Today I began with airing of Paul Stamler's brilliant compilation called "June 21,1964, The Night Without Stars", a wonderful documentary-style blend of voice and music. The voice was from an interview with  Barbara Umbogy, cousin of Michael Schwerner, one of the civil rights workers murdered in Mississippi. The music was mostly from Smithsonian/Folkways "Voices of the Civil Rights Movement".   Though rejected by "This American Life" for potential airing, I'm honored to have permission to air it in its entirety for Folk Plus today. It is well done and very moving and many called to say so. Thanks Paul for the story.

During the second hour I continued with other thoughts on prejudice, ending with todays civil rights crisis of gay rights.

I will begin with the words of Paul Stamler (Pablo Meshugi) from his playlist of 2/27/00
first broadcast on KDHX -St. Louis and then proceed with the rest of my show.
 

Theme:    Jay Ansill - The Two Horizons  Origami - Flying Fish

1. Introduction by Paul:

"This was a special program. In 1964 three civil rights workers -- James
Chaney, Andrew Goodman & Michael Schwerner -- were murdered in Mississippi
for their work in voter registration at a time when only a small
percentage of the black citizens of Mississippi had been permitted to
register. No murder charges were ever filed, although the murderers were
well known throughout the area. In 1999 Michael Schwerner's cousin, St.
Louis artist Barbra Umbogy, went back to Mississippi with "Freedom Ride
99" to remember the three men with a memorial, and to petition for the
reopening of the case, that the murderers might be brought to justice.

On her return, she wrote an essay, "June 21, 1964: The Night Without
Stars". A few weeks ago, she read that essay into my tape recorder,
sitting in a darkened St. Louis loft building as the moon went into
eclipse outside her windows. I edited that tape together with field
recordings from the civil rights movement and music from African-American
tradition to produce this program.

Here was the music that was woven into the show; unless otherwise noted,
all tracks were taken from Voices of the Civil Rights Movement,
Smithsonian/Folkways."

2. Blind Willie Johnson: Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground
from Praise God I'm Satisfied Yazoo

3. Mary Pinckney: Been in the Storm So Long

4. Alabama Christian Movement Choir : I'm On My Way

 5.  ( Interview Continues)

6.  SNCC Freedom Singers: Woke Up This Morning

7.   ( Interview Continues)

8.  Montgomery Improvement Assn. highschool trio: Keep Your Hand On That Plow
 from Sing For Freedom Smithsonian /' Folkways

9.   ( Interview Continues)

10.   Betty Mae Fikes: This Little Light of Mine

11.  Hollis Watkins: Oh, Freedom

12.     ( Interview Continues)

13.  Kim & Reggie Harris with Magpie (Francis Taylor/Pete Seeger)
 Those Three Are On My Mind -  Where Have All the Flowers Gone - Appleseed
www.kimandreggie.com - kimandreg@aol.com

14.    ( Interview Continues)

15.  SNCC Feedom Singers: We'll Never Turn Back

16.  Fannie Lou Hamer :Go Tell It on the Mountain

17. Paul's closing statements.

Other sites of interest:
http://www.neveshalom.org/html/barbpage.htm
http://www.rac.org/pubs/fr99jrnl.html

                        _________________________
 

18. Don Henry - Beautiful Fool
Wild in the Backyard - www.vision3.com/donhenry/
lunafrinj@aol.com
"we are resistant to love"

19. David Massengill - Number One In America
Coming Up For Air -www.plump.com/david.htm

20. David Roth & Anne Hills - That Kind of Grace
Rising In Love  - www.folkera.com/windriver/davidroth/

21. Kate Campbell - Bus 109
Visions of Plenty - www.chebucto.ns.ca/~ac490/kate.html
www.compassrecords.com

22. Magpie (Si Kahn) - Old John Brown
Sword of the Spirit - //www.magpiemusic.com/

23. Julie Gold - Tiger in New Jersey
Try Love - www.gadflyrecords.com/products/263.htm
"teach us that its not to late for us all to live in peace"

These four tunes focused on acceptance beyond color, to sexual preference also.

24. Terri Allard - Never Ceases to Amaze Me
Terri Allard -www.milestown.com/terri/
"one man sees your soul, another sees your skin"

25. Mark Weigle - Other House
All That Matters - songs.com/markweigle/
If parents hate the bi-racial relationship or the unwed mom, the gay son sings "where does that leave me?"

26. Catie Curtis - What's The Matter
Crash Course in Roses - www.rykodisc.com/RykoInternal/Features/481/default.htm
"This town was my biggest fan, til I was who I am"

27. Steve Cohen - Silent Too Long
Silent Too Long -www.SteveCohenMusic.com/
keyscohen@aol.com

Ending with these last four tunes, focus turned to what the next decade might do politically.

28. RebelVoices - In Contempt
Piece of the Wall -www.eskimo.com/~rebelgal/
rebelvoz@aol.com  -

29. Kim & Reggie Harris - Read the Lips
Rock of Ages - Appleseed
www.kimandreggie.com - kimandreg@aol.com

30. Anne Feeney - Cut 18 ?
Have You Been to Jail for Justice?
unionmaid@earthlink.net
home.earthlink.net/~unionmaid/

31. Michael McNevin - Fuzzy Math
www.michaelmcnevin.com/