Peniel E. Joseph – “Stokely: A Life”

Stokely Carmichael made history one humid night in 1966 when he stepped onto a Mississippi stage and called for “Black Power.” Neither his life nor the civil rights movement would be the same after that speech. Peniel E. Joseph, a history professor at Tufts University, offers a revealing portrait of the controversial and charismatic activist in his new biography, “Stokely: A Life.”

Thomas Brothers – “Louis Armstrong: Master of Modernism”

In 1922, a 21-year-old trumpeter from New Orleans named Louis Armstrong boarded a train to Chicago, where he hoped to find his big break in the music business. Over the next decade, he made his mark, not by finding his big break in music, but by, in effect, breaking music. Armstrong’s talent and virtuosity broke all the established rules of the industry. Thomas Brothers, a music professor at Duke University, describes Armstrong’s work and influence, during what was perhaps the most important decade in jazz, in a new book, “Louis Armstrong: Master of Modernism”.

George Johnson – Sports Drill

In his 3-minute sports drill, George Johnson offers his take on an NFL committee’s proposal to implement a 15-yard penalty against players who use racial and homophobic slurs on the field.

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Garance Franke-Ruta – “My Brother’s Keeper”

During his State of the Union speech, President Obama announced his new initiative pairing foundations and corporations with young men of color in an effort to help them reach their full potential. This week, the president unveiled that initiative, called “My Brother’s Keeper”, at an event held at the White House. Garance Franke-Ruta, the Washington editor for Yahoo! News, joins us to discuss the new initiative.

A Sorry Moment in the History of American Media

A recent report from the advocacy group, Free Press, found that there are no Black-owned and operated full-power television stations in the U.S. today. Eight years ago, there were 18—and while that number represented just 1.3 percent of all U.S. TV stations, it was, at least, a presence. Joseph Torres, senior external affairs director for Free Press, joins us to explain why Black-owned stations have disappeared.

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Memories Of The Movement, Hour One — Part One

Dr. Freeman Hrabowski: Alabama native and current university president recalls how he became a child leader in the movement. Danny Glover: Award-winning actor connects his own emergence as an activist to bearing witness to the movement. Eleanor Holmes Norton: The DC congresswoman was part of the movement’s most turbulent days as a young law student in Mississippi.

Memories Of The Movement, Hour One — Part Two

Rev. Jesse Jackson, Sr.: Rainbow/Push Coalition founder recalls the events that led him to take a pivotal role in the movement. Dr. Raye Richardson: Owner of the nation’s oldest surviving Black bookstore recalls her struggles against segregation. Yuri Kochiyama: Activist remembers the fear and excitement she experienced when meeting Malcolm X. Rep. John Lewis: Civil rights hero remembers the fight he helped wage for the Voting Rights Act and the struggle’s renewed significance…

Memories Of The Movement, Hour One — Part Three

Dorothy Tillman: Former student organizer recalls the climate that led her to join the movement. Robert Graetz: One of the few white Christian ministers tied to the movement recalls his friendship with Rosa Parks. Harry Belafonte: Legendary actor and close confidante to Dr. King recalls his friend’s sense of humor amid the turmoil. Andrew Young: Former ambassador and King associate recalls meeting with President Johnson in the days before the signing of the Civil Rights Act of 1968. Elizabeth Eckford and Jefferson Thomas: As youngsters, they helped integrate Little Rock’s Central High School as part of the famous “Little Rock Nine”. Dick Gregory: Legendary comedian says the courage of the men and women who were active in the movement is no laughing…

Kenneth Braswell – How Will Obama Help Young Men of Color?

In his State of the Union speech, President Obama announced a White House initiative, called “My Brother’s Keeper”, to pair foundations and corporations with young men of color to help them reach their full potential. Kenneth Braswell, executive director of Fathers Incorporated, a nonprofit agency that works to develop support and services for fathers, shares his thoughts on the initiative and what the president needs to do to ensure its success. Read Kenneth Braswell’s State of the Union report…

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Edgar Barens – “Prison Terminal: The Last Days of Private Jack Hall”

Twenty percent of America’s prison population is elderly. And in the next decade, nearly 100,000 inmates will die alone in their cells. One maximum security prison created a hospice program to care for dying inmates. The documentary, “Prison Terminal: The Last Days of Private Jack Hall”, follows one inmate as he approaches his final days. The film’s director, Edgar Barens, joins us to discuss his Oscar-nominated short film.

Bill Fletcher Jr. – Traveling Through Palestine

Last month, a small delegation of African American artists traveled through Israel and Palestine to get a firsthand look at the daily lives of Palestinians. What they saw shocked and angered them, and their eyewitness accounts are sure to spark debate here as heated as any confrontation in the Middle East. Bill Fletcher Jr., senior scholar with the Institute for Policy Studies, led the delegation and shares his perspective on the region. On the Ugly Side of the Wall By Bill Fletcher, Jr. “It felt like being in a huge prison.” That was how I responded to questions I was asked after leading a delegation of African Americans on a visit to the occupied Palestinian territories this past January. Yes, there are other ways of describing the experience. The land is beautiful; the people are generous; and with every glance, one sees reminders of a history dating back thousands of…

Isabel Allende – “Ripper”

Isabel Allende started her career as a prominent journalist in her native Chile. She became a political refugee after her cousin, Chilean president Salvador Allende, was overthrown and killed in a coup in 1973. As an exile in Venezuela, she reinvented herself into a human rights activist and author. More than 30 years later, she’s internationally renowned for her work. She joins us to discuss her latest book, “Ripper”.

