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Coming of Age in the Era After the Civil Rights Movement.

Journalist and author Veronica Chambers. Her new memoir, "Mama's Girl" (Riverhead Books), describes her ascent from childhood poverty into the middle class. Growing up in the 1970s in Brooklyn and Los Angeles, Chambers struggled to ease the strain on her single mother and to help her brother stay out of trouble. She overcame racial stereotypes by excelling in the gifted and talented program in school and graduating from college at the age of 20. She is a former editor of the New York Times Magazine and a frequent contributor to Essence, Seventeen and the New York Times Book Review.

37:53
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Other segments from the episode on June 26, 1996

Fresh Air with Terry Gross, June 26, 1996: Interview with Veronica Chambers; Interview with David Bianculli.
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13:53

"The Dictionary of Teleliteracy" with David Bianculli.

Fresh Air's TV critic, David Bianculli. His new book is "The Dictionary of Teleliteracy: Television's 500 Biggest Hits, Misses, and Events" (Continuum). It explores the shows and events that have had the biggest impact--good and bad--on American culture. From the funeral of JFK to Hee Haw, the book provides background and context for the America's most memorable TV moments. Bianculli also reviews television for the New York Daily News.

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Unearthing a Family Tree's Diverse Roots

Journalist, novelist and playwright Thulani Davis traces her roots in My Confederate Kinfolk: a Twenty-First Century Freedwoman Discovers Her Roots. Among the revelations Davis uncovered was that her ancestors include a Scots-Irish clan of cotton planters as well as Africans from Sierra Leone.

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