Momentum

Momentum: Civil Rights in the 1950s

When we think about movements, we think about great people working to make great change. But often, movements start slowly, with everyday, ordinary people who have ideas that they share with others. Those ideas gain momentum, through hard work and refusal to stay hidden and silent. In our series, Momentum: Civil Rights in the 1950s, we take a look at the first decade of the Civil Rights Movement: its key players–some well known, and some not so well known–and the ideas that picked up speed as the nation barreled toward the policy changes of the 1960s.

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Momentum: The Ripples Made by Ordinary People, Part 17

This last episode in our series, Momentum, Sharon ties up a few loose ends. The 1950s was a decade full of change, but the Civil Rights Movement didn’t end when the calendar flipped to 1960.

Momentum: The Ripples Made by Ordinary People, Part 16

In this episode of Momentum: Civil Rights in the 1950s, we learn about the Civil Rights Act of 1957 and the commission born of it. For two years, the United States Commission on Civil Rights researched and released a 600+ page report about the state of voting rights in the US.

Momentum: The Ripples Made by Ordinary People, Part 15

In this episode of Momentum: Civil Rights in the 1950s, we learn about the women who gave the movement its backbone. Listen in as Sharon speaks about the Queen of the Civil Rights Movement, Septima Poinsette Clark, and another woman, Bernice Robinson.

Momentum: The Ripples Made by Ordinary People, Part 14

Sharon talks about some of the most important components of a successful movement: money and reputation. Movements take a lot of financial support and many of the organizers worked day jobs with humble salaries. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.?

Momentum: The Ripples Made by Ordinary People, Part 13

Sharon tackles the vast topic of religion within the Civil RIghts Movement in this episode. During the Civil Rights Movement, religion was used as a tool of oppression and an excuse for many white people, especially in the South, to remain firm and justified in their belief of white supremacy.

Momentum: The Ripples Made by Ordinary People, Part 12

Sharon takes us back to the origin story of a life lost far too soon due to a brutal and racist attack: the murder of Emmett Till in 1955. What began with a young boy who desired to connect with family and learn where his mother came from, ended in horror for the Chicago 14-year-old boy.

Momentum: The Ripples Made by Ordinary People, Part 11

Sharon talks about the rising popularity of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and how, with greater visibility comes greater threat. We follow Dr. King as he and his comrades persevere through bombings, arrests, scathing rumors, wiretaps, and assassination attempts.

Momentum: The Ripples Made by Ordinary People, Part 10

Sharon begins with a woman who everyone knows in Civil Rights movement in America: Rosa Parks. While Rosa Parks earned her position in history, this story does not begin with a tired woman who simply needed to rest her feet on a bus in Birmingham, Alabama. Before Rosa Parks, there was Lucille Times.

Momentum: The Ripples Made by Ordinary People, Part 8

Sharon talks about America’s push to eradicate communists during the Red Scare and Korean War. Many people working toward the goal of civil rights and liberties shared links to the Communist Party, like William Patterson and Paul Robeson.

Momentum: The Ripples Made by Ordinary People, Part 7

In this episode of Here's Where It Get's Interesting, Sharon establishes the foundation of another man who played a pivotal role in Brown v. The Board of Education.

Momentum: The Ripples Made by Ordinary People, Part 6

In this episode of Momentum: Civil Rights in the 1950s, Sharon continues the conversation with Gilbert King. We pick up with the involvement of J.Edgar and the case of The Groveland Four, including the political dance Thurgood Marshall did with Hoover to strategically move the movement forward.

Momentum: The Ripples Made by Ordinary People, Part 5

In this episode, Sharon speaks with pulitzer-prize winning author, Gilbert King. It's Important for people to know that the popular narrative of the 1950s – depicted as a time full of sock hops, poodle skirts, and Rock & Roll – was not the lived experience of many Black Americans.