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Memphis & Martin Luther King - Episode 2

Clive Myrie introduces an oral history of events surrounding the assassination of Martin Luther King in Memphis in 1968

Clive Myrie with a 4 part series presenting a unique look at the events leading up to, surrounding & following the assassination of Martin Luther King in Memphis in 1968.

This episode looks at the desegregation of schools & colleges & the start of the era-defining strike by local sanitation workers campaigning under the slogan "I Am A Man"

Dr King came to Memphis to support that strike, & for the first time those workers and their families tell their own stories, laying bare in often shocking detail the realities of the Civil Rights struggle in the Southern states.

We'll hear first hand of the daily humiliations of the Jim Crow South, of the hope that Dr King brought & of the fallout from his death, the mistakes, the triumphs & what that era means for Memphis today, with testimony from people like:

The sanitation worker beaten daily by police and too scared to go to hospital to have his wounds healed - why did he strike? "They wouldn't treat me like a man"

The teacher arrested on a daily basis for attempting to break the colour bar in Memphis restaurants

The man who at 6 was the first black child in Memphis to attend a white school, the trauma of which has followed him into adult life, and the grandmother who did the same at Memphis State University and whose family were harassed on a daily basis as a result.

The pastor & councilman who was targeted & almost beaten to death by police on a march to support the sanitation workers.

The musicians & staff of Stax records, including Steve Cropper, Booker T Jones & CEO Al Bell who worked tirelessly behind the scenes to support Civil Rights & who supplied the soundtrack for the struggle.

This programme was originally broadcast in 2018, to mark the 50th anniversary of Dr. King's assassination.

57 minutes

Last on

Sun 9 Aug 2020 02:00
Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 2

More episodes

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Memphis & Martin Luther King - Episode 1

Next

Memphis & Martin Luther King - Episode 3

See all episodes from I Have A Dream

Music Played

  • Martin Luther King

    Address To Civil Rights Marchers In Washington, D.C.

  • Furry Lewis

    Casey Jones

  • Dinah Washington

    What A Diff'rence A Day Made

    • The Best Of Dinah Washington.
    • Mercury.

  • Ray Charles

    Hit The Road Jack

  • Sam & Dave

    Hold On, I'm Comin'

    • Atlantic Soul (Various Artists).
    • Warner E.S.P..

  • The Impressions

    Keep On Pushing

  • Elvis Presley

    If I Can Dream

    • Presley - The All Time Greatest Hits.
    • RCA.

  • James Brown

    Say It Loud (I'm Black and I'm Proud)

    • King.

  • Jimi Hendrix

    Mannish Boy

  • B.B. King

    Paying the Cost to Be the Boss

  • The Equals

    Police On My Back

  • Aretha Franklin

    Don't Let Me Lose This Dream

  • Booker T. & The M.G.'s

    Melting Pot

Broadcasts

  • Wed 4 Apr 2018 22:00
    Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 2
  • Sun 9 Aug 2020 02:00
    Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 2