Black History Month: Editor's Picks

Table of Contents

• > Hour Specials
• > Half-Hour Specials
• > Segment-Length
• > Drop-ins

Hour+ Specials

SERIES: Then I'll Be Free To Travel Home
Eric Tait, 13 one-hour pieces

An account of the long African-American battle against northern slavery and for full, first-class citizenship.

Good Friday, 1865: Lincoln's Last Day
Craig Wichman, 58:20

The character of a country, and its President, are revealed -- as a traumatic war winds down, and eerie events presage Abraham Lincoln's own end...

Finding Solid Ground
Molly Peterson and Eve Troeh, 59:59

This documentary examines residents' sense of security in New Orleans and the Louisiana Gulf Coast after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Max Roach -- Drums Unlimited
Ben Shapiro, 53:00

Master drummer Max Roach recounts his own extraordinary journey, from the era of the Jim Crow south to the creation of modern jazz, from the civil rights years to far-reaching experiments in percussion--with thrilling music and storytelling help from friends like Dizzy Gillespie.

Can You Hear Me?
Claire Schoen, 59:00

This documentary explores the history of conflict and coalition between Blacks and Jews in America.

Making History in Massachusetts
WBUR, 59:00

A profile of Governor Deval Patrick, his history-making election and his place in the new politics of race nationally.

SERIES: Every Voice and Sing!
Eric V. Tait, Jr., 5 one-hour pieces

Five stand-alone hours on the history and music of Black college choirs.

Peace Talks Radio: Ralph Bunche - Profile in Peace
Paul Ingles/Good Radio Shows, Inc., 59:00

A conversational profile of Ralph Bunche, a sometimes overlooked figure in the world of diplomacy. Bunche negotiated tirelessly across the globe for the United Nations for over 25 years after World War II, winning a Nobel Peace Prize for peacemaking work in the Middle East and helping to bring independence from colonial rule to many Africans and Asians.

Humankind: Meeting Hate With Love -- Stories of King and Gandhi
David Freudberg, 58:55

Explorations on the non-violence philosophies shared by King and Gandhi.

The Undiscovered Explorer: Imagining York
Oregon Public Broadcasting, 58:55

Narrated by Danny Glover, this documentary explores the making of an American myth.

A Huey P. Newton Story
L.A. Theatre Works, 118:00

A stunning solo portrait of the Black Panther Party leader.

Louis Armstrong's New Orleans, with Wynton Marsalis
Joe Bevilacqua, 58:30

Black History Month Special!

A Small Southern Town: The Nation's Capital In Slave Times
Richard Paul, 60:00

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

Maya Angelou & Guy Johnson - Mother and Son Poets become themselves
West Coast Live - Sedge Thomson, 44:45

Mother and son poets meet to talk about the courage of poetry, the pleasures of red rice and language.

Barbara Jordan.

Mandela: An Audio History (Hour Version)
Radio Diaries, 59:00

This is a one hour version of the series, Mandela: An Audio History, which was originally broadcast as a 5-part series on All Things Considered. The host introducton is by Desmond Tutu.

Martin Luther King Jr.'s Path To Nonviolence (59:00 Version)
Paul Ingles/Good Radio Shows, Inc, 59:00

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.

Half-Hour Specials

Lynching's End?: the Great 1930 Texas Courthouse Race Riot
Alan Lipke, 29:30

Mob madness leads to a pivotal feminist protest during the dark days of Jim Crow racism.

Sixteenth Street Baptist Church bombing explored in Sena Jeter Naslund's "Four Spirits"
New Letters on the Air, 29:00

Sena Jeter Naslund conjures the spirits of the four girls killed in the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham, AL, in her novel FOUR SPIRITS, and discusses what it was like to grow up there at that time.

Poet Cornelius Eady recreates Mr. Zero in the Susan Smith drownings
New Letters on the Air, 29:00

Poet Cornelius Eady reads from his acclaimed 2001 collection, BRUTAL IMAGINATION, about the fictional black man whom Susan Smith, the mother who drowned her children in a South Carolina lake, accused of the murders.

House of the Lord
Helen Borten, 29:00

The history of a black church on an antebellum plantation and how it was saved from destruction.

A Shortcut To The Mountaintop
Peter Bochan, 30:00

A tribute to Martin Luther King Jr, featuring many of his most famous speeches mixed with music.

Improving Race Relations: An African-American Perspective (Peace Talks Radio Series)
Good Radio Shows, Inc. / Paul Ingles, 29:00

A panel of three African-Americans reflect on their greatest challenges and successes in resolving racial conflict throughout their lives.

W. E. B. Du Bois.

What's the Word? W. E. B. Du Bois
Sally Placksin, 29:00

An exploration of the life, work, and lasting influence of African American teacher, author, and activist W. E. B. Du Bois.

Martin Luther King Jr.'s Path To Nonviolence -29:00 Version (Peace Talks Radio Series)
Paul Ingles / Good Radio Shows, Inc., 29:00

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 59:00 version.

Segment

Chasing After the Hurricane: A Personal Look Into the Life of Rubin "Hurricane" Carter - After the Movie
Nisean Lorde, 14:08

A personal insight into the life of former boxer Rubin "Hurricane" Carter - his life after the blockbuster hit movie.

