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Playlist: Black History Month: Hours

Compiled By: PRX Editors

Ruby Elzy Credit: <a  href="http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/van.5a51960">Carl Van Vechten</a>
Image by: Carl Van Vechten 
Ruby Elzy
Curated Playlist

February is Black History Month. Here are one-hour specials recommended by our editorial staff.

For more options, see pieces under 49 minutes and series picks.

You can also find other pieces for Black History Month by using our search.

How we pick our Editors' Picks.

Highlights for 2024

House/Full of Black Women

From The Kitchen Sisters | 53:27

For some eight years now, 34 Black women from the Bay Area — artists, scholars, midwives, nurses, an architect, an ice cream maker, a donut maker, a theater director, a choreographer, musicians, educators, sex trafficking abolitionists and survivors have gathered monthly around a big dining room table in Oakland, California. Meeting, cooking, dancing, strategizing — grappling with the issues of eviction, gentrification, well-being and sex trafficking that are staring down their community, staring down Black women in America.

Housefull-radiospecial_small Welcome to House/Full of Black Women, a new hour-long special from The Kitchen Sisters, Ellen Sebastian Chang, Sital Muktari & PRX.

For some eight years now, 34 Black women from the Bay Area — artists, scholars, midwives, nurses, an architect, an ice cream maker, a donut maker, a theater director, a choreographer, musicians, educators, sex trafficking abolitionists and survivors have gathered monthly around a big dining room table in Oakland, California. Meeting, cooking, dancing, strategizing — grappling with the issues of eviction, gentrification, well-being and sex trafficking that are staring down their community, staring down Black women in America.

Across these years House/Full has created a series of performances and activations — street processions, street interventions, all-night song circles, historical narratives, parking lot ceremonies, rituals of resting and dreaming.

This House/Full Radio Special was inspired by the House/Full of BlackWomen project conceived and choreographed by Amara Tabor-Smith and co-directed by Ellen Sebastian Chang and an evolving collective of Black women artists and features interviews with sex trafficking abolitionists, personal stories of growing up in the Bay Area, music, Black women dreaming, resisting, insisting.

With Support From: The Creative Work Fund, The National Endowment for the Arts, The Kaleta Doolin Foundation, The Texas Women’s Foundation, Susan Sillins, listener contributions to The Kitchen Sisters Productions & PRX.

House/Full of Black Women is part of The Keepers series produced by The Kitchen Sisters (Davia Nelson & Nikki Silva) in collaboration with Brandi Howell and Nathan Dalton and mixed by Jim McKee.

House/Full of Black Women. Pull up a chair. Take a listen.

"Black History Month Special" with Tracy K. Smith, Saeed Jones, and Meklit

From Live Wire! Radio | Part of the Live Wire Specials series | 59:01

This Black History Month special episode features the 22nd U.S. Poet Laureate Tracy K. Smith, writer and poet Saeed Jones, and music from singer-songwriter Meklit.

598tracyksmiththumb_small In this Black History Month special episode, former U.S. Poet Laureate Tracy K. Smith discusses her memoir To Free the Captives, which explores Black strength, continuance, and community by looking back at her own family’s history; poet Saeed Jones (Alive at the End of the World) unpacks the backstories behind some of his poems involving Billie Holiday, Maya Angelou, and Luther Vandross; and Ethio-Jazz musician Meklit performs the song, “I Want to Sing for Them All” as a tribute to her musical influences.

It's Time! Max Roach In The 1960s

From WFIU | Part of the Night Lights Classic Jazz: Specials series | 59:00

A centennial tribute to Max Roach, who set the pace for modern jazz drumming and became an outspoken activist for civil rights.

4945347659_c93d96fabb_q_small A centennial tribute to Max Roach, who set the pace for modern jazz drumming and became an outspoken activist for civil rights.


Highlights from 2023

THE EMERGENCE OF MARVIN GAYE - E1 of 2 - [1961 - 1971]

From Paul Ingles | 59:00

Music specials host Paul Ingles and a panel of music scholars recall and celebrate the career of Motown music legend Marvin Gaye. This first of 2 episodes tracks Gaye's career from his first recordings in 1961 to his revered landmark album WHAT'S GOING ON? in 1971. That album was listed as #1 on Rolling Stone Magazine's Top 500 Albums list of All-Time, in 2020. All or part of 27 Marvin Gaye songs are sampled.

Marvingaye1_small Music specials host Paul Ingles and a panel of music scholars recall and celebrate the career of Motown music legend Marvin Gaye.  This first of 2 episodes tracks Gaye's career from his first recordings in 1961 to his revered landmark album WHAT'S GOING ON? in 1971.  That album was listed as #1 on Rolling Stone Magazine's Top 500 Albums list of All-Time, in 2020.  All or part of 27 Marvin Gaye songs are sampled.   Guest commentators are Anthony DeCurtis of Rolling Stone Magazine, Birgitta Johnson - ethnomusicologist Birgitta Johnson at the University of South Carolina, music scholar Hannah Grantham, and music writer and humanities scholar with City Colleges of Chicago, Aaron Cohen.  Excerpts from an arhchival interview with Marvin Gaye are also heard.
 

PLAYLIST 

LET'S GET IT ON (DEMO) - MARVIN GAYE (EXCERPT AND BACKGROUND BED)

TOO BUSY THINKING ABOUT MY BABY - MARVIN GAYE (EXCERPT :26)

IF I COULD BUILD MY WHOLE WORLD AROUND YOU - MARVIN GAYE / TAMMI TERRELL (EXCERPT :36)

STUBBORN KIND OF FELLA - MARVIN GAYE (LIVE) (EXCERPT :22)

WHAT'S GOING ON - MARVIN GAYE (EXCERPT :13)

INNER CITY BLUES - MARVIN GAYE (EXCERPT :12)

EVERYBODY NEEDS LOVE - MARVIN GAYE (EXCERPT :11)

ANGER - MARVIN GAYE (EXCERPT :31)

WHOLY HOLY - MARVIN GAYE (EXCERPT :22)

SAD TOMORROWS - MARVIN GAYE (EXCERPT :11)

RUNNING FROM LOVE - MARVIN GAYE (BACKGROUND BED - 3:00)

SINCERELY - THE MOONGLOWS (EXCERPT 2:00)

BEECHWOOD 4-5789 - THE MARVELETTES (EXCERPT :36)

LET YOUR CONSCIENCE BE YOUR GUIDE - MARVIN GAYE (EXCERPT 1:15)

STUBBORN KIND OF FELLA - MARVIN GAYE (EXCERPT 1:15)

HITCH-HIKE - MARVIN GAYE (EXCERPT 1:11)

I'LL BE DOGGONE - MARVIN GAYE (EXCERPT 2:00)

CAN I GET A WITNESS - MARVIN GAYE (2:30)

HOW SWEET IT IS TO BE LOVED BY YOU - MARVIN GAYE (EXCERPT 1:04)

IT TAKES TWO - MARVIN GAYE / MARY WELLS (2:30)

AIN'T NO MOUNTAIN HIGH ENOUGH - MARVIN GAYE / TAMMI TERRELL (2:30)

YOU'RE ALL I NEED TO GET BY - MARVIN GAYE / TAMMI TERRELL (BREAK MUSIC :59)

DANCING IN THE STREET - MARTHA & THE VANDELLAS  (EXCERPT 1:26)

I HEARD IT THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE - MARVIN GAYE (2:30)

THAT'S THE WAY LOVE IS - MARVIN GAYE (EXCERPT 1:05)

WHAT'S GOING ON - MARVIN GAYE (EXCERPT 2:00)

WHAT'S HAPPENING BROTHER? - MARVIN GAYE (EXCERPT 2:00)

FLYING HIGH (IN THE FRIENDLY SKY) - MARVIN GAYE (EXCERPT 2:00)

SAVE THE CHILDREN - MARVIN GAYE (EXCERPT :56)

MERCY, MERCY ME - MARVIN GAYE (EXCERPT 1:30)

INNER CITY BLUES - MARVIN GAYE (5:33)

RUNNING FROM LOVE (INSTRUMENTAL) - MARVIN GAYE (BACKGROUND MUSIC 3:10)


HBCU Renaissance (hour)

From With Good Reason | Part of the Black History Month specials series | 53:59

HBCUs rose from the ashes of slavery and have been educating Black students for generations.

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HBCUs rose from the ashes of slavery and have been educating Black students for generations. Cheryl Mango says HBCUs are currently experiencing a renaissance, sparked from Black Lives Matter movement and the fight for racial justice. Plus: HBCU bands like the Trojan Explosion at Virginia State University play with power and energy. It’s an audio and visual display, with high-step marching and decked-out drum majors at the center of the performance. Taylor Whitehead says that HBCU sound and style is the pinnacle of Black musical excellence.

Later in the Show: What does William Faulkner and a cool pair of sneakers have in common? More than you might think. Jemayne King is a sneakerhead and English professor at Virginia State University. He’s combined his two passions into the first ever college English course on sneaker culture.

CRUISIN' WITH SMOKEY ROBINSON: An Appreciation

From Paul Ingles | 59:00

CRUISIN’ WITH SMOKEY ROBINSON: AN APPRECIATION is hosted by music specials producer Paul Ingles who is joined by three top music writers and educators to lay out an exhibition of just some of the Motown great Smokey Robinson’s top tracks, as a performer and as a writer. Over 20 of Smokey's songs are heard in whole or in part. He was also a key executive and artist mentor in the remarkable Motown Records success story. Also heard, some excerpts from an excellent interview with Smokey from 2014.

One_heartbeat__smokey_robinson__small CRUISIN’ WITH SMOKEY ROBINSON: AN APPRECIATION is hosted by music specials producer Paul Ingles who is joined by three top music writers and educators to lay out an exhibition of just some of the Motown great Smokey Robinson’s top tracks, as a performer and as a writer.  Over 20 of Smokey's songs are heard in whole or in part.  He was also a key executive and artist mentor in the remarkable Motown Records success story.  Also some excerpts from an excellent interview with Smokey from 2014 from the ART OF THE SONG radio show.

Commentators include Rolling Stone Magazine's Anthony DeCurtis, Brigitta Johnson - Associate professor of ethnomusicology at the University of South Carolina, and Chicago-based teacher and music book author Aaron Cohen.

