African Americans--Civil rights
Documentary Exposes How The FBI Tried To Destroy MLK With Wiretaps, Blackmail
From the March on Washington in 1963 up until his assassination in 1968, the FBI engaged in an intense campaign to discredit Martin Luther King Jr. and his work. Film director Sam Pollard chronicles those efforts in the new documentary, MLK/FBI.
Black Power Scholar Illustrates How MLK And Malcolm X Influenced Each Other
In his book, The Sword and the Shield: The Revolutionary Lives of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr., Peniel Joseph braids together the lives of the two civil rights leaders. He says that King and Malcolm X had "convergent visions" for Black America — but their strategies for how to reach the goal was informed by their different upbringings.
Actor André Holland Explores: 'Where I Fit, How I Fit, If I Fit'
Best known for his roles in Moonlight and Castle Rock, Holland has a starring role in a new radio version of Shakespeare's Richard II. Originally broadcast in 2018.
'Fresh Air' Listens Back To James Baldwin And Documentary Filmmaker Raoul Peck
In 1986, Terry Gross interviewed Baldwin, one of the most influential black writers of the civil rights era. Then, in 2017, she spoke to Peck, director of I Am Not Your Negro, about Baldwin.
Actor André Holland Explores: 'Where I Fit, How I Fit, If I Fit'
Andre Holland grew up in Alabama and he draws on those roots for his roles.
How Black Leaders Unwittingly Contributed To The Era Of Mass Incarceration
In Locking Up Our Own, Pulitzer Prize-winning author James Forman Jr. argues that African-American leaders helped shape policies that harmed black communities. Originally broadcast July 17, 2017.
Pullman Porters, Creating A Black Middle Class
In his book Rising from the Rails, journalist Larry Tye examines the social history of the African-American men who provided service to railroad passengers traveling in George Pullman's sleeping cars.
Fresh Air Pays Tribute To The 50th Anniversary Of Bloody Sunday
On March 7, 1965, marchers from Selma, Ala., attempted to cross a bridge to demonstrate in support of voting rights. Selma director Ava DuVernay, John Lewis and J.L. Chestnut reflect on that day.
The Sounds, Space And Spirit Of 'Selma': A Director's Take
Ava DuVernay's new film dramatizes a turning point in civil rights history. She says she wanted to "elevate [Selma] from a page in your history book and really just get ... into your DNA."
50 Years Ago, Students Fought For Black Rights During 'Freedom Summer.'
A PBS documentary about the 1964 movement to get blacks to vote in Mississippi airs Tuesday. Freedom Summer director Stanley Nelson and organizer Charles Cobb discuss the dangers the students faced.