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Some stories require a little more – a little more discussion, more context, more depth and breadth. 

That’s the idea behind “Behind the Blue” – a weekly podcast created by UK Strategic Communications. It is designed to explore through probing interviews the in-depth the stories that make UK the university for Kentucky and that have impact across the institution, the Commonwealth and, in some cases, the world. 

"Behind the Blue" is available on iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher and Spotify. Become a subscriber to receive new episodes of “Behind the Blue” each week. UK’s latest medical breakthroughs, research, artists and writers will be featured, along with the most important news impacting the university.

For questions or comments about this or any other episode of "Behind the Blue," email BehindTheBlue@uky.edu or tweet your question with #BehindTheBlue. Transcripts for this or other episodes of Behind the Blue can be downloaded from the show’s blog page.

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Sep 7, 2017

LEXINGTON, Ky. (September 7, 2017) – The debate surrounding Confederate monuments and statues in public spaces has ebbed and flowed since their creation. This debate seems to be at high point, with the June 2015 murders of nine people at a church in Charleston, South Carolina serving as a springboard into a national spotlight of conversation and controversy.

From Florida to California, from Alabama to Maine, monuments to the Confederacy have been under increased scrutiny and efforts to either preserve them on or remove them from the grounds they occupy.

In an effort to get more perspective on the swirling interest around the future of these statues, this week’s episode of Behind the Blue features Dr. Amy Murrell Taylor, from the Department of History in the UK College of Arts & Sciences. A 2016 winner of the UK Alumni Association’s Great Teacher Award, Dr. Taylor’s research focuses on the social and cultural history of the U.S. South in the era of the Civil War and Emancipation.

Dr. Taylor’s first book, The Divided Family in Civil War America (UNC Press, 2005), explored the image and reality of families divided by national loyalties in the Civil War period. Her current book project, Embattled Freedom: Journeys through the U.S. Civil War’s Slave Refugee Camps (UNC Press, forthcoming), is a study of the many thousands of men, women, and children who fled slavery during the Civil War.

Dr. Taylor gives a historian’s perspective on how she approaches the discussion regarding these monuments, how many people would be surprised at Kentucky’s actual role in the Civil War, the reactions and insights she gets from students, and more.

Become a subscriber to receive new episodes of "Behind the Blue" each week. UK's latest medical breakthroughs, research, artists and writers will be featured, along with the most important news impacting the university.

For questions or comments about this or any other episode of "Behind the Blue," email BehindTheBlue@uky.edu or tweet your question with #BehindTheBlue.

Click here for "Behind the Blue" on iTunes.

MEDIA CONTACT: Amy Jones-Timoney, amy.jones2@uky.edu, (859) 257-2940

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UK is the University for Kentucky. At UK, we are educating more students, treating more patients with complex illnesses and conducting more research and service than at any time in our 150-year history. To read more about the UK story and how you can support continued investment in your university and the Commonwealth, go to: uky.edu/uk4ky. #uk4ky #seeblue