I Am Woman – I Am Packing Heat – 1974 – Past Daily Reference Room

No longer “a boys game”.

Click  on the link here for Audio Player – NBC Radio: Second Sunday – Modern Women, Modern Crime – November 11, 1974 – Gordon Skene Sound Collection

As the Women’s Movement gained momentum in the 1970s, so too did the sudden interest in the uptick of crimes committed by Women in the 70s.

Whether this new-found equality signaled a wave of crime, or merely brought attention to the fact that Women were capable of being criminals all along, was the subject of this documentary, produced by NBC Radio in 1974, as part of their Second Sunday series.

This episode is entitled Modern Women – Modern Crime, and it spends time in Women’s prisons and detention centers, asking the proverbial “why did you do it?” type questions, trying to connect the dots to conclude that Women can be just as nasty as Men when it comes to living the thug life.

Granted, in the 39 years since this program first aired, a lot has changed in the perception of gender-based criminal elements – a Woman committing a crime no longer grabs the headlines it once did. And executions are no longer the exclusive domain of Men.

What is interesting is the slice of jail life depicted in this documentary, the issues and the stories as told by the inmates.

Same crime as ever, same issues as ever.

Here is that documentary Modern Women – Modern Crime as broadcast on November 11, 1974 over the NBC Radio Network.

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Is Big-Business Taking Over Government? – 1955 – Past Daily Reference Room

Oh . . .you really have to ask?

Click on the link here for Audio Player – American Forum of The Air – Is Government Favoring Big Business? – NBC Radio August 7, 1955 – Gordon Skene Sound Collection

Funny how it’s always been speculated on and feared over, but it happens anyway. In 1955, the question of the day was whether or not the Government was favoring Big Business – how the interests of major corporations were being considered above those of the American people.  How the question was framed, in this discussion on The American Forum of The Air, with Senators James H. Duff (R-Penn.) and Senator Richard Neuberger (D-Oregon), was whether or not corporate interests should assume a larger role in Government than before. The idea that Government was too big in 1955 to adequately undertake certain key projects and that it was good,  in fact preferable, for Business to step in, and more should be privatized, not less.

Charges had been leveled in 1955 that Government was favoring Big Business in ways that were seen as a threat to the average American – that Privatization would lead to an imbalance in the way some services would be performed. That Big Business would get the cream, as it were, while Government would get the dregs. The charges were routinely denied by Capitol Hill, but the fact of the matter was; Corporate interests were taking a bigger role in Government than in the past.

The Eisenhower Administration had been responsible for putting through major tax reductions, and all of it was geared toward Big Business and those getting dividends from corporate profits. It was pointed out that some 85% of the American people got no such tax breaks but were shouldering the majority of tax burden.

Sound familiar?

In 1955 it was a concern and the subject of a lively debate between Duff and Neuberger. But the situation hasn’t changed. Or more importantly, the situation has been around for a good long time, and if anything it’s become deeper and deeper rooted into our economic framework.

So now Big Business can buy elections?

And that surprises you?

Judging by the sound of this 1955 discussion, the writing was on the wall for that almost sixty years ago. I guess it really does give credence to the line “all things come to those who wait”. Or maybe it’s just “same as it ever was – same as it ever was”.

Here is that episode of The American Forum for August 7, 1955.

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Last Time The Lights Went Out – Government Shutdown’s Greatest Hits – Dec. 1995 – Past Daily Reference Room

. . .and the definition of insanity is . . . .?

Click on the link here for Audio Player – News reports on Government Shutdown – December 16-21, 1995 – CBS Radio News – Gordon Skene Sound Collection

With word today of the impasse on Capitol Hill and the resulting shutdown of Government, the flurry of finger pointing starts. And 17 years ago it was pretty much the same thing. The faces, for the most part, have changed. The tactics have remained pretty much the same. The lunatic fringe is more vocal now and the polarization is more pronounced than it was 17 years ago.

But in December 1995 it was the culmination of events that began with the first (four day) shutdown in February of that year. The tantrums continued. The people suffered. Life went on. The Shutdown dragged on for 21 days, the second time around.

Indications are this shutdown will have bigger consequences. In 1995 no one knew what those consequences would be. And in 2013 no one really does either. There are predictions of backlash, revenge at the polls during the 2014 mid-term elections and widespread panic. Since October is historically Padded Cell Season on Wall Street, anything can happen.

But most likely as before, life goes on  – and there are bigger concerns to deal with – bigger consequences. Sometimes, the name of the game is distraction. And sometimes, people in high places just throw tantrums because they can.

Either way . . .

So here, as a reminder of the last time Capitol Hill shut the Government down, are a series of reports from December 16-21, 1995 via The CBS World News Roundup. Something to compare notes to.

