| EXPECTATIONS
OF FREEDOM
To The Best of Our Knowledge
from Wisconsin Public Radio
James Hood had a dream. He wanted to go to college
and get an education. But there was a problem. Hood was a black
man in segregated Alabama in 1963. In this hour of To the Best
of Our Knowledge, a variety of views and opinions from Black
Americans on their expectations of freedom. We'll talk with James
Hood about integrating the University of Alabama. Also, one black
writer declares the end of blackness.
SEGMENT 1:
Historian John D'Emilio is the author of
"Lost Prophet: The Life and Times of Bayard Rustin."
D'Emilio tells Jim Fleming that Rustin was crucial to the civil
rights movement but has been forgotten because he was gay. Also,
Michael Thelwell was a life-long friend of Stokely Carmichael
and collaborated with him on his autobiography, "Ready for
Revolution." Thelwell speaks with Steve Paulson about Carmichael's
life and legacy, and we hear excerpts from some of Carmichael's
famous addresses.
SEGMENT 2:
Anne Strainchamps reports on the women of
Gee's Bend. These Black quilt-makers formed a collective which
has parlayed their traditional work into a highly successful and
fashionable business. There are books and museum exhibitions of
the quilts from Gee's Bend. Anne explores how becoming hugely
successful has changed the women's lives and their self-perceptions.
SEGMENT 3:
James Hood is the retired Dean of the Madison
Area Technical College. His forthcoming memoir is called "Goodbye
George." In it, and in this piece, Hood recalls what it was
like to be among the first Black teenagers to attend the University
of Alabama during the administration of George Wallace. And we
hear some of President Kennedy's address to the nation from June
11, 1963. And, Debra Dickerson is the author of "The
End of Blackness." She tells Steve Paulson she knows first
hand that systemic racism still exists in America. Her response
to it can't be pigeon-holed and is controversial in the Black
Community.
Cassette copies are available
at 1-800-747-7444. Ask for program number 04-05-23-A.
................................................................
Books:
- Stokely Carmichael with Ekwueme
Michael Thelwell, Ready for Revolution: Life and Struggles
of Stokely Carmichael (Kwame Ture) (Scribner)
- John D'Emilio, Lost Prophet: The
Life and Times of Bayard Rustin (Free Press)
- Debra Dickerson, The End of Blackness
(Pantheon Books)
Music:
- HOW WE GOT OVER: THE SACRED
SONGS OF GEE'S BEND. Tinwood Media.
- Charles Mingus. PITHECANTHROPUS ERECTUS. Atlantic.
- ADBUSTERS: LIVE WITHOUT DEAD TIME. Adbusters.
- VOICES OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT: BLACK AMERICAN
FREEDOM SONGS 1960-1966. Smithsonian Folkways.
Videos:
- BROTHER OUTSIDER: THE LIFE OF
BAYARD RUSTIN (2003).Question Why Films.
- CRISIS (1963). New Video DVD (2003).
Distribution dates:
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Questions and comments can
be addressed to: flemingj@wpr.org
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