PLAYLIST:

Cruisin' (excerpt - background music) Smokey Robinson My World: The Definitive Collection

Shop Around (short excerpt) Smokey Robinson & The Miracles Hitsville USA: The Motown Singles Collection 1959-1971 [Disc 1]

Mickey's Monkey (short excerpt)Smokey Robinson & The Miracles Hitsville USA: The Motown Singles Collection 1959-1971 [Disc 1]

My Guy (short excerpt) Mary Wells Hitsville USA: The Motown Singles Collection 1959-1971 [Disc 1]

My Girl (short excerpt) The Temptations Hitsville USA: The Motown Singles Collection 1959-1971 [Disc 2]

The Hunter Gets Captured By The Game (short excerpt) The Marvelettes Hitsville USA: The Motown Singles Collection 1959-1971 [Disc 3]

Ohh Baby Baby (short excerpt) Smokey Robinson & The Miracles Hitsville USA: The Motown Singles Collection 1959-1971 [Disc 2]

Going to a Go-Go (short excerpt) Smokey Robinson & The Miracles My World: The Definitive Collection

Cruisin' (short excerpt) Smokey Robinson My World: The Definitive Collection

Quiet Storm (short excerpt) Smokey Robinson My World: The Definitive Collection

I Second That Emotion (Live) (short excerpt) Smokey Robinson Smokin' (Live)

I Like It Like That 2:42 Smokey Robinson & The Miracles Lost and Found: Along Came Love (1958-1964)

That's Why (I Love You So) (short excerpt) Jackie Wilson 20 Greatest Hits (Remastered)

Shop Around 5:22 The Miracles Lost and Found: Along Came Love (1958-1964)

You've Really Got A Hold On Me 2:59 Smokey Robinson & The Miracles Hitsville USA: The Motown Singles Collection 1959-1971 [Disc 1]

You Really Got A Hold On Me (short excerpt) The Beatles With The Beatles

The Way You Do The Things You Do 2:42 The Temptations Hitsville USA: The Motown Singles Collection 1959-1971 [Disc 1]

The Tracks Of My Tears 3:03 Smokey Robinson & The Miracles Hitsville USA: The Motown Singles Collection 1959-1971 [Disc 2]

The Hunter Gets Captured By the Game (short excerpt) Smokey Robinson & The Miracles One Dozen Roses

The Way You Do the Things You Do (short excerpt, then as background music )Earl Van Dyke & The Soul Brothers 20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection: The Best of the Funk Brothers

Get Ready (short excerpt) Rare Earth Hitsville USA: The Motown Singles Collection 1959-1971 [Disc 4]

The Tears Of A Clown 3:07 Smokey Robinson & The Miracles Hitsville USA: The Motown Singles Collection 1959-1971 [Disc 4]

When Sundown Comes 2:35 (excerpt) Smokey Robinson & The Miracles One Dozen Roses

Just My Soul Responding 1:06 (excerpt) Smokey Robinson Smokey

Sweet Harmony 2:00 (excerpt) Smokey Robinson Smokey

Baby That's Backatcha (short excerpt) Smokey Robinson My World: The Definitive Collection

Cruisin' 2:15 (excerpt) Smokey Robinson My World: The Definitive Collection

Being with You 1:13 (excerpt) Smokey Robinson My World: The Definitive Collection

Time Flies 1:26 (excerpt) Smokey Robinson Time Flies When You're Having Fun

Ooo Baby Baby (Live) (short excerpt) Smokey Robinson  Smokin' (Live)

Barrett Strong: Motown's Money Man (A Tribute)

From Paul Ingles | 59:00

In this special hour - BARRETT STRONG: MOTOWN'S "MONEY" MAN - you’ll hear some of the songs the late Motown songwriter and performer Barrett Strong had a hand in. They were some of the biggest hits of the 1960’s and 1970’s. Songs like "Papa Was A Rollin' Stone", "Just My Imagination", "Cloud Nine", "I Heard It Through The Grapevine", "I Can't Get Next to You", (all songs Strong co-wrote with the late Norman Whitfield) and the iconic song Strong sang himself that became the label's very first national hit "Money (That's What I Want)". Music Host Paul Ingles plays some of the best versions of those top-rated tunes as well as several of Strong’s own turns as a vocalist in the early years of Motown. It's a magnificently high-quality hour of music that listeners just will NOT be able to turn off. An excellent offering for Black History Month or for June's African-American Music Appreciation Month. BARRETT STRONG DIED, JANUARY 29, 2023 AT THE AGE OF 81.

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BARRETT STRONG DIED, JANUARY 29, 2023 AT THE AGE OF 81.

In this special hour - Barret Strong, Motown’s "Money" Man - you’ll hear some of the songs Motown songwriter and performer Barrett Strong had a hand in.   They were some of the biggest hits of the 1960’s and 1970’s.  Songs like "Papa Was A Rollin' Stone", "Just My Imagination", "Cloud Nine", "I Heard It Through The Grapevine", "I Can't Get Next to You", and the song he sang that became the label's very first national hit "Money (That's What I Want)".   Music Host Paul Ingles plays some of the best versions of those top-rated tunes as well as several of Strong’s own turns as a vocalist in the early years of Motown.  It's a magnificently high-quality hour of music that listeners just will NOT be able to turn off.  An excellent offering for Black History Month or for June's African-American Music Appreciation Month.

PLAYLIST: 

Money (That's What I Want) 2:38 Barrett Strong Hitsville USA: The Motown Singles Collection 1959-1971 [Disc 1] 

War 3:29 Edwin Starr Hitsville USA: The Motown Singles Collection 1959-1971 [Disc 4]

Papa Was a Rollin' Stone (Single Version) 6:58 The Temptations The Millennium Collection: Best of Motown 1970s, Vol. 1 

Oh I Apologize (Single Version) 2:23 Barrett Strong The Complete Motown Singles, Vol. 1: 1959-1961 

Smiling Faces Sometimes 3:17 The Undisputed Truth Hitsville USA: The Motown Singles Collection 1959-1971 [Disc 4] 

Cloud Nine 4:42 Me'Shell Ndegéocello Standing In The Shadows Of Motown

Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me) 4:38 The Rolling Stones Some Girls 

Yes, No, Maybe So (Single Version) 2:17 Barrett Strong The Complete Motown Singles, Vol. 1: 1959-1961 

I'm Gonna Cry (If You Quit Me) [Single Version] 2:54 Barrett Strong The Complete Motown Singles, Vol. 1: 1959-1961  (EXCERPT BREAK MUSIC)

I Heard It Through The Grapevine 5:37 Barrett Strong In Their Own Words 

Too Busy Thinking About My Baby 2:59 Marvin Gaye Every Great Motown Hit Of Marvin Gaye 

Take Me in Your Arms and Love Me 2:55 Gladys Knight & The Pips The Ultimate Collection: Gladys Knight & The Pips 

You Knows What to Do (Single Version) 2:47 Barrett Strong The Complete Motown Singles, Vol. 1: 1959-1961 

I Can't Get Next To You 3:53 Al Green Al Green - Greatest Hits 

Ball Of Confusion (That's What The World Is Today) 4:05 The Temptations Hitsville USA: The Motown Singles Collection 1959-1971 [Disc 4] 

Whirlwind (Single Version) 2:10 Barrett Strong The Complete Motown Singles, Vol. 1: 1959-1961 

I'm Gonna Cry (If You Quit Me) [Single Version] 2:54 Barrett Strong The Complete Motown Singles, Vol. 1: 1959-1961 R&B/Soul 0 2 (EXCERPT END MUSIC)

Black Enough

From The Stoop | 51:57

What does it mean to be 'Black enough'?

Playing
Black Enough
From
The Stoop

Kamau

Whether it's the way we talk,  the music we hear, or the clothes we wear- many Black people at some point were made to feel 'not Black enough’, including Leila and Hana.

In this special from The Stoop podcast, Leila explores with broadcast journalist Joshua Johnson what it means to be told she ‘talks white’, Hana talks to a psychologist as she wonders if she has to like everything Black to avoid getting called out, and we go deep with comedian W. Kamau Bell who's felt awkward in Black circles and in front of Black audiences.

What does it really mean to be ‘Black enough’?


The Black History of the Banjo

From Afropop Worldwide | Part of the Afropop Specials series | 59:00

We trace the history of this most American of instruments from its ancestors in West Africa through the Caribbean and American South and into the present, as a new generation of Black women artists reclaim the banjo as their own.

Portrait_of_a_young_black_woman__seated__holding_nine_string_banjo_medium_small We trace the history of this most American of instruments from its ancestors in West Africa through the Caribbean and American South and into the present, as a new generation of Black women artists reclaim the banjo as their own. Rhiannon Giddens, Bassekou Kouyate, Bela Fleck and more talk claw-hammers, trad jazz, Appalachian folk, African ancestors and the on-going story of American music, which would be woefully incomplete without a Black history of the banjo. Produced by Ben Richmond.

Black History Month Special #1

From KHFM | Part of the The Choral Hour series | 59:01

Join host Kathlene Ritch as she celebrates Black History Month! Featuring music of African American composers William Dawson and Moses Hogan. Kathlene chats with composer and conductor Dr. Andre Thomas, as they discuss how concert spirituals and their performance practice have evolved over the 20th century through the present day.

Khfm_logo_for_fb_small Join host Kathlene Ritch as she celebrates Black History Month! Featuring music of African American composers William Dawson and Moses Hogan. Kathlene chats with composer and conductor Dr. Andre Thomas, as they discuss how concert spirituals and their performance practice have evolved over the 20th century through the present day. 

Four Pillars of Rock 'n' Roll

From Paul Ingles | 59:00

Over a period of 8 months in 1955, from April to September, 4 African-American performers tossed records onto the American pop and R&B charts that would establish them as rock and roll pioneer icons for all times. They were all among the earliest inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Each a revered and imitated talent that shaped music for decades and still today. Music documentarian Paul Ingles hosts highlights from his 4 public radio specials on Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Little Richard, Fats Domino in this special appreciation program, that also features commentary from some top music writers.

Bhmpioneers_small Over a period of 8 months in 1955, from April to September, 4 African-American performers tossed records onto the American pop and R&B charts that would establish them as rock and roll pioneer icons for all times.  They were all among the earliest inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  Each a revered and imitated talent that shaped music for decades and still today.  Music documentarian Paul Ingles hosts highlights from his 4 public radio specials on Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Little Richard, Fats Domino in this special appreciation program, that also features commentary from some top music writers.

