly the

women in politics and station was really well

recognized

and the landscape on the island has

changed tremendously.

Um, it has become a lot more

expensive to live here. It has

become a time when there is a lot

of political, uh,

differences on the island.

I don't want to be critical, but I

think that the whole transfer could have

been done differently. Um, and

I think that there were a lot of mistakes made by the

Dutch during that period of time. But

I also think that people need

to realize that this was not Stacia.

We chose to become part, uh, stay part of the Netherlands until

that choice was not realistic if the other islands

weren't willing to do that. But the people of

Stacia spoke very

strongly that what they wanted for

themselves was something different than

what eventually happened. And

I think that we can say that with pride because

I think that we were not influenced

by the outside. Uh, we made a choice even

if it was unrealistic, even if we couldn't accomplish

it because of the other islands, uh, not supporting it.

That says we

can voice for ourselves what we

want.

>> Unidentified (Podcast Host): As the dust settled after 1010 10, the

true architects of Stacia's new era began to

emerge. Not only in government chambers,

but in classrooms, community spaces,

and across kitchen tables, where women

shaped the spirit of governance long before it

was ever written in law.

Mrs. Sutaka reminds us that the island

political reorientation can came with growing

pains, but also with pride, especially

in the visibility and the voice of women.

By the early 2000, Stacia

stood at a crossroads between what it had

been and what it might become.

The 10-10-10 transition

marked not just a constitutional shift, but

a deeper redefinition of identity,

responsibility and leadership.

The voices that helped navigate this moment

were not always loud, but they were steady,

present and often feminine.

The groundwork for women political leadership had been

laid in decades past, and a

new generation stepped into the public life.

Those roots began to bloom.

Governor Frances doesn't just reflect on that

journey, she embodies it. Her story

traces the movement of women from domestic life

into decision making roles, anchoring

Stacia's transformation in a legacy of

leadership shaped not by power, but by

service.

>> : Um, the role of women began

to change more from domestic work

to taking positions in government and in

politics. I think one of the changing

moments in women becoming more

involved, for instance, in government affairs in

1988. In

1988, Ingrid Whitfield became

the first female commissioner on

St. Eustatius. It was a big deal back then,

and I think it was two years later. In

1991, Ingrid Whitfield and

Leonora Snake Gibbs became the two first

women in the Island Council of St.

Eustatius. So that was a changing moment,

um, for women in politics on St.

Eustatius and throughout the

decades, we also see where

women began to take the top positions in

government. If you look now, today we, um,

have a lot of women in the top positions. Uh,

so women play a leading role in

the development of statia. While,

um, we see now, um, with the last

elections that we had in April

2022, I believe it was

for the first time in the history all three political

parties were headed by women.

I don't want anyone to underestimate the

role of women in station society.

It's just that women lead differently. And the

majority of the station women that I know, they lead

from a position of service and

not from a position of power.

>> Unidentified (Podcast Host): Stacia's women had long moved from the margins to the

forefront, Leading not only in government

chambers, but in classrooms, cultural

spaces, and the daily act of care.

Yet even as visibility increased, the

deeper work of healing had only just begun.

Because not all legacies are visible. Some live

in silence,

Intergenerational silences shaped by post

emancipation grief, where families

navigated trauma without words.

In Stacia, as in much of the Caribbean,

certain truths were never spoken out loud.

Culturally silenced by shame, survival,

or the belief that forgetting might protect the next

generation. But

silence does not erase impact.

Beneath what we often call resilience, Governor

Francis reminds us lie unspoken currents of

transgenerational trauma. Patterns of pain,

separation, and normalized behaviors rooted

in slavery's long shadow. If we are to

move towards real freedom, we must begin

not with blame, but with conversation.

And not just about what was done, but about what

was left behind.

>> : You know, I started off the story with our

women staying behind, uh, and as our

men went abroad to work,

but also, um, even in modern

day Stacia, uh, it has become such a norm

for a man to have several families.

Again, that is also part

of slavery, where you had the breeding farms, you

know, um, the men were

forced to, especially if he looked

strong and good, beautiful teeth, um, was

forced to be a breeder, a good

breeder, and had to breed,

um, new slaves because

after a while it became too costly

to transport, um,

humans from Africa

to the Caribbean and other parts of the world. So

if you had really good looking slaves and who was strong,

um, that was promoted. And so

those are also some of the cultural,

um, aspects, the trauma

that has been normalized

and the behavior has been normalized. So we

still see it today. That causes a lot of pain.

We, we have become accepting to it.

