June 6, 2014

Fifty years ago this summer, the modern civil rights movement was front and center on the nation's headlines, President Lyndon Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 into law and Freedom Summer was in full swing in Mississippi.  But the struggle for racial equality, by law and in the voting booth, was from over and activists persisted in the fight often against systematic violent attacks including beating, arson, and murder.  This week on Basic Black we acknowledge the 50th anniversary of the pivotal events of that summer and examine its impact on contemporary movements for racial, social and economic quality.

Panelists:
- Callie Crossley, host, Under The Radar with Callie Crossley, WGBH Radio
- Phillip Martin, Senior Reporter, WGBH News
- Kim McLarin, cultural commentator and Assistant Professor of Writing, Emerson College
- Peniel Joseph, Professor of History, Tufts University
- Judy Richardson, civil rights activist, filmmaker, and co-editor, Hands On The Freedom Plow

(Program title inspiration: Ella Baker, 1964. Photo: from the upcoming film, Freedom Summer, by Stanley Nelson)