Playlist (COMING)

FATS DOMINO
CHUCK BERRY
LITTLE RICHARD
BO DIDDLEY

Mavis Staples

From Sound Opinions | Part of the Sound Opinions Specials series | 54:00

As a member of her family group The Staple Singers and as a solo artist, Mavis Staples has used her huge voice to power the Civil Rights Movement and inspire generations. Hosts Jim DeRogatis and Greg Kot revisit their intimate discussion of her life and career in celebration of the gospel and soul legend.

Mavis_small As a member of her family group The Staple Singers and as a solo artist, Mavis Staples has used her huge voice to power the Civil Rights Movement and inspire generations. Hosts Jim DeRogatis and Greg Kot revisit their intimate discussion of her life and career in celebration of the gospel and soul legend.


Music Hours

Langston Hughes - I Too Sing America

From WQXR | 59:00

Langston Hughes, an enduring icon of the Harlem Renaissance, is best-known for his written work, which wedded his fierce dedication to social justice with his belief in the transformative power of the word. But he was a music lover, too, and some of the works he was most proud of were collaborations with composers and musicians.

Wqxr_logo_nofreq_small Langston Hughes, an enduring icon of the Harlem Renaissance, is best-known for his written work, which wedded his fierce dedication to social justice with his belief in the transformative power of the word. But he was a music lover, too, and some of the works he was most proud of were collaborations with composers and musicians.

On Wednesday, Feb. 1 at 9 pm - what would have been Hughes’ 110th birthday - WQXR kicks off Black History Month with the premiere of I, Too, Sing America: Music In The Life Of Langston Hughes , a one-hour radio special that shines a light on Hughes's lesser-known musical compositions.

Hosted by Terrance McKnight , WQXR host and former Morehouse professor of music, I, Too, Sing America will dive into the songs, cantatas, musicals and librettos that flowed from Hughes’ pen. As he did with his poetry, Hughes used music to denounce war, combat segregation and restore human dignity in the face of Jim Crow. His musical adventures included writing lyrics for stage pieces such as Black Nativity and Tambourines to Glory, works that helped give birth to the genre of Gospel Play, as well as songs for radio plays and political campaigns, and the libretto for Kurt Weill’s Street Songs.

I, Too, Sing America will also tell the dramatic tale of Hughes’ collaboration with William Grant Still , hailed today as “the Dean of African American composers.” For 15 years, against the backdrop of pre-Civil Rights racism, the two fought to see their opera become a reality. Their historic success came in 1949, when Troubled Island which told the story of Haitian revolution leader Jean-Jacques Dessalines – was staged by the New York City Opera, becoming the first opera by African Americans to ever be staged by a major company.

The documentary will include recordings of select pieces of Hughes’ musical works, some of which were never performed again in their entirety after their original production. It will also feature archival interview tape of William Grant Still discussing Troubled Island.

Sound Opinions Presents: Music of the Civil Rights Movement

From Sound Opinions | Part of the Sound Opinions Specials series | 54:00

Sound Opinions explores the music of the Civil Rights Era. From Bob Dylan to Odetta to the Staples Singers, hosts Jim DeRogatis and Greg Kot remark upon the impact music made on the fight for civil rights in the 1960s.

Mlk_small Professional music critics Jim and Greg discuss influential and game-changning music from the 1960s that provided a soundtrack to the civil rights movement. They analyze tracks by artists like Sam Cooke, The Staple Singers, Bob Dylan, Nina Simone and more. They also chat with former Chicago WVON DJ Herb Kent.

Jump for Joy - Duke Ellington's Celebratory Musical

From WFIU | 59:05

Perfect for Black History Month (February), this one-hour special tells the story of Duke Ellington's musical "Jump for Joy."

495597639ee1206d07eo_small Ellington once said that Jump for Joy "was the hippest thing we ever did." The inspiration came from a late-night party, a convergence of Hollywood glamour and nascent civil-rights activism with one of America's greatest jazz orchestras. In the summer of 1941, as Americans warily regarded a world war that seemed to be edging ever closer to their shores, Duke Ellington staged what he would later call "the first 'social significance' show," Jump for Joy. Jump for Joy was an all-black musical revue that Ellington said "would take Uncle Tom out of the theater?and say things that would make the audience think." It featured the Ellington orchestra in its so-called "Blanton-Webster" years, playing at the peak of its powers, and up-and-coming African-American performers such as the actress Dorothy Dandridge, the blues singer Big Joe Turner, and the comedian Wonderful Smith. The poet Langston Hughes contributed a sketch entitled "Mad Scene From Woolworth's," and Ellington collaborator Billy Strayhorn took a significant hand in scoring the show. Created and presented in Los Angeles, Jump for Joy had at its center and periphery a host of legendary Hollywood figures. The musical was financed in part by the actor John Garfield; its director, Nick Castle, went on to become a famous choreographer for 20th Century Fox.. Charlie Chaplin stopped by rehearsals to give advice, Orson Welles offered to make the show a Mercury Theater production, and Mickey Rooney eagerly attempted to demonstrate his compositional talents by writing a song called "Cymbal Rockin' Sam" for Ellington's drummer Sonny Greer. Sid Kuller, who authored many of the revue's sketches and song lyrics, was a writer for MGM who had just knocked off The Big Store for the Marx Brothers. Jump for Joy opened at the Mayan Theater on July 10, 1941 and ran for 122 performances, with the Ellington orchestra playing in the pit every night as African-American performers spoke, sang, danced, and joked in rebellion against traditional representations of blacks in movies and musical theater. In a bold break with convention, Ellington expressly forbade the 60-member cast to "blacken up," or artificially darken their skin hues. "The show was done on a highly intellectual level," he recalled in his 1973 memoir Music Is My Mistress. "No crying, no moaning, but entertaining, and with social demands as a potent spice. The Negroes always left proudly with their chests sticking out." The show received mostly positive reviews, but the brash racial jubilation of songs such as "I've Got a Passport From Georgia" and "Uncle Tom's Cabin Is a Drive-In Now" provoked death threats, and one cast member was beaten as he left the theater. Although Ellington hoped to take the show to Broadway, its lack of stereotyping and its unabashed celebration of African-American pride made it an unlikely candidate for New York's Great White Way. After closing on September 29, 1941, it was revived for one week in November, and then again in Miami Beach in 1959 for an aborted two-week run. Although the musical has occasionally been recreated both onstage and in concert by others, and the original revue thoroughly documented by Ellington assistant Patricia Willard for a 1988 Smithsonian LP, Jump for Joy remains an important but often-overlooked chapter in the career of Duke Ellington. He later remarked that it paved the way for Black, Brown and Beige, his ambitious 1943 orchestral recreation of African-American history. It also served as an early salvo in the cultural struggle for equality. When a young San Francisco protester confronted Ellington in the early 1960s with the question, "When are you going to do your piece for civil rights?" Ellington replied, "I did my piece more than 20 years ago when I wrote Jump for Joy." WFIU's Jump for Joy: Duke Ellington's Celebratory Musical features nearly all of the music that Ellington's 1941 Blanton-Webster band recorded for the show, including the classic hits "I Got It Bad (and That Ain't Good)," "Rocks In My Bed," and "Chocolate Shake." Other highlights include a portion of comedian Wonderful Smith's monologue, a radio medley spot, and Ellington himself discussing the musical and its impact, more than 20 years after its debut. Guests include Ellington assistant and Jump for Joy scholar Patricia Willard, Smithsonian Masterworks Orchestra conductor David Baker, Ellington biographer John Edward Hasse, and cultural historian Michael McGerr. The program is written, produced, and narrated by WFIU announcer David Brent Johnson. Duke Ellington once said that Jump for Joy "was the hippest thing we ever did." As Patricia Willard notes, it fulfilled his lifelong criteria for success: "doing the right thing, at the right time, in the right place, with the right people." In an age when the film and theater industries presented African-Americans primarily as servants and porters, as fearful and clowning stereotypes, Duke Ellington dared to produce and grace a musical with the same dignity, wit, beauty, and unabiding hipness that he always brought to his band. Jump for Joy is a cultural milestone and another example of how this great American composer traversed the racial and aesthetic boundaries of his time.

Amazing Grace

From Canadian Broadcasting Corporation | 50:34

The story of "Amazing Grace"- a piece of music that has an extraordinary impact on American history.

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Author Steve Turner's book "Amazing Grace: the story of an America's Favourite Song" unearths the fascinating background of a piece of music that's had an extraordinary impact. It's been a hymn of redemption. A song of comfort. A gospel favourite, a bagpipe standard, a folksong, a civil rights anthem, the most popular song for funerals. It's the song people turned to after 9/11, Columbine, the Oklahoma City bombing, and the Challenger tragedy. There are at least 450 recorded versions of it - everyone from Elvis to Mahalia Jackson. The English man who created the lyrics, John Newton, the "wretch" of the first verse, had an unbelievable life. And yet its roots are more American than anything else.

Steve Turner has written about Marvin Gaye, The Beatles, Jack Kerouac, and Van Morrison. He's published his articles about music in Rolling Stone and The London Times.

A Beautiful Symphony of Brotherhood: A Musical Journey in the Life of Martin Luther King, Jr.

From WQXR | 58:00

In this hour-long special from WQXR and WNYC, host Terrance McKnight interweaves musical examples with Dr. King's own speeches and sermons to illustrate the powerful place that music held in his work--and examines how the musical community responded to and participated in Dr. King's cause.

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Martin Luther King, Jr. grew up listening to and singing church songs, and saw gospel and folk music as natural tools to further the civil rights movement.

In this hour-long special from WQXR and WNYC, host Terrance McKnight interweaves musical examples with Dr. King's own speeches and sermons to illustrate the powerful place that music held in his work--and examines how the musical community responded to and participated in Dr. King's cause.

Terrance McKnight is WQXR's Evening Host. He came to WQXR from WNYC, which he joined in 2008. He brings to his position wide and varied musical experience that includes performance, teaching and radio broadcast. An accomplished pianist, McKnight was also a member of the Morehouse College faculty, where he taught music appreciation and applied piano.

Louis Armstrong's New Orleans, with Wynton Marsalis

From Joe Bevilacqua | Part of the Joe Bevilacqua Documentaries series | 58:50

Recorded in the French Quarter of New Orleans, this hour features jazz great Wynton Marsalis, jazz author and historian Donald Newlove, WNYC Radio talk show host Leonard Lopate, members of the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, and others.