But I can tell you it is rough for children growing up,

um, sometimes not having the same name,

um, as their, or their

mother, not having the same name

as their father, uh, they not having

the same name as their father.

We talk a lot about the Station resilience.

Um, and it's good to be resilient, but

in the resiliency, it's good also to have the

conversations because you can be strong,

appear to be strong, but there can be so many

underlying unspoken stories

and truths. Um, so you don't want to

have a resilience of appearance

or appearing that you're resilient when underneath

there are all these currents that are still,

um, there. The pain,

um, the anger. Um, so,

um, I'm hoping that in the years to come,

as I said to you, there are

many stations, all types of

stations. And there are those among us

who really want to have that deep

conversation that can make us really feel

truly liberated, truly free from

the past. Will it ever happen? I don't

know. But at least we, uh, must start a conversation.

>> Unidentified (Podcast Host): What we inherent isn't only land,

language or legacy. It's also

behaviors, silences and ways of

survival. Governor Francis peels

back the layers of modern life on Stacia to

show how transgenerational trauma and post

emancipation grief have etched themselves

into family patterns, gender dynamics

and community life. When the past

isn't spoken, it finds other ways to

speak through unspoken grief, through

patterns we inherent without question, and through

children who carry the weight of intergenerational

silence without even being told why.

But truth telling, she reminds us,

begins with reflection. It takes

courage to question what we've accepted,

to sit with the quiet ache beneath resilience,

especially in a place where resilience itself

has long been a badge of honor, but

sometimes also a mask.

And so the question what does

healing look like in a matrifolkial society

where women have carried so much?

Governor Frances continues as she shifts the lens

towards the next generation, tracing how gender

roles and expectations passed down through

generations impacts how we raise boys

and girls today, what we get taught,

what gets forgotten and what gets passed

on.

>> : We've lost a lot that is

typically us. Uh, but it

also has a lot to do with, with the way

we raise our children. I won't only blame it

on the exposure to other cultures or

American tv. It's also the way we are raising

our children. For some reason,

we raise our young girls in a more, uh,

traditional way. Um, you know, helping around

the house, cleaning, um, ironing,

doing, you know, we call it chores.

I don't consider it chores. I consider it preparing us

for a life on our own. You know, one day you're

going to grow up, you're going to need to know to cook, you're going to need to know to clean. You're going

to need to know how to iron. So while we prepare our young women

for that, unfortunately we don't do it enough,

um, with our young men. So um,

I don't know where we went wrong, but that is also

part of our own contribution to where we are now

and the gap that we see in our

young people,

um, losing

a lot of the true values

of what we stand for. Um, do we

give the right examples of how we speak

to m, um

our women? Do we give the right

example about how we treat our

women? Um, I

speak a lot to

young men and I try

to find out why they don't want to

commit, you know, in relationships.

And they are so fearful of

commitment. And

um, again

that is something that is continuing

for so many years and it's causing a lot of pain

in our community because

uh, our women never truly feel respected and honored

while they give so much and they deserve

more than they are getting. And

um,

again,

education, awareness,

communication. We have a lot

of work to do because our men are ah, still

so much inside that they

are afraid to express. They are afraid to show

up vulnerable, afraid to show

up tender, they're afraid to show up caring. And again,

where does that come from? Can we blame it only

on tv or is it again related to

our past and the way we were

treated? So um, it's

a lot of work that we have to do because it's

showing itself in our community

in a way that the uh, generations that

will come will take part.

Continuing to disintegrate as

family, as stations.

It's causing a lot of pain.

>> Unidentified (Podcast Host): Resilience, when not met with equal support,

turns into exhaustion. What's often

praised as strength in Caribbean women can also be

a quiet burden, one inherited across

generations. Like a well worn story that

was never fully told. From the forced

separation of enslavement to today's unspoken

emotional distance, the systems may look

different, but the impact lingers.

This is part of what scholars call post

enslavement syndrome, where historical

trauma and gender expectations continue

to shape modern family life. But

the call of gender justice asks for more than

endurance. It asks us to build balance

where care, emotional openness and

responsibility is shared not in

opposition, but as a shared foundation.

So perhaps the real work begins not just in

raising strong daughters, but emotionally rooted

sons. Not just in surviving the past,

but in learning how to speak through it together.

>> : While I really appreciate the emancipation of

women and I appreciate that

we um, able to

do a lot on our own,

I believe in the

working together of men and Women on

every front, not only in the

field of work, not only in the church, but more so

in the family unit.

