Content Overview

Civil Rights Journalism

Juanita J. Craft, a critical member of the Dallas NAACP, was a strong voice in the movement for Black equality and the Black voice in the media. Through her work in the NAACP and within her personal life, Craft helped to bring light to the inequality of the Black voice in 1950s and 1960s journalism. Radio and television programs from the 1950s support her arguments, highlighting the inequality of the Black voice for years to come.

A Local Youth Council on a National Stage

In 1957, The Dallas NAACP Youth Council compiled a scrapbook highlighting their accomplishments for the year. They attempted to raise public attention to a local incidence of discrimination, specifically police brutality against Essin Essin on a local bus. The youth council used strategies of peaceful protest, public engagement, and youth activism to successfully propel the goals of the Civil Rights movement. 

A National Report on a Small Town Murder

In 1964, the murders of three civil rights workers, James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner, in Philadelphia, Mississippi sparked public outrage across the nation. The seemingly isolated event came to be called "The Freedom Summer Murders" because of the larger impact it had on the Civil Rights Movement as a whole.

Alli Aweusi and The Wilmington Ten

Alli Aweusi in a cassette tape labeled "The African Mbira: The Music of the Shona People of Rhodesia" recorded a 60 Minutes special on the Wilmington Ten. The Wilmington Ten was a case of great injustice towards a group of black activists in Wilmington, North Carolina in the 1970s. It was not until North Carolina faced international pressure that justice was brought to the Wilmington Ten. So, this tape shows both Aweusi's politics and the need for international pressure in black politics.

Postmodern Skepticism as Activism

Alli Aweusi was an early member of the Black Panther Party. He grew up in Oakland, CA and moved to Austin, TX in the 1980s. He was a poet, radio host and activist. He used his various platforms to strengthen the Black voice and push American society towards racial equality.