Armstrong_small Louis Armstrong's New Orleans, with Wynton Marsalis Veteran radio producer Joe Bevilacqua hosts this entertaining, informative hour, recorded in the French Quarter of New Orleans and featuring jazz great Wynton Marsalas, jazz author and historian Donald Newlove, WNYC Radio talk show host Leonard Lopate, members of the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, and others, on the origins of jazz, and the life and music and legendary trumpeter, LOUIS ARMSTRONG. Also featured is the music of Armstrong throughout his long career, and rare recordings, including rare audio from a 1957 CBS TV documentary, with Edward R. Murrow. A REVIEW: ***** Informational, Polished, Sound Rich Joe Bevilacqua strikes again with this superb documentary on the life and music of Louis Armstrong. The rich tapestry of music, interviews and sound from the streets of New Orleans is expertly produced. In addition to some rare recordings, the program includes interviews with Wynton Marsalas and others that really add to what is primarily a music program, rather than detract from the focus of the program. The sound quality is excellent, and the vintage recordings have been cleaned up well. The program is both entertaining and informative, and held my interest for the entire hour. This program would fit well as a special hour in any local jazz program, and I highly recommend it. (Producer) (Editorial Board) Phil Corriveau, Wisconsin Public Radio February 19, 2006 Perfect for Black History Month Special! And check out Joe Bevilacqua's VALENTINE'S "WEEK" themed programming at: http://www.prx.org/series/23013

The Life and Legend of Louis Armstrong: A Conversation with Biographer Terry Teachout

From AARP Radio | Part of the Prime Time Radio series | 59:55

The Life and Legend of Louis Armstrong and “Live a Little!” Learning to Live “A Pretty Healthy Life” on Prime Time Radio.

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When hundreds of recordings of Louis Armstrong’s private conversations recently became available at Queens College in New York, critic Terry Teachout was the first biographer to access them.  The result is “Pops: A Life of Louis Armstrong,” an in-depth biography of the jazz great that’s full of new details about Armstrong’s personal and professional life.

 

Join us to hear highlights and musical examples of Armstrong’s groundbreaking style in this entertaining conversation between Teachout- drama critic of The Wall Street Journal- and our music-connoisseur host, Mike Cuthbert.  

 

Then … Dr. Susan Love and psychologist Ali Domar spend their professional lives investigating and improving women’s health. Now they have teamed up to write “Live a Little! Breaking the Rules Won’t Break Your Health.” In this educational half-hour with our willing – and male – pupil, host Mike Cuthbert, they encourage us to stress out less about the health rules and to “not get carried away with trying to live forever.”

ROCK 'N' ROLL BLACK HISTORY MONTH

From paul mcguire | Part of the The Funhouse series | 59:30

Tunes and tales of African American musical greats including Otis Spann, Little Walter, Big Mama Thornton, Peter Tosh, Billy Preston, Les McCann & Eddie Harris and other trailblazers. A compelling sixty minute journey of rock, jazz, blues, reggae and more.

Funhouse_mrs_monster_small Expect the unexpected  on our descent into the rock 'n' roll maelstrom as we careen through the darkness of the midnight soul... 

A unique weekly late night hour featuring unheard music with historical  context, informative commentary, anecdotes of close encounters in the music world and other frivolous information from host Harry Parmenter, THE FUNHOUSE offers the listener refreshing respite from the onerous onslaught of daily existence. Fiercely free-form with non sequitur musical choices,  listeners will find much to choose from in this entertaining hour.    

So buy the ticket and take the ride into...THE FUNHOUSE. 

Black, Brown and Beige - Duke Ellington’s Historic Jazz Symphony

From WFIU | Part of the Night Lights Classic Jazz: Specials series | 59:03

In 1943, Duke Ellington debuted a landmark 43-minute musical portrayal of the African-American experience at Carnegie Hall. We'll hear music from it as well as commentary from Wynton Marsalis, Ellington biographer Harvey Cohen, and Ellington himself.

Ellington-bbb_small In 1943, Duke Ellington debuted a landmark 43-minute musical portrayal of the African-American experience at Carnegie Hall. We'll hear music from it as well as commentary from Wynton Marsalis, Ellington biographer Harvey Cohen, and Ellington himself.

Black Composers in Hollywood: Duke Ellington and John Lewis

From WFIU | Part of the Night Lights Classic Jazz: Specials series | 59:02

This hour explores Duke Ellington’s music for the 1959 film Anatomy Of A Murder and John Lewis’ score for Odds Against Tomorrow, released the same year.

Nightlightsfacebookbanner_small This hour explores Duke Ellington’s music for the 1959 film Anatomy Of A Murder and John Lewis’ score for Odds Against Tomorrow, released the same year.


2022 and 2021 Pieces

"Black History Month Special" with Hanif Abdurraqib, Clint Smith, and Melanie Charles

From Live Wire! Radio | Part of the Live Wire Specials series | 59:00

This Black History Month Special features celebrated writers Hanif Abdurraqib and Clint Smith, with music from genre-bending powerhouse Melanie Charles.

Hanifthumbnail_small In celebration of Black History Month, host Luke Burbank and announcer Elena Passarello share conversations with some of Live Wire's most remarkable guests: MacArthur “Genius Grant” Fellow Hanif Abdurraqib discusses his highly acclaimed collection of essays, A Little Devil in America, which poetically praises the cultural and historical significance of Black performance of all kinds; writer Clint Smith takes us on a journey of his best-selling book How the Word is Passed, which examines the legacy of slavery through various sites across the country, from Angola prison all the way to Wall Street; and genre-bending powerhouse Melanie Charles soars with a "reimagining" of Marlena Shaw's "Woman of the Ghetto."

Black History Month (Series)

Produced by Canadian Broadcasting Corporation

Specials from CBC Radio for Black History Month

Most recent piece in this series:

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Massey Lectures #5

From Canadian Broadcasting Corporation | Part of the Black History Month series | 29:26

Mlk_small In November 1967 Martin Luther King delivered the Massey lectures on CBC Radio. The Masseys are a prestigious annual broadcast in which a noted Canadian or international scholar gives a weeklong series of lectures on a political, cultural or philisophical topic. King's title was "Conscience for Change." In the lectures, he talked about race relations, the war in Vietnam, youth and social action and non-violence as a tactic for social change.

MLK – Activism and the Arts

From The Takeaway | Part of the The Takeaway Specials series | 53:29

This year’s discussion will focus on how Dr. King leveraged the influence of artists in the civil rights movement and how that legacy of activism in the arts continues today.

Mlkacti1_000_logo137111432_small This year’s discussion will focus on how Dr. King leveraged the influence of artists in the civil rights movement and how that legacy of activism in the arts continues today. Focusing on the long-standing connection between activism and artistry, participants will discuss how the struggle for social justice affected icons from Nina Simone to John Legend and how they, in turn, helped drive the struggle for social justice.

Musical Black History

From The Children's Hour Inc. | Part of the The Children's Hour series | 58:00

This time on The Children's Hour we explore black history through music. We've put together a special playlist of songs to educate about a few of the people who made significant contributions to technology, culture, and the quest for justice and equality.

Glodi_miessi_unsplash1_small This time on The Children's Hour we explore black history through music. We've put together a special playlist of songs to educate about a few of the people who made significant contributions to technology, culture, and the quest for justice and equality. 

We'll learn about Harriet Tubman, and what was meant in her message to "follow the drinking gourd." Hear about Rosa Parks, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., more.

The Children's Corner has a book review for us on the autobiographical story, Ruby Bridges, This is Your Time.

Get ready to dance and learn with us on The Children's Hour's Musical Black History special.  

Mavis Staples' Soul: A Celebration (Hour 1 of 2)

From Paul Ingles | 59:00

A music and talk celebration of the indomitable spirit and talent that Mavis Staples has shown over a career that tacks from the late 1940’s, into the 2020’s. A panel of top notch music writers and scholars reflect on her rich music history, as Paul Ingles hosts a mix of some of her most important and stirring performances. Hour 1 of 2 focuses on her family's early gospel group successes in the 1950's and the beginning of their emergence as civil rights messengers and pop chart leaders in the 1960's and early 1970's.

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A music and talk celebration of the indomitable spirit and talent that Mavis Staples has shown over a career that tacks from the late 1940’s, into the 2020’s.  A panel of top notch music writers and scholars reflect on her rich music history, as Paul Ingles hosts a mix of some of her most important and stirring performances.   Hour 1 of 2 focuses on her family's early gospel group successes in the 1950's and the beginning of their emergence as civil rights messengers and pop chart leaders in the 1960's and early 1970's.
Commentators include:   NPR's Ann Powers, Rolling Stone Magazine's Anthony DeCurtis, Staples Biographer Greg Kot, Music Critic Holly Gleason, and music teachers and scholars Aaron Cohen, Birgitta Johnson, and Alisha Lola Jones.


PLAYLIST:

I'll Take You There - Mavis Staples (LIVE)
Come Go With Me - Staples Singers (Short Excerpt)
Be What You Are - Staples Singers (Short Excerpt)
Sha-Na-Boom-Boom - Staples Singers (Short Excerpt)
We'll Get Over - Staples Singers (Short Excerpt)
Respect Yourself - Staples Singers (Short Excerpt)
Do It Again - Staples Singers (Short Excerpt)
Melody Cool - Mavis Staples (Short Excerpt)
Turn Me Arouns - Mavis Staples  (Short Excerpt)
We Get By - Mavis Staples (Short Excerpt)
Build A Bridge - Mavis Staples (Short Excerpt)
Take Us Back - Mavis Staples (Live) (Short Excerpt)
You Are Not Alone - Mavis Staples (Live) 
Will The Circle Be Unbroken - Mavis Staples (Live) (Short Excerpt)
Will The Circle Be Unbroken - Staples Singers
Uncloudy Day - Staples Singers
On My Way To Heaven - Staples Singers
Jacobs Ladder - Staples Singers (short excerpt)
Freedom's Highway - Staples Singers (Live) (Excerpt)
Why Am I (Treated So Bad?) - Staples Singers
Wade In The Water - Staples Singers (:30 Excerpt - Break Music)
A Hard Rain's Gonna Fall - Staples Singers (Short Excerpt)
Blowin' In The Wind - Staples Singers (Excerpt)
Masters of War - Staples Singers (Excerpt)
For What It's Worth - Staples Singers (Excerpt)
We've Got To Get Ourselves Together - Staples Singers (Short Excerpt)
Precious Lord Take My Hand - Mavis Staples / Mahalia Jackson (Short Excerpt From Film "Summer of Soul")
When Will We Be Paid? - Staples Singers 
We'll Get Over - Staples Singers
Respect Yourself - Staples Singers
I'll Take You There - Staples Singers
If You're Ready (Come Go With Me) - Staples Singers (Excerpt)

Mavis Staples' Soul: A Celebration (Hour 2 of 2)

From Paul Ingles | 58:59

Hour 2 of a music and talk celebration of the indomitable spirit and talent that Mavis Staples has shown over a career that tacks from the late 1940’s, into the 2020’s. A panel of top notch music writers and scholars reflect on her rich music history, as Paul Ingles hosts a mix of some of her most important and stirring performances. Hour 2 of 2 focuses on her family's commercial success of the early 1970's, and how they tried to keep up with trends before eventually discontinuing their recordings as the Staples Singers in the middle 1980's. Then Mavis launched a solo career that bubbled below the radar for many years before taking off in the 21st century.

