“Social justice… you see… the oppressors always underestimate the oppressed and the oppressed almost always overestimate the oppressor.”

~ Cesar Chavez (1927 – 1993)

From the first days of slavery to our own modern era, agribusiness by whatever name — mechanized or otherwise — has profited from the suppression of the labor force it has sought to marginalize. It is, indeed, the grapes of wrath which have historically been the primary harvest of those who toil in the fields to bring food to American tables.

When Cesar Chavez, himself a migrant laborer, rose to suggest publicly the notion of empowerment for these workers, small wonder a wave of cold fear and anger swept through the growers and politicians for whom the status quo represented wealth and power.

This week, on From the Vault we present a 1992 talk Cesar Chavez gave at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University recorded by Radio Free Maine. Here, Chavez relates a story of courage and commitment – the role of boycotts in attaining greater social justice in American society – in a recording entitled Reflections of Social Justice.

Pacifica Affiliate Programmers can find this program available for broadcast download at www.audioport.org. Password required.

Archival recordings used in this program, Remembering Cesar Chavez:

SZ0762 Cesar Chavez: Reflections of Social Justice MORE INFO

RELATED MATERIALS:

BC1785 The Grape Strike in Coachella MORE INFO

PZ0214.01 The Delano Crusade / Cesar Chavez MORE INFO

BB2423 Delano Now / Delores C. Huerta MORE INFO

Click here to purchase a copy of this program or learn more about and purchase copies of the historic archival recordings used within this episode. To purchase a CD copy of this program by phone, please call Pacifica Radio Archives at 800.735.0230 x 262.

Click here to send an email to From the Vault.

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“For all at last returns to the sea — to Oceanus, the ocean river, like the everflowing stream of time, the beginning and the end.”

~ Rachel Carson (1907 – 1964)

In 1852, Harriet Beecher Stowe’s seminal work Uncle Tom’s Cabin put a national spotlight on the institution of slavery, helping to significantly cripple and eventually abolish the cruel practice.

Fifty-four years later, Upton Sinclair’s novel The Jungle shed light on the grisly secrets of U.S. meat production in the same way, leading to a revolution of standards for production, processing, and distribution of food.

And sixty years after Upton Sinclair, another author managed to awaken the nation (and the world) in a single volume: Silent Spring. In it, marine biologist Rachel Carson predicted the death of the natural world, caused in large part by the “miracle” pesticide DDT, and the greedy chemical industry that relentlessly promoted it; indeed, Rachel Carson’s book inspired a massive environmental movement that today resonates stronger than ever.

So, as Rachel Carson’s 100th birthday rememberence approaches in May, From the Vault pays tribute to this amazing and inspirational scientist and writer, through archival recordings of Carson in her own voice, and through the voices of those she inspired, like Cesar Chavez, Delores Huerta, Upton Sinclair, Eugene Coan, and David Brower.

Pacifica Affiliate Programmers can find this program available for broadcast download at www.audioport.org. Password required.

Archival recordings used in this program, From the Vault: Rachel Carson and Silent Spring:

BB0430 Rachel Carson: A Memorial Appreciation MORE INFO

BB2007 Changing America / Upton Sinclair MORE INFO

BB3147 Cesar Chavez at City College MORE INFO

IZ0493.08 Talkin’ Union: An Interview with Dolores Huerta MORE INFO

BB4086 Ecology Fair at Provo Park MORE INFO

Click here to purchase a copy of this program or learn more about and purchase copies of the historic archival recordings used within this episode. To purchase a CD copy of this program by phone, please call Pacifica Radio Archives at 800.735.0230 x 262.

Click here to send an email to From the Vault.

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Kurt Vonnegut

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This week on From the Vault we celebrate three legends who all have rare recordings within the Pacifica Radio Archives: actor, singer, and activist Paul Robeson, Architect Frank Lloyd Wright, and ultra-hipster Richard “Lord” Buckley.

We lead off with rare audio of Paul Robeson visiting Pacifica station KPFA in Berkeley, California in 1958. This recording is one of the true treasures of the Pacifica Radio Archives, and was one of the first 50 recordings selected by an advisory panel to be digitized and preserved , funded in part by a 2003 National Endowment for the Arts grant. In this recording, Robeson is being interviewed by Pacifica public affairs director Elsa Knight Thompson.

From the world of art and politics, we move to the world of architecture and Frank Lloyd Wright. In April of 1957, the famed American architect gave a talk at the University of California – Berkeley, and KPFA recorded the event. In his speech, Wright muses on the failings of many popular design philosophies and the need for radical new expression in architecture.

Finally, we end with ultra-hipster Richard “Lord” Buckley, a comedian trained in the Vaudeville era, a storyteller who threw words around like ping-pong balls in a wind tunnel. In 1959, he visited Bill Butler at KPFA in Berkeley and recorded what is now know as “Noblesse Obliging.” This is classic Pacifica Radido Archives material.

Pacifica Affiliate Programmers can find this program available for broadcast download at www.audioport.org. Password required.

Archival recordings used in this program, Robeson, Wright and Buckley:

BB0534 Paul Robeson: World Citizen MORE INFO

BB1972 Frank Lloyd Wright at Berkeley MORE INFO

BB1089 Noblesse Obliging / Lord Buckley MORE INFO

Click here to purchase a copy of this program or learn more about and purchase copies of the historic archival recordings used within this episode. To purchase a CD copy of this program by phone, please call Pacifica Radio Archives at 800.735.0230 x 262.

Click here to send an email to From the Vault.

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