And the band will surely play on.

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Rumble On 46th Street – Communists And The Congo – September 23, 1960 – Past Daily Reference Room

The doves were window dressing.

Click on the link here for Audio Player – Special Report on the United Nations – September 23, 1960 – NBC Radio Network – Gordon Skene Sound Collection

September, 1960 was a milestone year for The United Nations. With Africa going through Independence upheavals, Cuba flexing its newly gained Communist muscle and the Soviet Union tossing around the infamous U-2 Spy Plane incident, it was a pretty dramatic, and worrisome time for the cause of peace – however tenuous and fragile it all seemed at the time.

During this week of September, the focus was on the situation in The Congo, a former Belgian colony going through cataclysmic changes on its way to achieving independence.

On hand to lend his two cents was the inimitable Nikita Khruschev, premier of the Soviet Union and a host of African dignitaries.

On his way to join the proceedings was Cuban President Fidel Castro, and another wave of controversy to take place later on in the week.

But this latest burst of activity and debate was covered in a special report by NBC Radio news, giving highlights of the proceedings and previews of coming attractions.

Never a dull day it seems, where the UN is concerned.

And that’s how it went on September 23rd, 1960.

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How Will History Judge Itself – A Word From Barbara Tuchman – 1974 – Past Daily Reference Room

No doubt, we’ll be judged a lot differently than we imagine.

Click on the link here for Audio Player – Barbara Tuchman address at UC Berkeley – NPR Options – July 22, 1974 – Gordon Skene Sound Collection

It’s always an interesting idea to consider; how will history judge what is going on now in the grand scheme of things? Will those innovations we found so revolutionary at the time be even considered important in the long run? Will the current state of upheaval and strife be considered a pivotal moment in our culture? Will our Popular Culture have any long-term last effect on the society and the world in general?

Listening to this address, given by noted author and historian Barbara Tuchman,  I came away with the feeling not very much will weigh in as far as milestones go in the future. Certainly the development of the Computer will be considered significant, just as printing when it came about in the late 1400’s became a lasting and significant contribution to our culture.

But the politics, the wars, the movements in popular culture? Maybe not so. And sometimes it’s the historians, the interested individuals, who rescue otherwise forgotten episodes in history and rejuvenate them for future generations.

True, with communication as it is now, events occur quicker than before. It must be remembered that the supposed-perceived overnight Fall of the Roman Empire took some 500 years to happen. That the situation we are currently in turmoil over, namely the Middle-East, was something that began a little less than 100 years ago (as the result of World War 1), and that perhaps three hundred years from now won’t even be considered as cataclysmic as it does now. If, in fact there still is a planet Earth 300 years from now (that’s a definite consideration).

But things that seemed so momentous and earth-shattering at the time faded into obscurity over time. Likewise, things considered obscure at the time came to be rediscovered and reevaluated and were found to have lasting and enduring qualities for generations after.

Take for example Popular Culture – it’s worth noting that Mozart died in obscurity and Bach was forgotten about a generation after his death. And only in the last 100 years have both been rediscovered and reevaluated and were found to have qualities that have lasted for many generations. But at the time . . . .no.

All this points up to the fact that history and how it’s judged is never what you imagine it may be. Whether or not that’s a good or bad thing is for time to decide. We’re just here for the ride.

So on July 22nd 1974, while we were in the midst of Watergate, the slow end to the Vietnam War and the ever-present turmoil in the Middle East, Barbara Tuchman posed some thought-provoking questions.

Luckily, National Public Radio, as part of their Options series, considered it relevant enough to preserve it. That’s something we don’t really do much of late.

Here’s that address.

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The Moscow Fair – September 13, 1959 – Past Daily Reference Room

Even during the Cold War there was a Ford in your future.

Click on the link here for Audio Player – The Moscow Fair – September 13, 1959 – CBS Radio – Gordon Skene Sound Collection

Before the infamous U-2 incident (the plane, not the band . . .for you who may not know), there was a decided thaw in the Cold War between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. Cultural exchanges were arranged, there was a little less jamming of Radio Free Europe and Soviet Life,a sort of “feel-good Kremlin” glossy magazine was published.

And in 1959 the U.S. was invited to set up a pavilion for the Moscow Fair, as a goodwill gesture. This was also the setting for the now-famous Kitchen Debate between vice-President Nixon and Soviet Premier Khruschev.

So curiosity was high in the U.S. over Soviet reaction to seeing certain snippets of “daily American life”. And when the fair was over, a lot of questions were posed to the Guides who worked the Fair. The result was this special radio program, produced by CBS News and broadcast on September 13, 1959.

And the honeymoon was on .  .  . for a few months anyway.

 

A Word From Stephen Biko – (Dec. 18, 1946-September 12, 1977) Past Daily Reference Room

His death sparked outrage and a renewed sense of purpose.