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Hour 2 of a music and talk celebration of the indomitable spirit and talent that Mavis Staples has shown over a career that tacks from the late 1940’s, into the 2020’s. A panel of top notch music writers and scholars reflect on her rich music history, as Paul Ingles hosts a mix of some of her most important and stirring performances. Hour 2 of 2 focuses on her family's commercial success of the early 1970's, and how they tried to keep up with trends before eventually discontinuing their recordings as the Staples Singers in the middle 1980's.  Then Mavis launched a solo career that bubbled below the radar for many years before taking off in the 21st century.

Commentators include:   NPR's Ann Powers, Rolling Stone Magazine's Anthony DeCurtis, Staples Biographer Greg Kot, Music Critic Holly Gleason, and music teachers and scholars Aaron Cohen, Birgitta Johnson, and Alisha Lola Jones.

PLAYLIST: 
Oh La De Da - Staples Singers (Excerpt)
My Main Man - Staples Singers (Short Excerpt Bed Music)
Heavy Makes You Happy - Staples Singers (Live at Wattstax) (Excerpt)
I Like The Things About Me - Staples Singers (Live at Wattstax) (Excerpt)
Are You Sure? - Staples Singers - (Live at Wattstax) (Excerpt)
Respect Yourself - Staples Singers (Live at Wattstax) (Short Excerpt)
Let's Do It Again - Staples Singers (Excerpt)
A Piece of the Action - Staples Singers - Soundtrack (Short Excerpt)
The Weight - The Band With The Staples Singers from "The Last Waltz" (Excerpt)
Happy Birthday - Mavis Staples (Live) (Excerpt)
Slippery People - Staples Singers (Excerpt)
Touch A Hand - Mavis Staples (Live) (Excerpt)
Blood Is Thicker Than Time - Mavis Staples 
Time Waits for No One - Mavis Staples (Excerpt)
Melody Cool - Mavis Staples (Excerpt)
You Will Be Moved -Mavis Staples (Excerpt)
Peace To The Neighborhood - Pops Staples (Short Excerpt)
Father Father - Pops Staples (Excerpt)
Have a Little Faith - Mavis Staples (Excerpt)
We Shall Not Be Moved - Mavis Staples (Excerpt)
Don't Knock - Mavis Staples (Excerpt)
One True Vine - Mavis Staples (Excerpt)
Action - Mavis Staples (Excerpt)
If All I Was Was Black - Mavis Staples (Excerpt)
Anytime - Mavis Staples (Excerpt)
MLK Song - Mavis Staples (Excerpt)

"Black Radio: Telling It Like It Was" 25th Anniversary Edition (Six-Hour Series) (Series)

Produced by PRX

Black Radio: Telling It Like It Was is the story of radio’s role in the 20th century transformation of the African American community. First aired in 1996, the specials have been reformatted into six hours for 2021. Original host Lou Rawls guides us, with new narration from original producer Jacquie Gales Webb.

Through interviews, historical airchecks, comedy, drama, and music, the series reveals the remarkable correlation between milestones of Black radio programming and African American culture. Among other topics the series explores the role of radio during the great migration of Blacks from the South, trail-blazing Black DJs and stations, and Black radio during the Civil Rights movement.

Most recent piece in this series:

Bonus Minis

From PRX | Part of the "Black Radio: Telling It Like It Was" 25th Anniversary Edition (Six-Hour Series) series | 15:37

Playing
Bonus Minis
From
PRX

Blackradio_25thann_logo-03_small These are three shorter segments of different lengths that focus on early innovation in Black public media. These segments can be aired separately; they can also standalone to promote the series.

The Sound of 13 (Series)

Produced by KVNO

Host Garrett McQueen opens an historical and contemporary conversation of race in a 13-week classical music series with the 13th amendment as the guide.

Most recent piece in this series:

Sound of 13 22-13

From KVNO | Part of the The Sound of 13 series | 58:02

Playing
Sound of 13 22-13
From
KVNO

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EPISODE 13


Joseph Bologne Chevalier de Saint-Georges - “Presto” from Symphony No. 2

Versailles Chamber Orchestra, Bernard Wahl

Saint-Georges: Concerto No. 2/Symphonies Nos. 1 and 2

Arion 2009

4’19’’


Gabriela Lena Frank - “Coqueteos”

Sphinx Virtuosi, Damon Gupton

Sphinx Virtuosi Live in Concert

Self Produced, 2011

3’56’’


Valerie Coleman - Tzigane

Imani Winds

Startin’ Sumthin’

eOne 2016

10’14’’


Ludovic Lamothe - Danza No. 1 in C

Charles P. Phillips, piano

A Vision of Ludovic Lamothe 

IFA 2001

7’00’’


Samuel Coleridge Taylor - Nonet in f minor

John Fadial, violin Janet Orenstein, violin Scott Rawls, viola Brooks Whitehouse, cello Mary Ashley Barret, oboe Kelly Burke, clarinet Lynn Huntzinger Beck, horn Michael Burns, bassoon Andrew Harley, piano

Samuel Coleridge Taylor: Chamber Music

Centaur 2004

25’54’’


Driving While Black

From Canadian Broadcasting Corporation | Part of the Black History Month series | 54:00

One evening in 2015, Montrealer Kenrick McRae was pulled over by police. The officer told him his licence plate lights weren’t bright enough. So after having the dealership verify his lights were in fact working fine, Kenrick got another light and mounted it himself to make sure he would never be given the same reason again. But he still was. In fact, no matter how scrupulous he is, Kenrick, who is Black, says he has been stopped by Montreal police multiple times. After Kenrick's girlfriend filmed him being handcuffed and detained during a traffic stop one night in 2017, he lodged a formal complaint with Quebec's police ethics committee, determined to prove that what's happening to him is because of the colour of his skin. This is the story of one person's ongoing experience of racial profiling by police, and how it has undermined every facet of his life.

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Whenever Kenrick McRae uses his car, he does a thorough spot check first. Before he gets in, he walks around the car, even testing the brake lights by putting a brick on the pedal to verify that the lights are on.

"I always want to be on the right side of the law," he told CBC's The Doc Project radio program.

But no matter how scrupulous he is, McRae, who is Black, can't seem to avoid being stopped by Montreal police. He's been pulled over dozens of times, he says, some months, as many as 15.

"They might say some kind of light is not working, [or] they thought I didn't have my seatbelt on, but when they come up, they see the seatbelt is on," he said.

Montreal police declined The Doc Project's request for comment on McRae's experiences. A representative wrote that the force does not discuss specific cases, particularly those that have been brought before Quebec's police ethics commissioner, as McRae's complaints have. 

McRae, 48, has filed five racial profiling complaints against Montreal police with the help of the Centre for Research-Action on Race Relations (CRARR), a Montreal-based civil rights advocacy group.

Two were settled through conciliation; one was dismissed by the police ethics commissioner; and in a fourth case, the province's police ethics committee ruled in McRae's favour and ordered the suspension of the officers involved. The Quebec Human Rights and Youth Rights Commission recommended that the city and officers pay damages to McRae, but the deadline for that passed, and the case is now likely to go before the provincial Human Rights Tribunal.

One complaint, over a ticket for being a driver under the influence of alcohol that McRae received in August 2019 while clearing out empty containers from his car, is still in progress.

2019 report examined racial profiling by Montreal police

McRae's experience is far from unique, says Alain Babineau, a retired RCMP officer who spent more than three decades in policing and helped McRae file one of his complaints. 

Babineau said he has encountered others who say they've been stopped as frequently as McRae. 

"Those are the folks that come forward. Not everybody that gets racially profiled comes forward," said Babineau, a McGill University law graduate who now works as a civil rights advocate. 

Civil rights advocates in Montreal have been trying to shine a light on cases of alleged racial profiling by police for over a decade.

In 2019, a report commissioned by the City of Montreal that looked into street checks, found Indigenous people and Black people were four to five times more likely than white people to be stopped by police.

"It's horrific because they've accepted this as being their plight in life, and at some point, you have to develop some type of anger and animus towards law enforcement," said Babineau.

Following the release of the 2019 report, Montreal Police Chief Sylvain Caron said he was "very surprised" by the findings but vowed to take quick, concrete and transparent action to reduce racial disparities.

In July 2020, after a series of consultations, the police service introduced a policy on street checks with guidelines outlining when and how officers could stop people. 

Ticketed while taking out recycling

McRae, who was a police officer in his native Guyana, moved to Montreal in 2006.

He'd initially hoped to continue his career in policing, but he doesn't speak French, which ruled out that possibility. 

Eventually, he found a job as a brake rider at Montreal's Trudeau International Airport, towing planes around the tarmac before and after takeoff. 

It was a well-paying job, McRae said, enabling him to buy a used 2002 Mercedes SUV. 

But soon, he said, he found himself being regularly pulled over while driving to work. 

In one instance last August, McRae was stopped by a police officer while throwing out some cups and cans from his car with his recycling just outside his apartment building.

He was issued a $486 ticket for "being the driver of a road vehicle, having consumed alcoholic beverages" after an officer pulled an empty beer bottle from his recycling. McRae said he was neither drinking nor driving his car at the time.

He said he initially refused to show the officer his ID but gave it to her after three more police cruisers arrived on scene. 

"So, I count to 10, and I said, 'You know, today is not my day to die,'" he recounted.

McRae said this and other experiences with Montreal police have given him a clear impression. 

"I'm not worth it, you know, living in this society."

He said he'd move away from Montreal but that he can't leave the city because he co-parents a teenage daughter.  

'We don't have systemic racism'

Filing individual complaints against police as McRae has done has hardly made a dent in the wider problem of racial profiling, says Babineau. He says there seems to be an unwillingness on the part of politicians and police administrators to tackle systemic racism.

