The Times podcast: Hidden clues of a Black family’s Bible

In the late 1980s, the Diggs family of Southern California came across a family Bible with an incredible backstory. Notes written in the margin documented their family history to an enslaved ancestor who learned to read and write — rare at the time. The Diggs eventually donated their heirloom to the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C., where it’s now on display. Historians say artifacts like the Bible are rare and offer a valuable portrait into legacy and resistance.

Read the full transcript here.

Host: L.A. Times Washington D.C. reporter Erin B. Logan

More reading:

How a Black family’s Bible ended up at the Smithsonian Institution

Black genealogists get help tracing their roots

Behind these names, you’ll find stories of L.A.’s Black history