The Disappearing of Sister Koko with Prof. D. Boose

“The Disappearing of Sister Koko with Prof. D. Boose” is a collaboration between HumanitiesDC’s Porchtales and DC historian and podcaster Prof. D. Boose. In this six-episode series, we will meet Sister Koko and listen as she details her interactions and relationships with people like Stokely Carmichael, Miriam Makeba, Cleveland Sellers, Afeni and Tupac Shakur, and as she shares harrowing stories of fighting racism, existing COINTELPRO, and nuances of Black living in twentieth-century America. Time and circumstance have tried to disappear Sister Koko, yet she still rises through our collective listening. Tune in and be a witness to stories of Black freedom activism in America you haven't heard.

Show Notes

"The Disappearing of Sister Koko with Prof. D. Boose” is a collaboration between HumanitiesDC’s Porchtales and DC historian and podcaster Prof. D. Boose. 

Through stories shared by local resident Sister Koko, we’ll explore the city’s rich history of activism and civic engagement and its connection to international Black Freedom struggles. Sister Koko is a Black activist radical and elder who has dedicated her life to the support and liberation of Black people in the United States and the African Diaspora. For nearly 60 years Sister Koko has been a Black freedom fighter in America. She was a former Civil Rights activist, a one-time Black Panther Party associate, a core anti-apartheid activist in the US, and a decades-long Pan-Africanist organizer. Yet today, she lives in Metro DC unknown to most. But why? And what's lost in her disappearance? 

In this six-episode series, we will meet Sister Koko and listen as she details her interactions and relationships with people like Stokely Carmichael, Miriam Makeba, Cleveland Sellers, Afeni and Tupac Shakur, and as she shares harrowing stories of fighting racism, existing COINTELPRO, and nuances of Black living in twentieth-century America. Time and circumstance have tried to disappear Sister Koko, yet she still rises through our collective listening. Tune in and be a witness to stories of Black freedom activism in America you haven't heard.

What is Porchtales?

Porchtales is a podcast by HumanitiesDC, Washington's humanities council, and an independent affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Each season we work with a guest producer to focus on a historic or cultural topic and dig deeper to learn and celebrate the unique experiences that shape our fascinating city. Whether jogging by the capitol or driving along the California coast, Porchtales listeners get to experience DC through the eyes of those who make up the fabric of our nation's capital. Have an idea or a question, send us a note at [e-mail]

*Any views expressed in this podcast do not necessarily reflect those of HumanitiesDC or the project’s funders.