Every revolution has its counterrevolution – that is a sign the revolution is for real.
~C. Wright Mills

C. Wright Mills was a child of the first World War, and a chronicler of the second; his views on the forces constructing these global cataclysms are the subject of this week’s From the Vault. As an American sociologist and author, Mills was an early champion of connective education over indoctrination… true intellectualism… the process by which each individual is educated to the possibilities of personal creativity and public contribution through the application of compassionate and pragmatic rationalism… good thoughts rendering good deeds.

Pacifica Radio Archives is proud to present, in our continuing dedication to the benefit and enlightenment of our community, this foundational insight into ways of thought to set us truly free. This episode features historic 1959 audio of C. Wright Mills in his own voice, interwoven with excerpts from a 1962 documentary on Mills by Elsa Knight Thompson and Saul Landau – making for a wonderful trip back to an important study of the structure of power in the United States, courtesy of From the Vault.

From the Vault is presented as part of the Pacifica Radio Archives Preservation and Access Project.

ORIGINAL SOURCE RECORDINGS:

BB0281a-b The Causes of C. Wright Mills / Narrated by Elsa Knight Thompson and Saul Landau MORE INFO

BB0322 The Decline of the Left / C. Wright Mills 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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“We do want to be treated as human beings, and I’m fightin’ for human right, not for equal right.”
~Fannie Lou Hamer

In the summer of 1964, black voters in the southern United States were to alter forever the oppressive rule that had dominated their lives since the end of the Civil War… They would march. They would demand. They would desegregate. They would vote… and some would die… but they would overcome.

This week on From the Vault, Pacifica Radio Archives proudly presents actuality from this turbulent time in history, as outlined in the definitive 1981 documentary by Earl Ofari Hutchinson titled, Mississippi Freedom Summer: A Pacifica Archive Retrospective — a project funded in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities. With its well-polished presentation, this historic recording explores the political, economic, and social impact of the Mississippi Freedom movement in 1964, and substantiates the effect that the movement had on the history of the United States — how it ultimately stimulated social change.

One of the shining stars of that summer was a vibrant woman named Fannie Lou Hamer; Pacifica Radio Archives is honored to maintain numerous master recordings with her voice. During the seconds half of this week’s episode, we’ll join Colin Edwards for the 1965 Fannie Lou Hamer Interview in Berkeley, California, in which Hamer discusses feminine Black Power at work in the jungle of Mississippi Democratic Party politics.

From the Vault is presented as part of the Pacifica Radio Archives Preservation and Access Project.

ORIGINAL SOURCE RECORDINGS:

KZ1053 Mississippi Freedom Summer: A Pacifica Archive Retrospective MORE INFO

BB4696 Summer in Mississippi / Candy Brown MORE INFO

BB4394 Memorial Service for James Changey MORE INFO

PZ0142.03 Collected Speeches of Fannie Lou Hamer MORE INFO

BB1407 Fannie Lou Hamer Interview / by Colin Edwards 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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“The future belongs to those
who prepare for it today.”
~Malcolm X

This week on From the Vault, Pacifica Radio Archives proudly revisits the historic 1965 documentary and radio broadcast, Malcolm X: A Retrospective.

At a time when he was more likely to appear on the FBI’s most wanted list than on a commemorative stamp, this succinct documentary of Malcolm X’s impact on Black Power and Black Muslim Movement from 1960 to his death in 1965 was like a shot of adrenaline to Pacifica radio listeners around the country. Crafted by legendary producer Chris Koch and originally broadcast on Pacifica’s WBAI on March 30, 1965 – barely a month after Malcolm X’s assassination – this recording’s magical ‘sound’ ranks among the most coveted in Pacifica’s collection… yet another classic example of the depth of legacy preserved within the Pacifica Radio Archives. Forty years after it’s genesis, Malcolm X: A Retrospective had surfaced once again in our awareness, revealing actual voices of history: voices speaking as global witnesses, voices speaking for themselves, and voices speaking directly to you.

