This week on From the Vault we conclude Black History Month with a historic look at one of the most courageous superstars of the 20th Century, Paul Robeson. As we culled our archives, we found a vintage 1969 tribute by Pacifica station WBAI to Paul Robeson, produced by Kay Lindsay and Charles Hobson on the occasion of Mr. Robeson’s 70th birthday. With this 1969 tribute and the classic 1958 in studio interview with KPFA’s Elsa Knight Thompson we trace his life from his 1939 epic recording of Ballad for Americans to his last major public appearance in 1965. Along the way, we’ll hear Robeson comment on the 1956 Presidential election with Republican Dwight Eisenhower paired against Democrat Adelai Stevenson, and Paul Robeson performing for and with the Treorchy Male Choir of Wales in Berkeley California in 1958, among other historic, newly ‘discovered’ audio from Pacifica Radio Archives.

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

LISTEN to this episode.

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.

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This week on From the Vault we revisit a classic program that we first debuted a couple of years ago, Malcolm X: A Retrospective. This time, we listen again with the added conversation with Dowoti Desir, Executive Director of the Malcolm X and Dr. Betty Shabazz Memorial and Education Center. Ms. Desir speaks about the founding of the organization dedicated to preserving the legacy of Malcolm X and Dr. Betty Shabazz and comments on the value and historic significance of the archives recordings.

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.

LISTEN to this episode.

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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There is nothing like a good laugh to make a bad situation better. The challenge is to be able to find humor in something as bleak and tragic as racism in America, fell into the hands of a young man from Chicago with an acerbic wit and a charismatic presence. Mr. Dick Gregory, a longtime Pacifica radio personality and supporter, became one of the first Black comedians to successfully deal with race to both White and Black audiences… and he confronted race and class head on.

So many events had affected Dick Gregory’s social and political consciousness, such as the murder of Emmett Till in Mississippi, and the Montgomery Bus Boycott in Alabama that catapulted Rosa Parks and Dr. Martin Luther Jr. to national attention. By the late 1950′s, Mr. Gregory began regular visits to the South to participate in civil rights demonstrations. Gregory was arrested for civil disturbance during one such visit to Birmingham Alabama.

A few weeks later on May 25th, 1963 Dick Gregory sat down with Pacifica Radio KPFA producer Ralph Gleason in an extraordinary conversation, revealing the trials and tribulations of this popular entertainer traveling to the South to help his people in the thick of the Civil Rights Movement. This week on From the Vault we celebrate the amazing legacy of Dick Gregory through this and other special recordings preserved by the Pacifica Radio Archives.

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

LISTEN to this episode.

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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From the Vault continues a tribute Black History Month by presenting the second half of a documentary featuring rare recordings of one of America’s greatest intellectuals, W.E.B. DuBois. In 2003, The Pacifica Radio Archives celebrated the 100 year anniversary of the publication of The Souls of Black Folk by W.E.B DuBois with a two hour special tribute narrated by actress Alfre Woodard, with thoughts from Congresswomen Diane Watson (D-CA) and Maxine Waters(D-CA), author Playthell Benjamin, historian Acie Byrd, and author Dr. Gerald Horne. We hope you enjoy listening to the second part of this beautifully-produced survey of academic, political, and artistic contributions of author and social leader W.E.B DuBois.

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

LISTEN to this episode.

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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