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Douglas Egerton – “The Wars of Reconstruction”

In 1870, there were some 1,500 African American officeholders in the United States, including a U.S. Senator, several Congressmen, many state legislators, and a state Supreme Court justice. Yet in less than 20 years, African Americans were almost entirely chased out of elected office. Douglas Egerton, a history professor at Le Moyne College in Syracuse, NY, looks at the subject in a new book, “The Wars of Reconstruction: The Brief, Violent History of America’s Most Progressive Era”.

A Tribute to Pete Seeger

Pete Seeger, one of the pioneers of folk music, died this week at the age of 94. He penned iconic songs like “Turn, Turn, Turn” and “If I Had a Hammer”. But he may best be known for popularizing the old spiritual, “We Shall Overcome”. He introduced the song to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1957, and it went on to become a civil rights anthem. We revisit a 2012 conversation with Seeger from the “Smiley & West” radio show.

Cristina Finch – Femicide in Latin America

During the last decade, there has been an epidemic of murder against women in Latin America simply because of their gender. The phenomenon is called “femicide”. The violence against victims is often brutal, with women’s bodies typically dumped in alleys, parks, or on the side of the road. Cristina Finch, managing director of Amnesty International USA’s Women’s Human Rights Program, tells us what’s being done about the murders of women and girls.

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Camilo José Vergara – “Harlem: The Unmaking of a Ghetto”

In 1970, award-winning photographer Camilo José Vergara took to the streets of Harlem to document the gradual collapse of a community. As he photographed the iconic New York district over the next 43 years, Harlem evolved from a decaying ghetto into a thriving multicultural neighborhood. Vergara joins us to discuss his latest volume of photography, “Harlem: The Unmaking of a Ghetto”. Copyright Jose Camilo Vergara, from Harlem: The Unmaking of a Ghetto, published by the University of Chicago Press. All rights…

Jeanne Theoharis – “The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks”

Civil rights icon Rosa Parks didn’t make national headlines until she refused to move to the back of a Montgomery, Alabama bus in 1955, but she had already spent years in an often dangerous struggle for civil rights. Professor Jeanne Theoharis of Brooklyn College at the City University of New York joins us to discuss “The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks”, her new biography of the civil rights icon.

J. Peter Pham – Cease-fire in South Sudan

This week, a cease-fire was declared in the violent conflict in South Sudan that has left 10,000 civilians dead and 200,000 displaced since mid-December. The question now is whether the fragile peace between the opposing sides will hold. J. Peter Pham, director of the Africa Center at the Atlantic Council, joins us to discuss the conflict.

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Neera Tanden – “A Woman’s Nation Pushes Back from the Brink”

“A Woman’s Nation Pushes Back from the Brink”, a study released this week by The Shriver Report and the Center for American Progress, found that one in three American women lives in or near poverty. Neera Tanden, president of the Center for American Progress, joins us to discuss the study’s findings.

Kshama Sawant and Karen Kubby – Socialist Elected Officials

Kshama Sawant made history this year when she was sworn in to the Seattle City Council as an avowed socialist. She joins us to talk about how her socialist agenda fits into a capitalist society. We also hear from Karen Kubby, a former council member in Iowa City, who talks about her 11-year tenure as the council’s lone socialist.

Maj. Neill Franklin – Legalizing Drugs in America

On January 1, Colorado became the first state in the nation to permit legal sales of marijuana for recreational use. Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP), an organization that supports legalizing drugs, hopes more states will follow. The executive director of LEAP, retired police major Neill Franklin, joins us to explain why.

Sterlin Harjo and Dr. Hugh Foley – “This May Be the Last Time”

In 1962, filmmaker Sterlin Harjo’s grandfather disappeared from the town of Sasakwa, OK. As the Native American community searched for the missing man, they sang the hymns their ancestors sang while being forced out West along The Trail of Tears. Harjo joins us to discuss his documentary, “This May Be The Last Time”. Dr. Hugh Foley, professor of cinema and Native American Studies at Rogers State University, also joins us the discussion to offer a historical…

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“In the first hour of our special two-hour conversation on poverty in America, panelists Sasha Abramsky, Jessica Bartholow, Greg Kaufmann, and Amy Sosa discuss efforts to increase the minimum wage, the role of organized labor in easing poverty, sporadic employment and long-term unemployment, cuts in SNAP benefits, and the demonization of the poor, among other topics.”

 


 
“Our special two-hour conversation on poverty in America with panelists Sasha Abramsky, Jessica Bartholow, Greg Kaufmann, and Amy Sosa concludes with more discussion of the issues and personal stories surrounding poverty in America, 50 years after President Lyndon B. Johnson’s War on Poverty initiatives.”

 


 
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