And, um, it is absolutely necessary that,

um, we pause a

station, men and women.

Um, and I want to say we'll still

revert back to your question, that to our young

Stacia women, our seashore woman,

um, in general, we have

achieved a lot in terms of education,

achieved a lot in business. Because throughout this island you

see our young women and women doing well in business.

But I want them to take a more bold stand when it comes

to their relationships. You

know, stop taking a back seat, stop

accepting mediocrity, stop,

um, accepting the fact that he does not want to have

the wrong conversation, that he does not want to

commit. We have to force the

conversation. We have to find out what is

happening, what is happening on the deeper

side of our men. How can we get them to work

together with us so that we can build a strong

Stacia family. So I don't want

to continue to see a Stacia where

our women have to be so resilient, but

resilience almost to a point of

loneliness, you know, uh, we deserve so

much better. And, um, if it takes us

to push the lever,

then let us do that. Let us,

um, challenge our men, let us nurture them,

let us drive the conversation, Let us help them to open

up, let us help them to be vulnerable. Let us

help them to have a different

perspective. It will take time,

but let us make really concerted

efforts. Um,

um, we

won't achieve the common goal that we want to

achieve because Stacia is not

just about him or her. It's about us,

uh, together.

>> Unidentified (Podcast Host): Across generations, a quiet truth

reveals itself. Resilience that

is not shared becomes erosion.

Governor Francis, Observations of imbalance

of Endurance stretched Too Thin traces a

pattern seen across post emancipation societies

where care becomes a woman's burden

and silence becomes. Is mistaken for strength.

Contemporary feminist thoughts reminds us

transformation begins not only in policy, but in

the emotional architecture of a society, in

how we raise our sons, in what we normalize, in

love, and in what we pass down

unnamed. The world is not

built solely in parliaments or plans. It is

built in the spaces between people. And it

is in those intimate, ungoverned spaces

that the true work of equality either blooms

or it is postponed.

We now turn to Mr. Richardson Syntastacia's

heritage Inspector. He sheds a light on

the generations raised by the unrelenting

wisdom of Caribbean women.

>> Mr. Richardson: You know, we all have mothers, um,

and sisters, um, and nieces.

And friends and children. I would

say to every Caribbean woman, do

not give up, firstly on yourself.

Um, you know, you women,

women are the creators. Women create also

men and it's the strong willingness

of good parenting of mothers

in the Caribbean on station, no matter where you are,

that oftentimes create, um, the type of

men that we will eventually become in the future.

At the end of the day, after years of

torment and the history that

we have of the people, you know,

we respect you and we see you, but we also hope

that, that self respect also comes back,

you know, from a lot of, um, women in the region.

And, you know, I just want, especially

the younger generation that are coming to not

forget, you know, where we came from and what we fought for

and that, ah, at the end of the day, the structure as we

know it, society as we know it,

um, actually have a lot to thank for

to all those independent, strong

willed women that really played a role in

our society. And at the end of the day,

always stand up for yourself and never feel

the need to diminish your shine

or to dub yourself down for anyone

because, you know, we have been through this

together for more than 400 years and

we would not have gotten anywhere or

any further without the motherly figure of women in

society. And

everyone should really know this part of the history.

>> Unidentified (Podcast Host): When gratitude meets remembrance, something powerful

takes root, a recognition not just of women

who shaped us, but of the histories that shaped

them. Mr. Um, Richardson reminds us

that strength is not forged in

isolation. It is passed down, held

in hands that raised families,

built communities, and bore witness to

generations of struggle and love.

But memory needs more than reverence.

It asks for recovery. Because history

of Caribbean women, especially those whose

lives were bound by enslavement, remains too

often unspoken, unwritten

or scattered across distant archives.

To honor the women history forgot, we must

research the silences they left behind.

And so we Turn now to Dr. Elaine,

historian, educator, keeper of

memory, who reminds us we must ask,

who was never named.

>> Dr. Elaine: Well, I think the more we know about the history of

slavery, the more we can understand

why the world is the way it is today.

Um, in Europe, in the Caribbean, in the United

States, in Canada, um, all

different parts of the Atlantic world, um,

and for a long time the history of

women in slavery was not something that people

focused on. And, um, over the

past few decades we've seen this incredible outpouring

of literature, um, in the

historical profession, across disciplines actually

on the history of enslaved women,

which has absolutely revolutionized how we

understand the history of slavery. But it's really important

to keep doing the research. And that's why, you know, I always

say if someone has the linguistic abilities,

do the research for the Dutch Caribbean or the Danish

too, because we. That's

something that we just really need to learn more about.

