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20130828

In this unique tribute programme, global figures celebrate the legacy of Martin Luther King by reading the words of "I Have a Dream."

It is Introduced by Professor Clayborne Carson, editor of the Martin Luther King papers.

Dr Martin Luther King gave his "I Have a Dream" speech in Washington D.C. on 28th August 1963.

The readers are:

Congressman John Lewis, who spoke at the 1963 March.
Dr Maya Angelou, American author and Civil Rights activist.
Prof Muhammad Yunus, Nobel Peace Laureate and economist.
Doreen Lawrence, mother of murdered British teenager Stephen Lawrence.
Wei Jingsheng, Chinese democracy campaigner.
Mary Robinson, former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, first female President of Ireland.
John Hume, jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his contribution to the peace process in Northern Ireland.
His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
Albie Sachs, anti-apartheid campaigner, judge on South Africa's Constitutional Court.
President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia, first female Head of State in Africa.
Raja Shedadeh, Palestinian lawyer, author and human rights activist.
Ndileka Mandela, granddaughter of Nelson Mandela.
Ariel Dorfman, Chilean-American author and human rights activist.
David Grossman, Israeli author and peace campaigner.
Dr Shirin Ebadi, Iran's first female judge, Nobel Peace Laureate.
Malala Yousafzai, sixteen-year-old student from Swat in Pakistan, shot by the Taliban.
Satish Kumar, Indian peace campaigner and environmentalist.
Maestro Jos退 Antonio Abreu, Venezuelan educator and musician.
Joan Baez, American musician and activist, performer at the 1963 March on Washington.
Stevie Wonder, American musician, singer and songwriter. Campaigner for Martin Luther King's birthday to become a national holiday in the United States.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 2013.

Global figures celebrate Dr Martin Luther King's legacy by reading I Have a Dream.

2013082820130901 (R4)

In this unique tribute programme, global figures celebrate the legacy of Martin Luther King by reading the words of "I Have a Dream."

It is Introduced by Professor Clayborne Carson, editor of the Martin Luther King papers.

Dr Martin Luther King gave his "I Have a Dream" speech in Washington D.C. on 28th August 1963.

The readers are:

Congressman John Lewis, who spoke at the 1963 March.
Dr Maya Angelou, American author and Civil Rights activist.
Prof Muhammad Yunus, Nobel Peace Laureate and economist.
Doreen Lawrence, mother of murdered British teenager Stephen Lawrence.
Wei Jingsheng, Chinese democracy campaigner.
Mary Robinson, former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, first female President of Ireland.
John Hume, jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his contribution to the peace process in Northern Ireland.
His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
Albie Sachs, anti-apartheid campaigner, judge on South Africa's Constitutional Court.
President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia, first female Head of State in Africa.
Raja Shedadeh, Palestinian lawyer, author and human rights activist.
Ndileka Mandela, granddaughter of Nelson Mandela.
Ariel Dorfman, Chilean-American author and human rights activist.
David Grossman, Israeli author and peace campaigner.
Dr Shirin Ebadi, Iran's first female judge, Nobel Peace Laureate.
Malala Yousafzai, sixteen-year-old student from Swat in Pakistan, shot by the Taliban.
Satish Kumar, Indian peace campaigner and environmentalist.
Maestro Jos退 Antonio Abreu, Venezuelan educator and musician.
Joan Baez, American musician and activist, performer at the 1963 March on Washington.
Stevie Wonder, American musician, singer and songwriter. Campaigner for Martin Luther King's birthday to become a national holiday in the United States.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 2013.

Global figures celebrate Dr Martin Luther King's legacy by reading I Have a Dream.

01Memphis And Martin Luther King, Episode 12018032820200802 (R2)Clive Myrie with a 4 part series presenting a unique look at the events leading up to, surrounding and following the assassination of Martin Luther King in Memphis in 1968.

Dr King was in Memphis to support a strike by the local sanitation workers, & 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 of the US.

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

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 almost beaten to death by police on a march to support the sanitation workers.

Members of the Memphis Invaders, the radical Black Power group who were infiltrated by the FBI for their work with Dr King.

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

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

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

An oral history of events leading up to the assassination of Martin Luther King in 1968.

Celebrating iconic black artists on the anniversary of Martin Luther King's famous speech.

02Memphis And Martin Luther King, Episode 22018040420200809 (R2)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.

An oral history of events surrounding the assassination of Martin Luther King in Memphis.

Celebrating iconic black artists on the anniversary of Martin Luther King's famous speech.

03Memphis And Martin Luther King, Episode 32018041120200816 (R2)Clive Myrie with a 4 part series presenting a unique look at the events leading up to, surrounding and following the assassination of Martin Luther King in Memphis in 1968.

Dr King was in Memphis to support a strike by the local sanitation workers, & 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 of the US.

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

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 almost beaten to death by police on a march to support the sanitation workers.

Members of the Memphis Invaders, the radical Black Power group who were infiltrated by the FBI for their work with Dr King.

