What Black Americans and Ukrainians can tell each other

• What do Ukrainians and Black Americans share in their historical and cultural experiences?
• Can we draw comparisons between serfdom and slavery, or find parallels in the colonial traumas and the struggle for human dignity?
• Furthermore, what role do culture, identity, and language play in overcoming these legacies?

In this episode of the Explaining Ukraine podcast, we share a recording of a vital discussion held at PEN Ukraine in Kyiv in October 2025.

Our Speakers are:

Terrell Jermaine Starr – Independent American journalist and host of Black Diplomats, a documentary news show covering civilian life in Ukraine. Over his 16-year career, he has reported extensively on the U.S. military, nuclear policy, and the Black Lives Matter movement.

Christopher Atwood – Human rights and communications expert, Head of the Ukraïner International, which an international branch of Ukrainer, a popular Ukrainian media.

Host: Volodymyr Yermolenko, a Ukrainian philosopher, president of PEN Ukraine and the editor-in-chief of UkraineWorld.

Listen on various platforms: https://li.sten.to/explaining-ukraine

You can support UkraineWorld on https://www.patreon.com/c/ukraineworld. Your help is crucial, as we rely heavily on crowdfunding.

You can also contribute to our volunteer missions to frontline areas in Ukraine, where we deliver aid to both soldiers and civilians. Donations are welcome via PayPal at: ukraine.resisting@gmail.com.

This podcast was made with the support of the International Renaissance Foundation. It's content is the exclusive responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily reflect the views of the International Renaissance Foundation.