Reckon is pleased to announce the debut of Reckon Radio’s newest podcast, Panther: Blueprint for Black Power.

Panther offers the extraordinary little-told story of the first year the Voting Rights Act was put to the test, in 1966, deep in the heart of the Jim Crow South. That election would reverberate across the nation, from Alabama to Oakland to the halls of Congress, changing the course of history through to the voting-rights battles of today.

John Hammontree, Panther’s executive producer, believes the story will resonate with audiences across the country at a time when voting rights are under constant threat.

“Too many textbooks still treat the Civil Rights Movement as a story that ends in 1965 with the passage of the Voting Rights Act. But what becomes clear on this season of Reckon Radio is that the people of Lowndes County, Alabama, have never stopped fighting to keep that right. Not during that first election of 1966. Not after Shelby v. Holder in 2010, and certainly not today,” Hammontree said.

Panther was produced in collaboration with Pod People, a content and marketing studio for award-winning podcasts and social creative, working with the world’s most influential brands to tell the most important stories.

Panther’s hosts, Pulitzer Prize finalist Roy S. Johnson and journalist Eunice Elliot, guide us through the story of Lowndes County and the election that shaped politics — and activism — as we know it in the U.S.

“As an Alabama native, I learned so much about the Black Power movement in Lowndes County from doing this podcast, highlighting even more of the history I never learned in school.  This podcast is a gift to anyone who listens to and to have been a small part of it was the gift that keeps on giving,” Elliot said.

Roy S. Johnson, who co-hosted the national Edward R. Murrow-winning Reckon Radio podcast Unjustifiable, said being counted, heard and represented are fundamental American rights.

“Today voting rights remain in the headlines because Black people in Lowndes County, in rural Alabama, began fighting for them more than half a century ago. Fighting for them when it cost them their homes and could’ve cost them their lives,” Johnson said.

Johnson, a columnist for AL.com and author of The Barbershop newsletter, added that Panther “connects the dots between those who fought for the right to influence the ballot box in Lowndes and those who fight today to ensure every person of color’s voice is heard.”

Panther also sheds new light on a young Stokely Carmichael, who was inspired to pursue “Black Power” in Alabama and first uttered the words in another state, creating the foundation of a movement and a party we still know and talk about today.

“Contextual journalism — connecting our past and present — by journalists and storytellers rooted to the communities they’re reporting on is the cornerstone of Reckon’s work. We couldn’t be happier that we’re launching Panther at such a watershed moment for voting rights and American democracy,” said R.L. Nave, Reckon’s editor-in-chief.

Panther debuts on July 12, with new episodes publishing each Wednesday. Subscribe and catch up on the award-winning series on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.