Civil Rights

Belafonte starred in films and helped popularize calypso music in the U.S. in the 1950s. In the '60s he became a civil rights activist. He died April 25. Originally broadcast in 1993.

Russell, who died July 31, led the Boston Celtics to 11 NBA titles. He was also the first Black head coach in the NBA and a civil rights activist. Originally broadcast in 2001.

The film One Night in Miami imagines a night in 1964 where Cooke, Clay, Malcolm X and Jim Brown meet. We listen back to interviews with biographers Peter Guralnick, Jonathan Eig and Alex Haley.

Trotter was a Black newspaper editor in the early 20th century who advocated for civil rights by organizing mass protests. Historian Kerri Greenidge tells his story. Originally broadcast January 2021.

Trotter was a Black newspaper editor in the early 20th century who advocated for civil rights by organizing mass protests. Historian Kerri Greenidge tells his story in her new book.

Adam Jentleson traces the history of the filibuster, which started as a tool of Southern senators upholding slavery and then later became a mechanism to block civil rights legislation.

In 24 states new voting restrictions have been implemented, disproportionately affecting minorities; 7 states are trying to expand voting rights. We'll talk about voting rights, and voting restrictions with journalist Ari Berman.

James Forman Jr., son of civil rights activists, says that African-American leaders seeking to combat drugs and crime often supported policies that disproportionately targeted the black community.

Author Sheryll Cashin's talks about the Loving v. Virginia ruling, which overturned state laws prohibiting interracial marriage. Cashin grew up the child of civil rights activists in Huntsville, Ala

Kylar Broadus is a lawyer and activist and the first openly transgender person to testify before the U.S. Senate.

Greenberg, who died Wednesday, was the last surviving attorney to argue the cases that led to the Brown v. Board of Education school desegregation decision. Originally broadcast in 1994 and 2004.

Adam Liptak, who covers the Supreme Court for The New York Times, says that in the years Chief Justice John Roberts has led the court, his patient and methodical approach has allowed him to establish a robustly conservative record.

John Hope Franklin died March 25 at the age of 94. As a historian, scholar, and activist Franklin advanced African-American causes throughout his career. Fresh Air remembers the historian and scholar with an interview from 1990.

Blurring the line between church and state threatens civil liberties and privacy, says former president Jimmy Carter. That's the case he makes in his new book, Our Endangered Values: America's Moral Crisis.

A talk about the Pentagon's Total Information Awareness Program, and other post-Sept. 11 security measures. The Total Information Awareness Program would allow federal agencies to share information about American citizens and aliens through the mining of databases from driver's licenses, bank statements, telephone records and more. Lawyer David Cole thinks such measures violate the American tradition of civil liberties.

Historian and author Deborah Gray White has compiled a new history of black women and their struggle against racism and male chauvinism. It's called "Too Heavy a Load: Black Women in Defense of Themselves 1894-1994" (W.W. Norton) White is a professor of history at Rutgers University and the co-director of the Rutgers Center for Historical Analysis.

Washington Post investigative reporter Jim McGee has co-written with Brian Duffy the new book "Main Justice: The Men And Women Who Enforce The Nation's Criminal Laws And Guard Its Liberties." It's about the changing role of the U.S. Justice Department. As the fears of terrorism increase, Congress and the White House are giving the Justice Department more investigative powers and a wider jurisdiction which include sanctions in foreign countries.

Author and journalist, Marshall Frady. His new book is "Jesse: The Life and Pilgrimage of Jesse Jackson (Random House). The book tells the story of Jackson's ambitious life, from his illegitimate birth in poverty stricken South Carolina through his years working with Martin Luther King and his unprecedented runs for the presidency. Frady writes about political figures and social and racial tensions in the United States for the New Yorker. His first two biographies were about George Wallace and Billy Graham.

Actor Tom Hulce. He was nominated for an Oscar for his portrayal of Mozart in the movie "Amadeus," and for a Golden Globe for his role as brain-damaged garbage man in "Dominick & Eugene." More recently, Hulce played the black-sheep of the family in "Parenthood." Next week, Hulce stars in "Murder in Mississippi," a made-for-TV movie about the freedom summer.

The performer, composer, and professor is one of bop's progenitors. He continues to innovate with his Double Quartet, which incorporates strings into a more conventional jazz combo. He became an activist during the civil rights movement, and often incorporated his politics into his music.