Click on the link here for Audio Player – An interview with Stephen Biko – August 1977 – Gordon Skene Sound Collection

Among many other things on this day, September 12th in 1977 was also the day it was disclosed that Anti-Apartheid activist Stephen Biko was murdered while in custody by Police in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Biko was one of the leading lights in the Anti-Apartheid movement. Organizing in peaceful protest, Biko had been very involved in the movement  since the early 1960s. On a Pop-Culture note – it was Biko who coined the term “Black Is Beautiful“, which went on to become one of the iconic phrases in Black Consciousness raising in the 1970s.

This interview, done within a day of his arrest by police, was conducted under less than ideal circumstances. Music plays in the background as a way of preventing eavesdropping by police bugging devices. He explains the history of the Anti-Apartheid Movement and his role in attempting to bring together groups, both black and white, to change the oppressive polices of the Pretoria government.

And this would be the last interview the world would hear. He was arrest in late August of 1977 and by September 12th he was dead.

And the struggle continued for many long  years after.

In case you always heard about Stephen Biko, or read his books, here is an opportunity to hear the voice of the man himself.

And another reason not to forget that struggles exist throughout the world and that there are many Stephen Bikos among us.

 

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Status Of American Women In 1963 – Past Daily Reference Room

Not that too far removed from fact in 1963.

Click on the link here for Audio Player – The Status Of American Women – NBC Special Report – Oct. 10, 1963 – Gordon Skene Sound Collection

With the Civil Rights Movement hitting a pivotal point in 1963, it’s also important to remember the question of Equal Rights for Women and Gender Equality were being talked about too.

Though not as vocal (at first) as the former, it nonetheless brought to attention that individual rights and a simple matter of equality extended beyond a matter of race, it also extended between male and female.

A few years off from the now-famous Women’s Day of 1970, in 1963 the question started to be raised as to why Women were not equally paid for equal work to Men? Why was there sex discrimination in the work place? Women weren’t allowed on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange?

Those, and a lot of other questions started bubbling to the surface in 1963. So in October, NBC Radio as part of their Special Report series, ran a documentary/discussion called The Status Of American Women and posed those questions and got a surprising number of answers.

Here is that 45 minute documentary as it aired on October 15, 1963.

Just in case you thought everything changed with the snapping of fingers.

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J. Edgar Hoover’s FBI – 1971 – Past Daily Reference Room

Made us what we are today – paranoid.

Click on the link here for Audio Player – NBC Radio – Second Sunday: J.Edgar Hoover’s FBI – May, 1971 – Gordon Skene Sound Collection

Long before the days of Internet spying, domestic surveillance and government intrusion on privacy, we had J.Edgar Hoover.

Hoover was the man behind the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and he  made is his domain for forty-eight years.

Staunchly anti-Communist, and one who believed sincerely we were under attack by forces in Moscow bent on subverting the American way of life.

When time came for his retirement, Hoover would have none of it and persuaded President Lyndon Johnson to waive the requirement for retirement at 65 and went on to head the FBI almost up until his death in 1972.

Hoover, as many speculated, used the office of the FBI as a private police force; routinely investigating figures deemed to be dangerous, or just wanting to dig up dirt on political enemies. He held an enormous amount of power over members of Congress and other high figures in government. And it was most likely this form of career-killing blackmail that allowed J. Edgar Hoover to wield the power to the extent he did for as long as he did.

In 1971 NBC Radio, as part of their Second Sunday documentary series, devoted the better part of an hour to looking at the FBI and how it worked.

It’s fascinating listening, particularly in light of revelations about our current system of surveillance and the NSA.

Things just don’t change all that much – they just get different names and different faces in charge.

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March On Washington – August 28, 1963 – Past Daily Reference Room

. . . only the beginning.

Next Wednesday, August 28th marks the 50th anniversary of the legendary March on Washington. The largest Civil Rights demonstration of its kind up to this point, the march culminated in a day of speeches in front of the Lincoln Memorial and a general feeling that something had begun.

Most people think of this day only in the context of the famous “I Have A Dream” speech of Dr. Martin Luther King. And that this demonstration somehow signaled an end to segregation, Jim Crow, discrimination, racism and the seemingly endless struggle was over.

Oh, that it were so. But no. If anything, it intensified the struggle and has claimed countless more lives since that day. The struggle, if anything, continues to this day.

But on August 28th 1963, 50 years ago, it was a start and it was a mass showing of people committed to the cause of Civil Rights and it became the focus of the world.

But as I said, the famous “I Have A Dream” speech was only one speech delivered that day. Perhaps the most inspiring and dramatic, but one of several voices deeply committed to the cause of ending the racial divide in this country.

