Roy Wood Jr. on 'Road to Rickwood' and the civil rights legacy of the Birmingham baseball field

By Leoneda Inge,

Published July 1, 2024 at 10:05 AM EDT

Roy Wood Jr. and Leoneda Inge at WUNC's studios in October 2023.

Programming note: WUNC will air the special documentary series "Road to Rickwood" from Tuesday, July 2 through Friday, July 5 at 10:00 a.m. It will broadcast in place of Due South.

Roy Wood Jr. hosts the new podcast “Road to Rickwood” about the Birmingham, Alabama baseball field that saw it all when it comes to the American Civil Rights Movement.

He talks with Due South co-host Leoneda Inge about the history that unfolded at Rickwood, the oldest ballpark in the United States, and what it was like to be at Rickwood when he heard that the great Willie Mays, who got his professional start at the storied field, had passed away.

Guest

Roy Wood, Jr., comedian, former correspondent for The Daily Show, host of 'Road to Rickwood'

Tags

Leoneda Inge

Leoneda Inge is the co-host of WUNC's "Due South." Leoneda has been a radio journalist for more than 30 years, spending most of her career at WUNC as the Race and Southern Culture reporter. Leoneda’s work includes stories of race, slavery, memory and monuments. She has won "Gracie" awards, an Alfred I. duPont Award and several awards from the Radio, Television, Digital News Association (RTDNA). In 2017, Leoneda was named "Journalist of Distinction" by the National Association of Black Journalists.

See stories by Leoneda Inge

Cole del Charco

Cole del Charco is an audio producer and writer based in Durham. He's made stories for public radio's All Things Considered, Morning Edition and Marketplace. Before joining Due South, he spent time as a freelance journalist, an education and daily news reporter for WUNC, and a podcast producer for WFAE in Charlotte.

See stories by Cole del Charco

Rachel McCarthy

Rachel McCarthy is a producer for "Due South." She previously worked at WUNC as a producer for "The Story with Dick Gordon." More recently, Rachel was podcast managing editor at Capitol Broadcasting Company where she developed narrative series and edited a daily podcast. She also worked at "The Double Shift" podcast as supervising producer. Rachel learned about audio storytelling at the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies. Prior to working in audio journalism, she was a research assistant at the Aspen Institute in Washington, DC.

See stories by Rachel McCarthy