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Pacifica Radio Archives announces the 1968 Revolution Rewind Collection
Unique audio recordings from a turbulent year - 1968
Published on Apr 8, 2008 - 5:53:56 AM
By: Pacifica Radio Archives
It was a pivotal year in U.S. history. People were taking to the streets to demand civil rights, to halt the Vietnam War, and marching in grief for two American icons - Robert Kennedy, Jr. and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. - who were gunned down as they ascended their leadership roles in America. People rose up at the Democratic National Convention to be met with police violence. The Black Panther Party gained national prominence, as Black leaders came forth with powerful national voices in politics and the Arts. Like those in the U.S., folks in Paris, Greece, China, Czechoslovakia, Guatemala struggled with dramatic change throughout the world.
Corporate ownership of mainstream media was able to influence public knowledge of some of these events. But one broadcast media organization recorded the sounds of these historic actions and gave voice to those who had no voice - Pacifica Radio. These rare recordings of this extraordinary coverage in 1968 have been made available by the Pacifica Radio Archives Preservation & Access Project. Now, high school and college history teachers, radio, video, and film producers, historians and those who value integrity in the telling of past events can bring the authentic sounds of this era to their audiences. A calendar detailing the dates of these unique recordings can be accessed on-line, www.pacificaradioarchives.org. These unique recordings will enhance print, web and multi-media features. The Pacifica Radio Archives audio is a primary resource for adding dimension and authenticity to any story about our recent, almost forgotten history. Pacifica Radio Archives also has made available a series of short format sound collages called "Revolutionary Rewind Moments" 2:00 - 3:30 in length.
Juan Gonzalez, reporter, New York Daily News and Democracy Now! Says, "It is crucial to be aware of our recent History to have a context for what is going on today in this atmosphere of human rights travesties and the growing resistance to them in the U.S. and all over the world. The Pacifica Radio Archives has, in some instances, the only historical documentation of these struggles from the 1960's. Key to their collection are the recordings of reporting from 1968 with the Viet Nam War, Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. assassinations, and the explosions of protests on campuses around the world. Hearing these events enables a greater understanding of what is happening today."
Larry Bensky, former Pacifica National Affairs Correspondent adds, "Radio and TV journalists can add historical context to their stories by presenting this authentic audio from the Pacifica Archives to their audiences."
Manning Marabel, Professor and Founding Director of the Institute for Research in African American Studies at Columbia University sets the context: "The voices of resistance are always under threat and challenge. Support for the [Pacifica Radio] Archives allows us to create an intellectual, political and moral legacy that challenges structural racism, sexism, homophobia and other forms of discrimination and equality that actually reinforces the great traditions of democracy in this country."
A partial list of events & people includes: Martin Luther King, Jr, Coretta Scott King, Stokeley Carmichael, Angela Davis, Huey Newton, Robert Kennedy, Jr. John Lennon, Lyndon Johnson, Joan Baez, Margaret Mead, James Baldwin, and many more voices who shaped our history.
We need to keep remembering: yjr TET Offensive (January 31, 1968) - My Lai Massacre (March 16, 1968) - Poor Peoples Campaign - Jessie Jackson (May-July, 1968) - African Americans - The Civil Rights Movement 1968 - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Assassination (April 4, 1968) - African Americans / Black Pride/ Mexico City Olympics (Summer, 1968) Senator Robert F. Kennedy Assassination (June 5, 1968) - Greek Military Junta Coupe - French students/ workers revolt (May, 1968) - Chinese Cultural Revolution / the Red Guard (1965-1968) - USSR invades Czechoslovakia (August, 1968) - Guerrilla Insurgency in Guatemala (1968) Student actions: Hippies, Yippies, Black Panthers and the Free Speech Movement Berkeley, California (1968) - Columbia University, New York City, New York - Students for a Democratic Society protests (May, 1968) - Viet Nam War Protests
The restoration of the 1968 Revolution Rewind is being made possible, in part, by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.
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