And so, my post in honor of this occasion is made up of many of those other address, in addition to Dr. King, given by other pivotal figures in the movement.

A. Philip Randolph. The de facto Master of ceremonies, but a vital force in the Civil Rights movement.

Click on the link here for Audio Player: A Philip Randolph addresses the Washington Marchers – August 28, 1963

Acting as Master of Ceremonies and leading the March was the Dean of Civil Rights leaders, A. Philip Randolph. Representing the American Labor Movement, it was Randolph, along with Bayard Rustin and Dr. Martin Luther King who organized the march and it was Randolph who inspired the Freedom Budget which deal with the economic and unemployment struggles in the black community.

A. Philip Randolph then introduces John Lewis, National Chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee.

 

John Lewis – organized the Mississippi Freedom Riders

Click on the link here for Audio Player: John Lewis Address to March On Washington – August 28, 1963

The youngest speaker to address the rally, John Lewis, at 23 had already seen more than his fair share of the Civil Rights Struggle. As organizer and Chairman of The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, Lewis helped organize the famous Mississippi Freedom Riders in 1960. For his work and  abilities to organize successful protests during the Mississippi Freedom Summer, he was considered one of the “Big Six” in the Civil Rights Movement.

A. Philip Randolph then introduces Chairman of The Urban League, Whitney Young.

 

 

 

Whitney Young – Took the Urban League and broke new ground.

Click on the link here for Audio Player: Whitney Young Addresses The March On Washington – August 28, 1963

As a tireless worker for Civil Rights in the area of employment discrimination, Whitney Young took the flagging and passive Nebraska chapter of The Urban League in 1950 and built it into one of the most influential and powerful organizations in dealing with the problems of the poor and disenfranchised. He would later become President of the NAACP, with another notable Civil Rights figure, Roy Wilkins as its executive director, who follows him with the next address.

Roy Wilkins – led the NAACP from 1955 to 1977.

Click on the link here for Audio Player: Roy Wilkins addresses the March On Washington Rally – August 28, 1963

As the longest serving leader of the NAACP, Roy Wilkins was also one of the leading figures in the Civil Rights Movement. Not only one of the organizers of the March on Washington, he was also instrumental in an economic plan to counter the “Credit Squeeze” imposed by the White Citizens Councils in the South by helping create a bank owned and run by African-Americans (the Tri-State Bank) which offered loans and helped establish a solid economic base for the black community in the South. In addition to organizing the March on Washington, Wilkins also helped organize the Selma to Montgomery Marches in 1965 and the March Against Fear in 1966.

Randolph then introduces Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King.

 

The address that will never be forgotten.

Click on the link here for Audio Player: Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Addresses The March on Washington – August 28, 1963

Without question, the most often played, quoted and referred-to speech in American history. The address most people have come to assume was the only address that day, and the one many people wrongly assume came to signal the end of discrimination in America.  If it all could have happened on the basis of one impassioned address, no doubt this would be it. But is signaled the beginning of what would be, and still is, a long bitter struggle to achieve racial equality in this country. No doubt the most dramatic and poetic speech of the day, it was nonetheless only a part of what would be a day-long celebration and show of unity.

Randolph then introduces Bayard Rustin

 

Bayard Rustin – Pacifist, activist and gay rights advocate.

Click on the link here for Audio Player: Bayard Rustin addresses the March On Washington – August 28, 1963

One of the earliest Civil Rights Activists, Bayard Rustin had been involved in helping initiate a Freedom Ride in the South in 1947 to challenge racial segregation on Interstate Busing. He helped organize the Southern Christian Leadership Council and was an active promoter of the non-violent practices of Mohandas Gandhi, which he learned first hand from his time in India during the Independence Movement there. Rustin was also a major influence on other non-violent activists, among them Stokely Carmichael. But he also had to deal with an additional discrimination; that of a black homosexual who had been arrested in 1953 when homosexuality was considered a punishable crime. So in addition to being an activist in the Civil Rights movement, Bayard Rustin was also an early activist in the Gay Rights movement in the 1970s. Sadly, his work in the Civil Rights movement has been largely ignored over the years. Something that needs to be addressed.

To close the rally, A. Philip Randolph calls on Morehouse College President Dr. Benjamin E. Mays to lead the benediction.

 

Closing an overwhelming day in history.

Click on the link here for Audio Player: Morehouse College President Dr. Benjamin E. Mays – leads the invocation – March on Washington – August 28, 1963

And ending one of the most historic days of the 1960s. This is only a small portion of what went on that day. But it’s at least a sampling of a historic day that has lived on in the minds of millions of people these past 50 years and became a pivotal point in a struggle for Civil Rights, Human Rights and dignity.

So in case you thought it was just one speech . . . .

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