From the Vault is presented as part of the Pacifica Radio Archives Preservation and Access Project.

ORIGINAL SOURCE RECORDINGS:

BB3084 Malcolm X: A Retrospective MORE INFO

RELATED MATERIALS:

PZ0446a-f The Malcolm X Collection Box Set 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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“The facts are overwhelming.”
~Ralph Nader

In an age when standing for the rights of the individual, the worker, the citizen… when standing for the redistribution of the nation’s wealth to its’ earners… when the American way of life is under attack by corporations and their government hirelings, From the Vault reintroduces a full-time citizen – Mr. Ralph Nader.

In this episode of From the Vault, we’ll hear choice excerpts from some of Nader’s important addresses and interviews over the years, including his testimony in front of the Senate Subcommittee on Government Operations as they were considering creating a Federal Department of Consumer Affairs, Nader’s keynote address at the 1998 Labor Party Convention, as well as KPFK’s Christine Blosdale interview with Nader about his latest book, 17 Traditions and the new film documentary about Nader called An Unreasonable Man. We’ll also listen in on Amy Goodman’s recent interview with Nader titled, Taming the Giant Corporation.

From the Vault is presented as part of the Pacifica Radio Archives Preservation and Access Project.

ORIGINAL SOURCE RECORDINGS:

BB3567c Conversations with Ralph Nader MORE INFO

BB2189 Consumer Abuse Testimony by Ralph Nader MORE INFO

BC1648.14 The Consumer Movement and the Energy Crisis MORE INFO

KZ0831 An Appeal to Students / Ralph Nader MORE INFO

SZ0698a-b Citizens Agenda for ’92 / Ralph Nader MORE INFO

AZ0964 The Decline of Democracy in the U.S. and the 1992 Election MORE INFO

IZ0324.04 The Issue of Family Values MORE INFO

SZ0847.04 The Best of Radio Nation 1996 MORE INFO

PZ0300.85a Voices of Pacifica: Ralph Nader Box Set MORE INFO

PZ0688.201 Democracy Now! July 9, 2007 MORE INFO

KZ3586 Beneath the Surface: Ralph Nader 02/08/2007 MORE INFO

BC0798 Ralph Nader Testifies 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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Langston Hughes, born on February 1st, 1906 published his first poem The Weary Blues in 1926, and went on to become the poet laureate of the African American experience. The Poetry Foundation notes that “the popular writer of the Harlem Renaissance gave hopeful expression to the aspirations of the oppressed, even as he decried racism and injustice.” In addition to poetry, he published fiction, drama, autobiography, and translations. The Academy of American Poets writes that Hughes is known for his insightful, colorful portrayals of black life in America from the Twenties through the Sixties and for his engagement with the world of jazz and the influence it had on his writing. All in all, the life and work of Langston Hughes that helped shape the artistic contributions of black America still resonates today, more than 100 years after his birth.

In a 1958 interview conducted by Eve Corey for Pacifica station WBAI-New York, Langston Hughes became part of Pacifica Radio’s broadcast history when he discussed his life and read some of his early poetry. On this week’s episode of From the Vault, we’ll hear Hughes interviewed in 1963, and also hear in its entirety the 1968 Langston Hughes Memorial, broadcast on Pacifica Radio KPFK-Los Angeles a year after his passing.

This program master was ‘adopted’ by the Kevin G. Schoeler Foundation and recently transferred to digital media. We’d like to thank Kevin and our Sound of Soul Adopt-A-Tape party hostess, Allee Willis for making this broadcast possible today.

The recordings in today’s broadcast were preserved in part by preservation grants from the National Endowment for the Arts.

ORIGINAL SOURCE RECORDINGS:

BC0463 Langston Hughes Memorial MORE INFO

BB3671 Langston Hughes / interviewed by Eve Corey MORE INFO

RELATED MATERIALS:

PZ0463a-c Langston Hughes Box Set 3 CD 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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