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

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

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

An oral history of events surrounding the assassination of Martin Luther King in Memphis.

Celebrating iconic black artists on the anniversary of Martin Luther King's famous speech.

04Memphis And Martin Luther King, Episode 42018041820200823 (R2)Clive Myrie introduces a 4 part series presenting a unique look at the events leading up to, surrounding and following the assassination of Martin Luther King in Memphis in 1968. This final episode looks at the aftermath of the killing, and what its reverberations mean for Memphis today.

Dr King came to Memphis to support a strike by local sanitation workers, and 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 of the US.

We'll hear first hand of the daily humiliations of the Jim Crow South, of the hope that Dr King brought and of the fall out from his death, the mistakes and the triumphs and 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? 'Because 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.

Members of the Memphis Invaders, the radical Black Power group infiltrated by the FBI for their work with Dr King.

The musicians and staff of Stax records who worked tirelessly behind the scenes to support Civil Rights and who supplied the soundtrack for the struggle.

This programme was first broadcast in 2018.

A look at the aftermath of Dr King's assassination, and how it affects Memphis today.

Celebrating iconic black artists on the anniversary of Martin Luther King's famous speech.

09The Raw Pearl Bailey2018040220200823 (R2)2018 is the centenary year of Pearl Bailey's birth and to celebrate we hear from those who admired her the most and understood her unique qualities as both a singer and an actress.

Hollywood actor, Morgan Freeman is one of Pearl's biggest fans, He made his Broadway debut with Pearl when she starred in David Merrick's all-black production of Hello Dolly in 1967. Morgan says it was a monumental moment for him 'watching Pearl Bailey sass the audience' as well as absorbing her professionalism. He says by hanging out together between shows and playing Bridge gave him the opportunity to get to know the real Pearl.

A preacher's daughter, Pearlie Mae sang and danced her way from Depression coal mining towns to Broadway and into the hearts of America. She saw herself more as a singer than an actress - 'I tell stories to music' whereas most audiences saw a combination of the two. Pearl had a distinguished charm - with her warm, lusty singing voice accompanied by an easy smile and elegant gestures that always enchanted audiences and later translated smoothly from the nightclub stage and Broadway to film and television.

After winning a competition at The Apollo Theatre in Harlem she decided to pursue a career in entertainment. She first appeared in Vaudeville in New York in 1941 at the Village Vanguard where she sang with the Sunset Royal Orchestra and Count Basie's band. During the Second World War she performed for the troops. Her Broadway debut followed in 1946 in St Louis Woman. Bailey's popularity as a singer and stage actress led to many offers to appear in Hollywood films. She then went on to host her own TV show 'The Pearl Bailey Show' which included such guests as Andy Williams, Bob Hope, Dinah Washington and Ella Fitzgerald to name but a few.

It was on the movie set of 'Porgy and Bess' (1958) that Bailey won an early skirmish for black civil rights by demanding the elimination of 'undignified and unnatural' Negro dialect from the George Gershwin drama. 'There's a lot of people out there waiting for a dialect, so let's talk the way we really talk, without the 'dems and deses'. 'We don't talk like that. Maybe we did 50 years ago, but not now.' Other noted film roles came in Carmen Jones and St Louis Blues.

Morgan feels wholeheartedly that 'Hello Dolly!' is among the top five best shows of his career and he tells us how this African-American show broadened the perspective of audiences at that time. The New Yorker drama critic John Lahr describes Pearl's performance in Hello Dolly! as one of the best he has ever seen and how playing the title role won her a Tony Award. Cab Calloway also co-starred with Pearl.

This one hour programme centres on Pearl's personal memories about her all singing and dancing family - particularly her brother Bill Bailey; discovering Tony Bennett with Bob Hope and helping the career of Diahann Carroll; and meeting the love of her life Louie Bellson who was the drummer in Duke Ellington's Orchestra. Pearl often suffered from the sting of racism and we hear how humour was often used as a survival tool amongst the black community particularly in Las Vegas and New York. On TV The Ed Sullivan Show helped to launch the careers of many African-American performers despite the many prejudices throughout America. Some of these included Nat King Cole, Lena Horne, Harry Belafonte, Louis Armstrong, Eartha Kitt and Pearl Bailey herself was on the show 23 times.

At the latter end of Pearl's career, after she retired from the stage, she took an interest in politics and had friendships with Presidents and performed at The White House in 1975. She was appointed to the US delegation at the United Nations. She then went on to study theology and got a bachelors degree at the age of 67. She continued to makes guest appearances on TV shows and recorded voice-overs for commercials and Disney Movies like 'The Fox and Hound'. Pearl died peacefully in Philadelphia at the age of 72.

With contributions from The New Yorker Drama critic John Lahr, singer Imelda May, Black music historian Stephen Bourne, and writer & producer Suzanne Kay (and daughter of Diahann Carroll).

A celebration of the life and career of Pearl Bailey, presented by Morgan Freeman.

Celebrating iconic black artists on the anniversary of Martin Luther King's famous speech.