Archive for the ‘Bayard Rustin’ Category

Mr. Rustin and the Freedom Budget

Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010

The year is 1967. Bayard Rustin, only a few years off of the triumph of organizing the 1963 March on Washington, is standing before a crowd of people. He’s laying out a plan to erase poverty from American cities and towns. It’s not just a pie-in-the-sky spouting of rhetoric, but an actual, tangible plan. He’s telling the U.S. government: do this, this and this—and maybe we can create a society in which everyone has jobs, health care, food on the table and a roof over their heads. (more…)

Going Beyond the Sound Bytes

Monday, January 25th, 2010

History lesson. Just the mention of those two words can induce sleep. Yet, working on State of the Re:Union’s Black History Month special has been an eye-opening experience for me in more ways than one. I’ve learned the fascinating story of Bayard Rustin, the man who’s the focus of the show and I’ve been re-inspired by the dramatic events and personalities of the civil rights movement…details that had long faded in my memory.  But the most important lesson I take away from this episode is an unsettling one.  Were it not for this project, Black History Month for me might have come and gone like it has in other years, acknowledged only with a brief mention on the news, followed by that well-worn excerpt from Martin Luther King’s “I Have A Dream” speech. (more…)

Who’s That Man Up There with Malcolm X?

Wednesday, December 9th, 2009

Hi there, I’m Tina Antolini, the newest member of the SOTRU gang. I started as a producer for the show a couple of weeks ago, and am just getting around to a formal blog-oriented introduction. (more…)