Toilet Paper Scrap Chronicles Civil Rights Ordeal
Brian Bull, 07:26

A six-foot piece of jail-grade toilet paper from 1963 captures Civil Rights struggle.

Zora Neale Hurston.

Water Woman
Imakhu Mwt Shekemet, 12:58

Popular storyteller Imakhu Mwt Shekemet's contemporary version of Afro-Brazillian folktale, "Mae de Agua."

Ashe!: "Embracing Individuality"
Imakhu Mwt Shekemet, 11:23

In spite of rape, domestic violence, and emotional repression, Imakhu Mwt Shekemet has proudly embraced her strength and individuality as a Black woman of unique consciousness.

Health: Transplant Discrimination
KALW News, 08:22

Feature profiling a black man awaiting a kidney transplant.

Jeff in Boston: Halfrican
Radio Diaries, 13:00

More and more these days Jeff finds himself thinking about race and being forced to answer the question "What are you?"

Black Tension
Hana Baba, 07:41

A look at the sometimes tension-filled relationship between African immigrants and Black Americans.

Herbie Hancock Interview
JR Valrey and Malcolm Marshall, 18:18

JR interviews the legendary Herbie Hancock.

Living Flag
Damali Ayo and Dmae Roberts, 08:10

Street performance piece with Artist Damali Ayo as she panhandles around the country to create dialogue about reparations for slavery.

SERIES: Mandela: An Audio History
Radio Diaries, 5 13-minute segments

The story of South Africa's struggle against apartheid.

The '63 March: Going to D.C.
WGBH Radio Boston, 07:03

The first in a five-part radio series focusing on the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. The leaders demanded an end to segregation and employment discrimination.

The '63 March : Convergence on the Capitol
WGBH Radio Boston, 07:24

The second in a five-part radio series focusing on the 1963 March on Washington. The demonstrations were viewed suspiciously by Congress and by some members of the American public, but the demonstrators were determined to be seen and heard.

The '63 March: The Aftermath
WGBH Radio Boston, 07:33

The fourth in a five-part radio series focusing on the 1963 March on Washington. Empowered by the march and stirring speeches from civic leaders and Hollywood actors, marchers pledged to return home to fight for civil and economic rights. Yet it would be another year before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was signed into law.

The '63 March: Forty Years Later
WGBH Radio Boston, 07:43

The fifth in a five-part radio series focusing on the 1963 March on Washington. For some who were there, memories of the March on Washington remain vivid. But not everyone sees the events and lessons of that day in the same light.

Drop-Ins

Navigating in Nebraska
Lawrence Lanahan, 05:24

Two years ago, 166 Hurricane Katrina evacuees from New Orleans ended up in Omaha, Nebraska. Two years out, one man is trying hard--perhaps too hard--to help them get back on their feet.

SERIES: Journey's End: The Memories and Traditions of Daisy Turner and her Family
Vermont Folklife Center Media, 20 drop-ins

In this Peabody Award winning (1990) documentary series, Daisy Turner of Grafton, Vermont recounts family stories from her life and the life of her father, Alec who was born a slave on a Virginia plantation.

Black Classical Masters series: "Lift Every Voice and Sing"
David Person, 05:00

A series of four short programs that examine the song known as the Black national anthem.

Malcolm X.

Can Assassins Really Kill You?
Paul McDonald, 02:02

One white boy's recollections of Dr. King and Malcolm X.

Barbara Jordan Speech on Watergate and the Constitution
KUT, 08:44

July 25th marks the anniversary of one of the great speeches in American history. It was given by a freshman Congresswoman from Texas, Barbara Jordan, the first black woman from the South elected to Congress.

MLK Was a Working-Class Hero
Dick Meister, 03:11

A commentary noting that Martin Luther King Jr. was one of the staunchest and most effective supporters working Americans have ever had.

Commentary: A Porter Who Fought for Equality
Dick Meister, 02:57

A commentary about C.L. Delliums of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, one of the country's key labor and civil rights leaders for more than 60 years.

A Prohibition
Terin Mayer, 04:27

Three students reflect on what it means to be "Black" at Carleton College.

Keeping Poverty on the Front Page
WNPR, 02:21

Why were experienced journalists so stunned that most of those left behind in flooded New Orleans were poor and black?

The White Before Christmas
Imakhu Mwt Shekemet, 04:04

Spoof: The urban youth version of "The Night Before Christmas."

Experiences With The "N" Word
Paul McDonald, 03:33

A double standard still exists for this racial epithet.

Katrina, Race, and High School
Bly Lauritano-Werner, 04:15

Hurricane Katrina led Blunt Youth Radio Project producer, Bly Lauritano-Werner to take a second look at the roles race and class play in her high school.

"Identity in this Society" by Sean Reed
Breeze Luetke-Stahlman, 02:09

The first performance by Chicago teenager Sean Reed, here he reads about his perception of integrity and how it relates to identity - a wonderful poem about the complexities of identity in America, especially for a young black male.

© 2007, The Public Radio Exchange