And I, I think it would be amazing

to see more people pursue that research.

>> Unidentified (Podcast Host): The archives hold many names,

but too few of them belong to women.

Dr. Alain reminds us, to study

history is not only to uncover facts,

but to widen the lens through which we see the world.

And for the Caribbean, that lens must be

stretched across waters and centuries

into silences, into absences, and

into the lives of women left unnamed.

But research is only the beginning.

Recovery must be lived, must be spoken out

loud. And here on Cintastatius,

the weight of unspoken histories is

finally beginning to lift. It is here

that Governor Francis takes us forward

into the delicate terrain where apology

meets accountability and memory begins the

work of mending m what was broken.

>> : Having conversations about slavery past, I

believe, has always been a very

difficult conversation for stations. But I believe

most people of, um, African heritage

living in this part of the world.

I must say though,

that the last year we have seen a lot of change

in that. Um, the Netherlands is one of the first countries in

the world, I believe, if not the first country in the

world where they have played a, uh,

leading role in the transatlantic slave trade.

A, uh, uh, leading role in,

um, trading of people in human lives.

That first, I believe it was on July

19, um,

2022,

that um, Prime Minister Mark Rotter

offered apology for the duchess

role in slavery pass, followed by,

I think it was December King Willem

Alexander also offered apology.

I see a lot of possibilities coming out of this because

it forces us now as stations, and

especially, um, descendants of slaves, to

finally start having the conversation

that is very difficult to um.

So I'm thankful for that opportunity. I've had the

opportunity in my former position as government

commissioner to speak on

both occasions, um, as a

response to the apology

from the Dutch government and then the head of state, the

king. And on both occasions I said

we must make room for every voice.

It means that we um, can see that in Stacia we're very

passionate people. We speak a lot about

freedoms and liberation. We speak a lot about

resilience. But in that whole construct, we know

that on Stacia we have different voices. And

even in the story surrounding slavery,

we will see there'd be a voice that wants to look

at how can we move forward. But there's going to be the voice

that also say, hey, don't move too fast. We want to

talk about it. Um, and there's the voice

that still needs to be discovered. And I believe we

must make room for every voice to be

heard. And in having these conversations, we must

display the highest level of respect for the different

opinions that will come out of the conversations that are

to follow. I eagerly look forward to

exploring the African part of my

ancestry more. It would be indeed good

to know where it all started.

So I'm looking forward to that part in the conversation.

And I'm also looking forward to the part in the conversation

where stations

based on the available financial

resources that are coming out of the

apology that we can look at how we can rebuild

our island. Let us rebuild our institutions,

our monuments. Let us strengthen the capacity.

We have so many foundations on this island, like the

historical foundation, the monument foundation.

And I must salute all those men and

women who, for the past 50 years, have volunteered

their time, never gaining a penny,

keeping these organizations

afloat without having the

necessary resources, oftentimes

not even the knowledge or the experience, but just

diligently for decades, preserving

our culture, our heritage for a time like now

that, uh, resources are available. So I'm looking forward to

the time where we can do the things that are

necessary to ensure that

we rebuild our institutions, our monuments,

looking forward to where more of our culture

and heritage is taught in our

schools on the island. So I see.

I look at it in a positive way that we

can achieve a lot together. So there are

stories still that, um, are

alive, but they're hidden away. What if we

can go delve into these stories and bring these stories

much more alive?

>> Unidentified (Podcast Host): As Governor Francis reminds us, apology

alone is not the end of the road. It is a

threshold, a beginning. What

follows must be collective remembering,

rebuilding, and the courage to listen to the

voices long ignored.

Because some stories live in plain sight,

yet still remain untold.

Dr. Anna Hanslin, a historian and

professor, now brings us to that threshold

that even when the archives fall, silence.

The responsibility to uncover the lives of women

and the enslaved must not.

>> Dr. Elaine: Women historically, um, in the

Caribbean and the broader Atlantic world in

this time period, enslaved people.

They're not as well represented in the traditional documentary

archives as we've discussed as white men.

But that doesn't mean that we shouldn't tell their stories.

And I think, in fact, it makes it more imperative now that

we recognize the need to tell their stories, that those

of us who are excited by uncovering those hidden histories really make it

our mission to do so.

>> Unidentified (Podcast Host): When we search for the silences in history, we begin

to hear the echoes in the present.

Dr. Anna Hanslin reminds us that

uncovering the lives of those left out of the

archives Is not a luxury, It's a duty.

