An AAPRC Black History Month Production

Music of the Civil Rights 

and Black Consciousness Movements

Radio Special

SO MANY musical artists weighed in during the decades of the Civil Rights and Black Consciousness Movements... Nina Simone, Max Roach, Gil Scott-Heron, Archie Shepp, James Brown, John Coltrane, Bob Dylan, Sly Stone, Art Blakey, Curtis Mayfield... The list goes on!  The Music of the Civil Rights and Black Consciousness Movements Radio Special takes us back to a time when the social revolution taking place in America was reflected in the popular music that was all around us.

Host, Esther Armah

The Music of the Civil Rights and Black Consciousness Movements is a 2-hour production that weaves together over 60 tunes, with a narrative of events, intermittent voice clips of history makers and Columbia University historian Josef  Sorett.  Host Esther Armah is an award winning radio host and international journalist and appears on MSNBC, ARISE TV, GRITtv and BET.  She is the former host of WBAI's WakeUp Call in New York. Born in London, Esther brings fresh vitality to the show's narration.

The Civil Rights Movement is an era that EVERY Baby Boomer lived through, even if as a child. This music documentary lifts that history from the pages, and transforms it into an experience that memory brings alive. In reliving history through the music of the time, we realize just how fleeting time really is...  Creating a through-thread that aids us with reflection and learning from the past.  We are left with pride in the leaders and supporting activists, and in the fact that the nation had the capacity for such a radical transformation.  It gives us hope for future social evolution.

Photo of Students at a Greensboro Lunch Counter on Max Roach's 1960 LP

Written and Produced by Jim Luce and Loretta Rucker, this compelling piece of radio was co-produced by radio stations WSNC at Winston Salem State University in NC, WCSU at Central State University in OH, WJSU at Jackson State University in MS, WRVS at Elizabeth City State University in NC, WURC at Rust College in MS and KPVU at Prairie View A&M University. These stations, all located at HBCU's (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) joined forces to enable us to produce this special program.

Our heartfelt thanks go out to Peabody Award winning Producer Jim Luce for his deft editing and mixing, and to Technical Producer Duke Markos (from Jazz Set) for combining their expertise with stations and the Consortium's cultural and musical knowledge to tell this story with the high production values demanded for public radio.

If your station is looking to commemorate America's profound social evolution during the 50's, 60's and 70's in a way that will capture hearts and minds of public radio listeners, the "Music of the Civil Rights and Black Consciousness Movements" is a must for your February programming.

  EACH HOUR IS PRODUCED TO AIR SEPARATELY OR CONSECUTIVELY

STATIONS CAN DOWNLOAD THIS PROGRAM FROM CONTENT DEPOT

OR CONTACT US FOR MP3 FILES

Featured Artists...

Row 2: Roberta Flack, Pharoah Sanders, Pete Seeger, Les McCann & Eddie Harris  

Row 3: Nina Simone, Oscar Brown Jr., Marvin Gaye, James Brown  

 Row 4: Leon Thomas, Max Roach & Abbey Lincoln, John Coltrane

 

Row 5: Isley Brothers, Kool & the Gang, Harold Melvin & the Bluenotes

 

Row 6: Haki Madhubuti, Gil Scott Heron, Donny Hathaway 

 

Row 7: Gary Bartz, Doug & Jean Carn, The Temptations 

 

Row 8: Curtis Mayfield, Bob Dylan, Blue Mitchell, Billy Harper 

 

Row 9: Billie Holiday, Bobby Hutcherson, Art Blakey, Aretha Franklin 

 

 Row 10: Yusef Lateef, Eugene McDaniels, The Main Ingredient, Archie Shepp

Sincerest thanks our Co-Producing Affiliate Stations...