"We don't have systemic racism," RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki told the Globe and Mail in June when asked whether the problem exists on the force in the wake of widespread protests over racism in policing following the death of George Floyd in police custody in Minneapolis.

She told several media outlets that she was struggling to precisely define the term.

Curtis Zablocki, the RCMP's commanding officer in Alberta, shared his boss's view. 

"I do see us different than the United States," he said at the time. "I don't believe that racism is systemic through Canadian policing. I don't believe it's systemic through policing in Alberta."  

Their comments sparked an outcry. Lucki and Zablocki quickly walked them back, acknowledging they had more to learn on the subject. 

Babineau said it's frustrating that police leaders are still trying to catch up to the problem when people of colour in Canada have been highlighting it for decades.

"It's a very simple question with very complex answers," said Massimiliano Mulone, an associate professor of criminology at the University of Montreal.

Mulone was one of the co-authors of the 2019 Montreal street check report and is currently studying the impact of the police's new street check policy. In cities across the country, he said, the data suggests that Black and Indigenous people are stopped at higher rates than white people.

The reasons why aren't just the fault of police, he said; the disparity reflects bias and prejudice that exist more widely. 

Mulone saw similar levels of racial discrimination when street checks were prompted by a call from a citizen, for example.

"You cannot put all the fault on the police, but at the same time, you cannot say the police doesn't have any responsibility in this systemic discrimination," he said. "It's not just a police problem; it's a society problem."

The nature of police work, in turn, makes existing biases even stronger, Mulone said.

"Police officers work a lot on the premise of suspicion ... [In] their experience, they think that race is an important determinant of suspicion."  

Babineau said he witnessed and participated in systemic racism during his 28 years in the RCMP, mostly stationed in Ontario. 

"Even if you're a racialized police officer, you become part of the culture in which you operate," he said. 

"I was part of the drug squad for 10 years. So, we're targeting so-called high crime areas. And you end up targeting a particular community and developing these particular stereotypes in your mind as to who's involved in [criminal activity]."

Babineau said that sometimes led to communities being over-policed by officers who were intent on making arrests.

To date, there's been some progress in certain Canadian jurisdictions, but overall, improvements have been limited, Babineau said.

For example, the new street check policy introduced in Montreal last summer prohibits "any police checks that are unfounded, random or based on a discriminatory criterion." But, in Babineau's view, it will do little to curb racial profiling because it doesn't lay out sanctions for officers who break the rules.

He suspects the policy was an effort to make it look like the city was taking action in a summer of protests over police brutality.

The Doc Project reached out the Montreal police service about the street check policy, but they declined to comment.

Furthermore, Babineau said, traffic stops such as those McRae encountered aren't included in the policy, which focuses on pedestrian stops.

Mulone said he would like to see racial discrimination become a criteria when it comes to evaluating the effectiveness of police programs. He also wants to see police services shift their primary purpose from fighting crime to creating a sense of security in the communities they serve. 

"The main mission [should be] to contribute to the security of the people, and the security of the people is due to the fact that you're not targeted in a way that is discriminatory. "

A toll on mental health

CRARR's executive director, Fo Niemi, is hopeful McRae's most recent complaint, filed with Quebec's police ethics commissioner, will be successful.

Niemi has helped McRae file this and other complaints against Montreal police and says while cases can drag on for years, "McRae is someone who will not back down."

McRae said he's prepared to fight but that his experience with Montreal police has deeply affected his psyche. 

"I'm scared every day, especially when I go outside."

Babineau said the recurring nature of McRae's negative experiences are likely taking a toll on his mental health. 

"You can argue that he's suffering from some form of PTSD, right? Because this happened to him repeatedly," Babineau said. "And that's very serious in my opinion — and here's a guy who was a cop." 


The Classics

Ida B. Wells' Battle to Uncover the Truth

From Humankind | Part of the Humankind Specials series | 52:58

Born to enslaved parents on a Mississippi plantation during the Civil War, Ida B. Wells emerged as a powerful investigative journalist. She overcame death threats and published widely in her quest to document the domestic terrorism against African Americans that came to be known as lynching. Ida Wells published the first major study of that crime. A close associate of Frederick Douglass, she helped to found the NAACP and advocated the right to vote for women and black Americans. Her amazing life story is finally gaining recognition, nearly 90 years after her death.

Among those heard: NY Times correspondent Nikole Hannah-Jones, who led the "1619 Project" on the history of enslaved peoples in America; Bryan Stevenson, founder of the Equal Justice Initiative in Montgomery, Alabama, which in 2018 established the first national memorial to victims of lynching; Smith College Prof. Paula Giddings, principal biographer of Ida B. Wells; David Blight, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of 'Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom' and Yale historian. Includes readings from Ida B. Wells and Frederick Douglass.

Ida_b

Born to enslaved parents on a Mississippi plantation during the Civil War, Ida B. Wells emerged as a powerful investigative journalist. She overcame death threats and published widely in her quest to document the domestic terrorism against African Americans that came to be known as lynching. Ida Wells published the first major study of that crime. A close associate of Frederick Douglass, she helped to found the NAACP and advocated the right to vote for women and black Americans. Her amazing life story is finally gaining recognition, nearly 90 years after her death.

Among those heard: NY Times correspondent Nikole Hannah-Jones, who led the '1619 Project' on the history of enslaved peoples in America; Bryan Stevenson, founder of the Equal Justice Initiative in Montgomery, Alabama, which in 2018 established the first national memorial to victims of lynching; Smith College Prof. Paula Giddings, principal biographer of Ida B. Wells; David Blight, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of 'Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom' and Yale historian. Includes readings from Ida B. Wells and Frederick Douglass.

The Invention of Race

From The Center for Documentary Studies | 54:00

One-hour historical documentary that tells the story of the construction of race, and racism, as we live with them today.

Scor_ep32photo_emphasis_small This history special traces the development of racial, and racist, ideas, from the ancient world -- when "there was no notion of race," as historian Nell Irvin Painter puts it -- up to the founding of the United States as, fundementally, a nation of and for white people (despite the "all men are created equal" language of the Declaration of Independence). Relying on the work of Painter, National Book Award-winning historian Ibram Kendi, and a recorded workshop presentation by the Racial Equity Institute, host and reporter John Biewen tells a story that names names: The Portuguese writer who, commissioned by the slave-trading leaders of his country, literally invented blackness, and therefore whiteness, in the 1450s, according to Kendi. The enlightenment scientist who first divided humanity into five "races" and coined "caucasian." The black runaway indentured servant in 17th century Virginia whose capture, and sentencing to lifelong servitude, marked the first official sanctioning of chattel slavery, and the first time a black person was treated differently from a white person in the law, in colonial America. And Thomas Jefferson and Ralph Waldo Emerson, whose "Anglo-Saxonist" thinking gets a fresh look.  

The Invention of Race is adapted from several episodes of the more in-depth 14-part series, Seeing White, on the Scene on Radio podcast: 
http://podcast.cdsporch.org/seeing-white/
 

The Freed People

From Humankind | Part of the Humankind Specials series | 58:58

Written and Produced by David Freudberg, in association with WGBH. This one-hour Humankind documentary examines how America responded to a massive refugee crisis, when four million newly emancipated slaves needed shelter, employment, education and the basic rights at the close of the Civil War. Hear historians, brief readings from letters of people who were there, performances of "Negro Spirituals" and more.

Image_1-12-18_at_8 Written and produced by David Freudberg, this one-hour documentary examines a time when the United States faced an unprecedented refugee crisis: 4 million slaves had been emancipated, primarily from plantations where they’d been held captive, following the bloody Civil War. Most possessed no more than the clothes on their backs and were now suddenly homeless and jobless. 

Where would they go? How would they reunite with loved ones, who may have been sold to a distant owner and never heard from again? How would people who’d been abused – sometimes savagely – and cheated out of compensation for their labors, and even legally prohibited from learning to read and write, now make the transition to a free life? 

In this production, we find out about the Freedmen’s Bureau, established by Congress to help this population as the war drew to a close. It established 3,000 schools for ex-slaves. We learn about the journey of these millions of newly freed people toward citizenship. And we hear about the spiritual faith that enabled them to hang on against past horrors and the new hostility they would now face -- the terrorist backlash against emancipation including the Ku Klux Klan, which arose in this period.

Featured are leading historians of Reconstruction: Edna Greene Medford of Howard University, David Blight of Yale University and Abigail Cooper of Brandeis University. Also included are actual voices of emancipated slaves late in life (recorded in the 1940s), as well as brief readings from letters by ex-slaves, educators who traveled south to teach the freed people and others.

 

Race: Let' Talk About It: James Baldwin

From WHRV | Part of the Another View series | 54:31

On the next Another View, we begin our “Race: Let’s Talk About It” conversation with filmmaker Karen Thorsen, creator of the documentary “James Baldwin, The Price of a Ticket”. In his own words, Baldwin shares what it means to be black, poor, gifted and gay in a world that doesn’t understand that all men are brothers. Thorsen gives us insight on this iconic literary giant and civil and gay rights activist, along with the back story on the development of the film.

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On the next Another View, we begin our “Race: Let’s Talk About It” conversation with filmmaker Karen Thorsen, creator of the documentary “James Baldwin, The Price of a Ticket”. In his own words, Baldwin shares what it means to be black, poor, gifted and gay in a world that doesn’t understand that all men are brothers. Thorsen gives us insight on this iconic literary giant and civil and gay rights activist, along with the back story on the development of the film.

Homemade Stories: The Struggle is Real

From WBEZ | 54:00

In this one-hour special, Homemade Stories: The Struggle is Real, award-winning storyteller Shannon Cason takes us on a journey that finds hope in struggle. From navigating Detroit’s overwhelmed criminal justice system, to searching for work and finding closed doors, to being a father after failing in marriage, to finding anchors in a sea of uncertainty, Shannon's stories are heartfelt, heartbreaking and hilarious all at once. But above all else, his stories are honest. Shannon Cason is the real deal.

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With modern scoring and skillful sound design, Detroit-raised storyteller Shannon Cason brings us stinging and side-splitting stories of life in this one-hour special, Homemade Stories: The Struggle is Real . From navigating Detroit’s overwhelmed criminal justice system, to searching for work and finding closed doors, to being a father after failing in marriage, to finding anchors in a sea of uncertainty.

Not only are Shannon’s stories raw accounts of struggle and hope, they’re the stuff of stand-ups. He has the remarkable ability to be heartfelt, heartbreaking and hilarious all at once. But above all else, his stories are honest. Shannon Cason is the real deal.