And when those stories rise, they don't just change

our past, they shift our sense of place,

of self. Archaeologist Dr. Morsings,

who has lived and worked on syntostatias, now speaks

to that deep connection between memory and

land and how the soil beneath our feet

can carry the rhythms of a forgotten story.

>> Dr. Stelton: Yeah, without your past, you're nothing.

That's where your culture comes from. That's where your

upbringing comes from. That's how you relate to

people and to the places where you live

to. Even when you walk around and you recognize

places, um, I'm sure

if you go to another island, you, feel the vibe that

is different. But that means also that

you're picking up those boots and those

social structures, that you take them for

granted. And when you're like, whoa, this is

different, that means that you

have already internalized where you grew

up and what you think was like a normal life.

So you should really take that in and then use

that to reflect back onto yourself

and your past and where you come from.

>> Unidentified (Podcast Host): Memories live not just in books or

buildings, but in the way a place feels

when you walk through it. Familiar, yet

layered. The soil pressed by many

generations. Dr.

Morsinks reminds us that the belonging is often

felt before it's understood

that the land shapes us as much as we

shape it. But not all

roots are visible.

As we move deeper, Dr.

Sahidi invites us to look beneath the

surface to the unnamed lives that

shape Stacia's legacy. A free port

on paper, but not free for the quiet

weight of enslavement. To

truly know this island, we must learn to read

the land's silences.

>> Dr. Elaine: Stacia's history is a little bit different than a lot of other

islands. There were plantations on

stacia, but it was a free trade port. And

so a lot of the

work of enslaved people was

invisibilized, um, in a different

way than it is on other islands.

People were working down in lowertown, but

we don't really have a lot of experience

where we don't really have a lot of

detailed knowledge about people

who were working as porters, for example, or people who

were working as seamstresses,

or.

It's just different. You know, I think that stacia

is a really interesting place because, uh. And

I'm hoping that there's some young, bright

women on Stacia. Who are interested in

anthropology or archaeology or cultural

heritage. Because to understand the

history of Stacia really requires a fresh

perspective and looking at things very differently

from other Caribbean islands. It has a different legacy. In a

lot of ways, it's unique.

>> Unidentified (Podcast Host): Some histories lie beneath trade routes

and warehouses, in names

unrecorded and Ah Labors

unrecognized. As Dr.

Sahidi reminds us, understanding

Stacia's past demands not just research,

but. But vision, A

willingness to see the invisible and ask new

questions of old soil.

But sometimes wisdom doesn't come from the

archives or the artifacts.

Sometimes it comes in the stillness of

someone who has lived the story.

Next we hear from Mrs. Rivers, a

respected elder and a lifelong nurse, who

reminds us that freedom, too, is a legacy.

Not always loud, not always written down,

but passed on. How we walk, how

we live, and what we choose to

remember.

>> : But what I like about Stacia,

you're free.

You're not really obligated to live the

life you used to live in Harlem.

You are more free here than there,

because the lifestyle there is very

difficult

here. You are more free.

Well, um, what I like about it,

I am free. And

you can move how you want,

where you want, when to go.

The love station. Because I born here, I think it's important

for the younger ones, as they

grow up, to know about it.

I think that's important.

So, you know, they can tell their children,

grandchildren, how it was

in those years.

But, uh, we didn't. My parents didn't

speak much about it.

>> Unidentified (Podcast Host): We have come full circle,

from the sleeping breath of the quail to the shifting

ground of identity and inheritance.

This season has been a journey,

not just through history, but through silence,

care and courage. We've

walked alongside voices who've made space

where none was given, who reminded

us that freedom isn't always loud. It lives

in the ability to walk your own road, to

remember what was and to imagine

what might still become.

This, too, is emancipation.

But the quiet kind passed from hand

to hand, not written in law, but felt

in the body. In choosing how we raise our children,

in refusing to forget, in making room

for stories that were once buried

as the final echoes? Fate, we

what is freedom when your past has

been silenced?

And who carries the cost of resilience?

And what kind of future do we build when we

finally allow memory to be whole?

This brings season one of whispers of the

past to a close.

But the work of listening continues

until we meet again. Thank you for

listening. May the whispers of the

past guide you into deeper waters where

memory meets truth and

healing can begin in the stillness

beyond the shores.

Next, in our special behind the scene episode,

we share the unheard moments, the

segments that didn't make the final cut, and the

journey of creating season one of Whispers of the

Past. From spontaneous reflections

to production surprises, this is where the

making of memory becomes part of the

whispers.