African-American History Topics

Mlk

Democracy Now! stories, posts and pages that relate to African-American History

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  • Lumumba

    Civil Rights Veteran Chokwe Lumumba Elected Mayor of Jackson, Miss., Once a Center of Racial Abuses

    Just days before the 50th anniversary of the assassination of Medgar Evers in Jackson, Mississippi, the city’s voters have elected longtime black nationalist organizer and attorney Chokwe Lumumba to become mayor. Describing himself as a "Fannie Lou Hamer Democrat," Lumumba surprised many political observers by winning the Democratic primary, despite being outspent five to one. He went on to easily win this week’s general...
    Jun 06, 2013 | Story
  • Assata_shakur_2

    Assata Shakur in Her Own Words: Rare Recording of Activist Named to FBI Most Wanted Terrorists List

    The FBI has added the former Black Panther Assata Shakur to its Most Wanted Terrorists list 40 years after the killing for which she was convicted. Born Joanne Chesimard, Shakur was found guilty of shooting dead a New Jersey state trooper during a gunfight in 1973. Shakur has long proclaimed her innocence and accused federal authorities of political persecution. She escaped from prison in 1979 and received political asylum in Cuba. On Thursday,...
    May 03, 2013 | Story
  • Davis_and_lenox

    Angela Davis and Assata Shakur's Lawyer Denounce FBI's Adding of Exiled Activist to Terrorists List

    One day after the exiled former Black Panther Assata Shakur became the first woman named to the FBI’s Most Wanted Terrorists list, we’re joined by another legendary African-American activist, Angela Davis, as well as Shakur’s longtime attorney, Lennox Hinds. Davis, a professor at the University of California, Santa Cruz, is the subject of the recent film, "Free Angela and All Political Prisoners." She argues that the...
    May 03, 2013 | Story
  • Mareshia_rucker_brandon_davis

    "Love Has No Color": Georgia High School Students Set to Hold First Integrated Prom

    A group of Georgia high school students are making history by challenging the segregation of their high school prom. Thanks to their efforts and the support of groups like the NAACP, Wilcox County High will hold its first-ever integrated prom this Saturday, nearly 60 years after Brown v. Board of Education desegregated the nation’s school system. In the past, the proms have been organized by private groups, and parents behind the "white...
    Apr 26, 2013 | Story
  • Ali

    "The Trials of Muhammad Ali": Boxing Champ's Refusal to Serve in Vietnam Was the Fight of His Life

    In a broadcast exclusive, we air excerpts from a new documentary that examines the struggle Muhammad Ali faced in his conversion to Islam, his refusal to fight in Vietnam, and the years of exile that followed before his eventual return to the ring. Ali is considered the greatest boxer in the history of sports. When he refused to be drafted into the military and filed as a conscientious objector, he was sentenced to prison and stripped of his heavyweight...
    Apr 26, 2013 | Story
  • Mlk

    On 45th Anniversary of His Death, Martin Luther King Jr. on the Power of Media and the Horror of War

    Forty-five years ago today, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated on the balcony of his hotel room at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. Dr. King was in Memphis to march with sanitation workers demanding a better wage. We air part of a speech he gave to the National Association of Radio Announcers the previous year in Atlanta, Georgia. Dr. King spoke about the power of the media and the horrors of war in Vietnam. [includes rush transcript]
    Apr 04, 2013 | Story
  • Claudette_colvin_then_and_now

    The Other Rosa Parks: Now 73, Claudette Colvin Was First to Refuse Giving Up Seat on Montgomery Bus

    At a ceremony unveiling a statue in her honor last month, President Obama called Rosa Parks’ refusal to give up her seat on a Montgomery, Alabama, city bus a "singular act of disobedience." But nine months before Parks’ historic action, a 15-year-old teenager named Claudette Colvin did the very same thing. She was arrested, and her case led to the U.S. Supreme Court’s order for the desegregation of Alabama’s bus...
    Mar 29, 2013 | Story
  • Will-book-thumb

    Cheryl Wills on Her Family's Path from Slavery to Freedom & Legacy of Chinua Achebe on African Americans

    In our extended discussion with Cheryl Wills, NY1 anchor and author of "Die Free: A Heroic Family Tale," she discusses the legacy of slavery, and the impact of Nigerian literary icon Chinua Achebe on African Americans’ pride in their history. We also play an excerpt of Morgan Freeman reading the words of Frederick Douglass that inspired the title of Wills’ book. [includes rush transcript]
    Mar 26, 2013 | Web Exclusive
  • Cheryl_willis-2

    "Die Free: A Heroic Family Tale": Cheryl Wills Uncovers Family's History from Slavery to Freedom

    In this year marking the 150th anniversary year of the Emancipation Proclamation, we speak to NY1 anchor Cheryl Wills, who uncovered the story of her great-great-great-grandparents, Sandy and Emma Wills. Sandy was a slave who escaped from his master and joined the United States Colored Troops to fight in the Civil War. Wills based her book, "Die Free: A Heroic Family Tale," on thousands of documents from the National Archives. The book’s...
    Mar 26, 2013 | Story
  • Albert_woodfox

    After 40 Years in Solitary, Angola 3 Prisoner Albert Woodfox Ordered Freed for 3rd Time in Louisiana

    A federal judge has once again ordered the state of Louisiana to release Albert Woodfox, a former Black Panther who has spent more than 40 years in solitary confinement. Woodfox and Herman Wallace, another prisoner of the "Angola 3," were convicted of murdering a guard at Angola Prison. The Angola 3 and their supporters say they were framed for their political activism. On Tuesday, the same federal judge that ordered Woodfox’s...
    Feb 28, 2013 | Story