He’s been featured on The Moth (he’s a Moth GrandSLAM winner) and Snap Judgment (he was their 2013 Performance of the Year) and he’s the host of Shannon Cason's Homemade Stories from WBEZ Chicago (a podcast that just wrapped its sixth season).  Hear more of Shannon’s stories at wbez.org/podcasts or shannoncason.com.

Say it Loud: Great Speeches on Civil Rights and African American Identity

From American Public Media | Part of the American RadioWorks: Black History series | 59:00

New! "Say It Loud" traces the last 50 years of black history through stirring, historically important speeches by African Americans from across the political spectrum. With recordings unearthed from libraries and sound archives, and made widely available here for the first time, "Say It Loud" includes landmark speeches by Malcolm X, Lorraine Hansberry, Angela Davis, Martin Luther King Jr., Henry Louis Gates, and many others.

Say_it_loud_prx_small Say It Loud traces the last 50 years of black history through stirring, historically important speeches by African Americans from across the political spectrum. The documentary illuminates tidal changes in African American political power and questions of black identity through the speeches of deeply influential black Americans. With recordings unearthed from libraries and sound archives, and made widely available here for the first time, Say It Loud includes landmark speeches by Malcolm X, Angela Davis, Martin Luther King Jr., James Cone, Toni Morrison, Colin Powell, and many others.

Bringing the rich immediacy of the spoken word to a vital historical and intellectual tradition, Say It Loud reveals the diversity of ideas and arguments pulsing through the black freedom movement. Say it Loud is a sequel to the American RadioWorks documentary, Say it Plain. A companion book and CD set, Say It Loud: Great Speeches on Civil Rights and African American Identity, is now available from The New Press.

Can Do: Stories of Black Visionaries, Seekers, and Entrepreneurs

From The Kitchen Sisters | 54:00

A new Kitchen Sisters and PRX exclusive, "Can Do: Stories of Black Visionaries, Seekers, and Entrepreneurs," is hosted by Alfre Woodard, Golden Globe and Emmy Award-winning actress. These stories come from The Kitchen Sisters collection -- stories of black pioneers, self-made men and self-taught women, neighborhood heroes and visionaries. People who said "yes we can" and then did.

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A man tapes the history of his town with a scavenged cassette recorder, a woman fights for social justice with a pie, a DJ ignites his community with a sound. Join us for this richly produced and deeply layered hour long special that resonates for Black History Month, or any month.  Produced by The Kitchen Sisters (Nikki Silva & Davia Nelson) and Roman Mars.
 
"Can Do" is supported in part by the Reversioning Project of the Public Radio Exchange at PRX.org and The CPB, The Corporation for Public Broadcasting. 

Going Black: The Legacy of Philly Soul Radio (One Hour Special)

From Mighty Writers | Part of the Going Black: The Legacy of Philly Soul Radio series | 59:00

Starting in the 1950s, Black radio stations around the country became the pulse of African-American communities, and served as their megaphone during the Civil Rights and Black Power movements. "Going Black" examines the legacy of Black radio, with a special focus on the legendary WDAS in Philadelphia. Hosted by Sound of Philadelphia (TSOP) music producer and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Kenny Gamble, a 1-hour version and 2-hour version of this documentary special are both available.

Georgie_woods_1__small "Going Black: The Legacy of Philly Soul Radio " examines the legacy of Black radio, with a special focus on the legendary WDAS in Philadelphia. The story of Black radio in Philadelphia is actually the story of a music that would have gone undiscovered, of Civil Rights and progress in the African-American community, and of how the radio medium has changed in the last century. The documentary special is hosted by legendary Sound of Philadelphia (TSOP) music producer and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Kenny Gamble . For more about the program, visit our website: www.mightyradio.org .

Today, a lot of people don't know what the term "Black radio" means. But starting in the 1950s,
Black radio stations around the country became the pulse of African-American communities, and served as their megaphone during the Civil Rights and Black Power movements. Stations like WDAS in Philly, WDIA in Memphis, WWRL and WBLS in NYC, WHUR and WOL in DC, WERD in Atlanta, WVON in Chicago, WLAC in Nashville, WMRY in New Orleans and KWBR in San Francisco featured radio personalities with styles all their own who played records you'd never get to hear on mainstream radio. Beyond being hip radio stations, these were pipelines into the Black community where you'd get the latest news on current events and the Civil Rights Movement — at a time when the mainstream media wasn't covering these stories from a Black perspective.

The documentary features conversations with well-known disc jockeys, radio professionals, record company executives, musicians, journalists and scholars. Listeners will hear first-person accounts of Civil Rights events and rare archival audio of Black radio air checks from the 60s and 70s, including a 1964 interview with Malcolm X, just a few months before his assassination. The documentary also includes a soundtrack featuring R&B, jazz, gospel and soul hits from the 50s through the 80s, especially from the Sound of Philadelphia .

A 1-hour version and 2-hour version of this documentary special are both available, along with a series of short companion non-narrated pieces.

The Power of African-American Art

From Al Letson | Part of the State of the Re:Union: Season Five series | 53:52

State of the Re:Union has made it an annual tradition to commemorate Black History Month with a special episode exploring lesser known corners of African-American history. This year, State of the Re:Union recognizes Black History Month through the lens of African-American art, the role it has played in social movements and everyday life, and why it matters both to the black community and the United States as a whole. From a poem celebrating Nina Simone and her powerful voice for social change, to the story of the surprising event that sparked the hip-hop cultural revolution, to unsung heroes of the culinary arts, SOTRU provides a rich hour of art as a window into African-American history, and how communities have been transformed by it.

Sotru_profile-pic_01_small State of the Re:Union
The Power of African-American Art

Host: Al Letson
Producers: Al Letson, Tina Antolini, Delaney Hall

Description:
State of the Re:Union has made it an annual tradition to commemorate Black History Month with a special episode exploring lesser known corners of African-American history. This year, State of the Re:Union recognizes Black History Month through the lens of African-American art, the role it has played in social movements and everyday life, and why it matters both to the black community and the United States as a whole. From a poem celebrating Nina Simone and her powerful voice for social change, to the story of the surprising event that sparked the hip-hop cultural revolution, to unsung heroes of the culinary arts, SOTRU provides a rich hour of art as a window into African-American history, and how communities have been transformed by it.

Billboard (:59)
Incue: From PRX and WJCT
Outcue: But first, this news.

News Hole: 1:00-6:00

SEGMENT A (12:29)
Incue: From WJCT in Jacksonville, Florida…
Outcue: When State of the Re:Union returns.

From the spirituals that slaves sung to the writings of poet Claude McKay to Public Enemy’s fierce rhymes, SOTRU looks at how African-American art has been used to speak out against injustice. Professor Farah Jasmine Griffin walks us through a timeline of African-American art that has been used to call attention to social issues and protests.


SEGMENT B  (18:59)
Incue: From WJCT in Jacksonville…
Outcue: P-R-X-dot-O-R-G

A. Blackout
Back in the summer of 1977, two young DJs named Disco Wiz and Grandmaster Casanova Fly were spinning records for a growing crowd on a busy street corner in the Bronx.

Around 9:30pm that night – July 13th – the city experienced a massive blackout, with power failing in all five boroughs. Looting, arson, and rioting happened across the city, but Disco Wiz and Grandmaster Casanova Fly have their own theories about how the blackout influenced the creative life of the Bronx and the birth of hip hop.

B. Love Letter to U Street
Hip hop and the Bronx. New Orleans and jazz. Detroit and house music. Art and place have always been linked in the history of black culture.

In Washington D.C., a neighborhood called the U Street Corridor used to be the center of black music, theater, and dance in the city. Everybody from James Brown to Pearl Bailey to Redd Foxx to Duke Ellington used to perform there. But then Dr. Martin Luther King was shot, and the neighborhood burned in the riots that followed his death.

D.C. poet Patrick Washington tells the story of U Street, its slow rebirth, and how it’s changed because of gentrification in the past few years.


SEGMENT C (18:59)
Incue: You're listening to State of the Re:Union
Outcue: ... to bring them back together. (music tail)


A. The Jemima Code
When Toni Tipton Martin was reporting for the L.A. Times, years ago, she noticed something about the cookbook section of the paper. There were no cookbooks by black people. “That just didn’t jive with my experience,” says Martin, who is African American herself. “It didn’t make sense to me that African Americans didn’t give any contribution at all.” So, Toni began on a search to find the voices of the African American cooks who were absent from the bookstore shelves and cookbook reviews. Every new city or town she went to, she’d visit an antiquarian bookstore, scour the shelves. And the books began to surface: usually self-published or community cookbooks, often women, but black cooks from every walk of life, from servants in 19th century homes, to the owners of Southern restaurants. She decided to launch a project she called The Jemima Code, because, at its heart, its mission was to take the image of Aunt Jemima, of black cook as unsophisticated laborer, and turn that stereotype on its head.  And what a vision of African-American culinary artistry the Jemima Code provides. Starting in 1827, and following the social arc of black history, she has the voices of cooks from just after the Civil War’s freedom, from the Harlem Renaissance, the emerging black middle class who were caterers in the early 20th century, from political dissidents in the 1960s. In this piece, Toni tells the story of the Jemima Code, and we met two of the chefs it documents, both of whom deserve more mainstream recognition for their work in the culinary arts than they’ve gotten.

B. Al’s Experience of the Arts
In this final segment of the episode, host Al Letson reflects on the importance of African-American art in his life, and in his development as an artist, himself.

PROGRAM OUT @ 59:00

Promo Transcript:  On the next State of the Re:Union Toni Tipton-Martin writes about food, and when she began researching old cookbooks written by African Americans, it upended all of the stereotypes.
“This mammie character that was flipping pancakes and taking care of the children was not the woman that was on the pages of these books.” African Americans in the culinary arts, that’s on the next State of the Re:Union.

The Power of African-American Art is available on PRX without charge to all public radio stations, and may be aired an unlimited number of times prior to January 31, 2017. The program may be streamed live on station websites but not archived. Excerpting is permitted for promotional purposes only. 

State of the Re:Union is presented by WJCT and distributed by PRX.  Major funding for the State of the Re:Union comes from CPB, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the Delores Barr Weaver Fund at The Community Foundation for Northeast Florida.

Thanks for your consideration of State of the Re:Union with Al Letson. 

 

King Stories: (Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.)

From Dorothy Green Alcorn | 54:26

King Stories is a one hour documentary of captivating stories told by close friends and associates of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Host Julian Bond, along with insiders—Ralph Abernathy, David Garrow, Dick Gregory, Mark Lane and Larry Williams—share rarely documented stories about the personal and private sides of Martin Luther King, Jr.

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King Stories  is a one hour documentary of captivating stories told by close friends and associates of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Host Julian Bond, along with insiders—Ralph Abernathy, David Garrow, Dick Gregory, Mark Lane and Larry Williams—share rarely documented stories about the personal and private sides of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Notably one of the most significant Americans in the 20th Century, Dr. King is an iconic figure. But who was the man? King Stories offers snapshots into his personality and character. We begin with Dr. King’s precocious teenage years followed by close-ups of behind the scenes accounts of day-to-day life on the road marching and protesting for American black civil rights. We hear a moving account of Dr. King’s last conversation just minutes before he was struck down by a sniper’s bullet, and the disclosures of the investigation into his murder.

State of Siege: Mississippi Whites and the Civil Rights Movement

From American Public Media | Part of the American RadioWorks: Black History series | 59:00

New! Mississippi occupies a distinct and dramatic place in the history of America’s civil rights movement. No state in the South was more resistant to the struggle for black equality. No place was more violent. Drawing on newly discovered archival audio and groundbreaking research on the civil rights era, State of Siege brings to light the extraordinary tactics whites in Mississippi used to battle integration and the lasting impact of that battle in American politics today.

State_of_siege_promo_image_prx_small Mississippi occupies a distinct and dramatic place in the history of America’s civil rights movement. No state in the South was more resistant to the struggle for black equality. No place was more violent. While the history of civil rights activists has been well documented in radio and television, the stories and strategies of their white opponents are less well known.

Using newly discovered archival audio, along with oral histories and contemporary interviews, State of Siege brings to light the extraordinary tactics whites in Mississippi used to battle integration. Their strategies ranged from organizing a massive network of citizens councils to promote white supremacy, to establishing a state-run spy agency to disrupt civil rights activism.

The program also traces the rise of the Ku Klux Klan, and illuminates the way whites came to both accommodate and defy the mandates of civil rights legislation in the mid-1960s. Ultimately, what happened during the civil rights era in Mississippi had a profound and lasting impact on American politics to the present day.

James McGrath Morris, ETHEL PAYNE: THE FIRST LADY OF THE BLACK PRESS

From Francesca Rheannon | 59:01

We talk with acclaimed biographer James McGrath Morris about his just-released biography, Ethel Payne, First Lady Of The Black Press. Few Americans today have ever heard of Ethel Payne, much less understood the giant role she played in reporting the story -- and advancing the agenda -- of the civil rights movement in America. Through Payne's riveting personal story, Morris takes the reader on an inspiring journey through the civil rights movement -- and a greater understanding of issues that continue to resonate strongly today.

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The great civil rights struggles of the mid-twentieth century, with their emphasis on non-violent political action, depended crucially on press coverage to gain impact -- and, ultimately, success. But their stories may have gone untold were it not for newspapers like the Chicago Defender and other organs of the black press. They broke the stories that the white mainstream media picked up and disseminated to a wider audience. Yet few in that wider audience even knew of the existence of the black press.

Perhaps no reporter was more important Ethel Payne. Dubbed “the First Lady of the black press,” she told the world about a young leader emerging out of the civil rights movement in Atlanta named Martin Luther King, Jr. She told the story of Emmet Till’s mother, who had to view the badly mutilated body of her 14 year old son after the brutal beating that took his life. She hammered a nail into the coffin of McCarthyism when she reported on the persecution of a lowly African-American Pentagon employee absurdly accused on being a Communist spy.

The first African American woman to be part of the Washington Press Corps, she courageously buttonholed presidents with searching questions about racial prejudice and civil rights. Unlike many of her colleagues then and now, she was no mere stenographer but held the powerful to account for their policies and views.

Yet few Americans have ever heard of Ethel Payne, much less understood the giant role she played in reporting the story -- and advancing the agenda -- of civil rights in America. Now, a terrific biography of Payne has just come out from Harper Collins, written by my guest this hour, James McGrath Morris.  Through Payne’s riveting personal story, he takes the reader on an inspiring journey through the civil rights movement -- and a greater understanding of issues that continue to resonate strongly today. The book is “Eye on the Struggle: Ethel Payne, the First Lady of the Black Press.”

In addition to Eye on the Struggle, James McGrath Morris is the author of the acclaimed biography Pulitzer: A Life in Politics, Print, and Power and two other books.

A Small Southern Town: The Nation's Capital In Slave Times

From Richard Paul | 54:10

A dramatization of the largest mass-escape of slaves in American history.

Smallsouthern_small Hear the first person accounts of people who lived in slavery; the voices of those who worked to end slavery and those who strove to keep it in "A Small Southern Town: The Nation's Capital In Slave Times." In this special designed for African American History Month, listeners will hear of one family's role in one of the largest mass escapes of slaves in American history. "A Small Southern Town" combines dramatic readings of first person accounts from slave times with modern day analysis to shed light on little known aspects of slave life and slave times in the Nation's Capital. ----------------------------------------- Richard Paul offers these suggestions for reading on subjects covered in his two-part program on slavery: * Arguing About Slavery, by William Lee Miller. Published by Alfred A. Knopf, c. 1996. Available at bookstores. * Personal Memoir of Daniel Drayton: For Four Years and Four Months A Prisoner (For Chairty's Sake) In Washington Jail including A Narrative Of the Voyage and Capture Of The Schooner Pearl. Published by Negro Universities Press, c. 1855. Available at the DC Historical Society. * Fugitives of the Pearl, by John Paynter. Published by Associated Publishers, Inc., Washington, DC, c. 1930. Available at the DC Historical Society. * The Life of Josiah Henson, Formally a Slave, Now an Inhabitant of Canada, by Josiah Henson, c. 1849. Available at the Montgomery County Historical Society. Newspaper Articles * "Uncle Tom's Montgomery County Cabin" by Michael Richman, The Washington Post, Wednesday December 10, 1997; Horizon section; Pg. H05 * "Escape on the Pearl: Years Before the Civil War, 77 Washington Slaves Made a Risky Bid for Freedom" by Mary Kay Ricks, The Washington Post, Wednesday August 12, 1998; Horizon section; pg. H01

Peace Talks Radio: Martin Luther King Jr.'s Path To Nonviolence (59:00/54:00)

From Good Radio Shows, Inc. | Part of the Peace Talks Radio: Weekly Hour Long Episodes series | 59:01

Martin Luther King Jr.'s journey to a philosophy of nonviolence and his lasting legacy as a peace proponent is recalled in interviews with his daughter, Yolanda King, and one of King's top colleagues in the civil rights movement, Dr. Dorothy Cotton. This program is also available in a 29:00 version.

Yolandaking_small IMPORTANT: Please have your local announcer read the following script before and after this show. "The following (preceding) program, featuring an interview with Yolanda King, the daughter of the late Martin Luther King Jr., was recorded in 2004. Yolanda King died, at the age of 51, May 15, 2007." PROGRAM DESCRIPTION: Two women with very close ties to Martin Luther King Jr. reflect on how King developed into one of the great moral and political philosophers of the 20th century and how his philosophies might still guide the world through troubled times today. Dr. Dorothy Cotton was the highest ranking female in the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, founded by Dr. King. From 1960 to 1972 Dr. Cotton was the educational director for SCLC and worked very closely with Dr. King. The late Yolanda King was the eldest daughter of Dr. King. She was an internationally known motivational speaker and actress whose personal mission in life was to inspire positive social change and world peace. Ms. King died in May of 2007 at the age of 51. Ms. King and Dr. Cotton were interviewed separately in 2004 by phone by show host Carol Boss. The entire program includes about 15 minutes of excerpts from talks by Dr. King, along with music by U2 ("Pride in The Name of Love") and 1960's recordings by the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee Freedom Singers. Newscast Compatible (but airing a newscast will pre-empt a compelling King speech clip). Program is split into two parts that can be run as separate half hours. The two 29 minute parts can stand alone and are separated by a minute long music bed. A 29:00 version of the program is also available on PRX: http://www.prx.org/piece/3124

2021-02-07 W.E.B. DuBois

From Philosophy Talk | Part of the Philosophy Talk series | 53:58

The life and thought of sociologist, historian, philosopher, editor, writer, and activist W.E.B. DuBois.

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W.E.B. DuBois was one of the most influential intellectuals of the twentieth century. The first African-American Ph.D. from Harvard University, DuBois died in Ghana after having renounced his American citizenship. In between he co-founded the NAACP and wrote The Souls of Black Folk (1903) as well as a number of other influential books that had a decisive impact on the development of African-American culture in the twentieth century. John and Ken discuss DuBois' life and thought with Lucius Outlaw from Vanderbilt University, author of On Race and Philosophy.

Black Solidarity

From Philosophy Talk | Part of the Philosophy Talk series | 53:59

Is there still a place for political unity among African-Americans?

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From the abolition of slavery to the Black Power movement, black unity has been considered a powerful method to achieve freedom and equality.  But does black solidarity still make sense in a supposedly post-racial era?  Or should we be moving past all racial identities and identity politics?  And how should we think about racial solidarity versus class or gender solidarity?  In celebration of Black History Month, John and Ken join forces with Tommie Shelby from Harvard University, author of We Who Are Dark: The Philosophical Foundations of Black Solidarity.

Expanding Our Origin Story (hour)

From With Good Reason | Part of the Black History Month specials series | 54:00

Cauline Yates was at a family reunion the first time she heard she was a descendant of Thomas Jefferson.

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Cauline Yates was at a family reunion the first time she heard she was a descendant of Thomas Jefferson. In 2019, she was asked to help develop the Memorial to Enslaved Laborers at the University of Virginia. With Good Reason producer Matt Darroch has the story. And: Clint Smith is the author of the award-winning book, How the Word is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America. He travels to 9 historic sites to understand how slavery is remembered and taught.

Later in the Show: Gayle Jessup White was on a tour at Monticello with her son when she raised her hand and told the guide she was related to Sally Hemings. She says it was a moment that changed her life forever. Her memoir, Reclamation: Sally Hemings, Thomas Jefferson and a Descendant’s Search for Her Family’s Lasting Legacy, chronicles her journey to uncovering her family’s roots at Monticello. Plus: Descendants recently gained structural parity at James Madison’s Montpelier. James French, a descendant himself, represents the descendant community on Montpelier’s board.