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Episode 15: Strange You Never Knew
In this episode of The Persistence, Angélica Cordero examines the breaking point of the 1960s, when the promises of the Civil Rights Movement collided with the reality of the Vietnam War, political violence, and a growing crisis of trust in American institutions.
By the mid-1960s, landmark legislation like the Civil Rights Act suggested progress. But on the ground, racial inequality, police violence, and economic injustice persisted. Then 1968 reshaped everything.
The Tet Offensive exposed the gap between government messaging and the reality of the Vietnam War. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated while organizing for labor and economic justice. Weeks later, Robert F. Kennedy was killed. Across the country, protests, uprisings, and political fractures revealed a deeper truth: the system wasn’t failing. It was functioning as designed.
Through the rise of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), the emergence of Black Power, and the tensions within coalition politics, this episode explores how movements shift from demanding civil rights to confronting power itself.
This is a story about the 1960s, but it is also about how people recognize when the official narrative stops making sense and what happens next.
This episode was written by and produced by Angélica Cordero, with a little help from ChatGPT.
Our theme song is Don’t Kid Yourself Baby by Fold, used with their blessings. Podcast artwork for The Persistence features Mexican-American activist Jovita Idar and was created by Tamra Collins of Sunroot Studio.
Resources For Fellow Wascally Wabbits
Books
The Day They Marched: 1963 March on Washington Booklet edited by Doris E. Saunders
Jane Crow and the Law: Sex Discrimination and Title VII by Pauli Murray and Mary Eastwood (George Washington Law Review 34, No. 2 December 1965: 232-56p) (How and Why Was Feminist Legal Strategy Transformed, 1960-1973?, Women and Social Movements, Alexander Street)
The Power of the Zoot: Youth Culture and Resistance during World War II by Luis Alvarez
“Zoot Suit” performance and play full text
Links
“A Million Vietnam Wars,” (Blogs, Folklife Today, American Folklife Center & Veterans History Project, Library of Congress)
“An Invisible Giant: The Legacy of Pauli Murray (J.D. ’44, H. ’17), Trailblazing Civil Rights Lawyer,” (The Dig, Howard University)
“America Sees the Truth,” (Stories, National Museum of African American History & Culture, Smithsonian)
“Baptist Street Church Bombing,” (Famous Cases and Criminals, History, FBI)
“The Civil Rights Movement and the March on Washington, 60 Years Later,” (Library Guides, Libraries, University of Minnesota)
“History, Heartbreak, and Hope: Robert F. Kennedy and 1968,” Dr. Wesley Arden Dick, (News, Albion College)
“Historical Profile: Rev. Dr. Pauli Murray ’65 JSD,” (Yale Law School Today, Yale University)
“In Previously Unseen Interview, Ruth Bader Ginsburg Shares How Legal Pioneer Pauli Murray Shaped Her Work on Sex Discrimination,” (Time Magazine)
“Jane Crow & the Story of Pauli Murray,” (Stories, National Museum of African American History & Culture, Smithsonian)
“July 2, 1964: Remarks upon Signing the Civil Rights Bill,” (The Presidency, Presidential Speeches, Miller Center, University of Virginia)
“Pachuco,” (Subcultures and Scenes, Grinnell College)
“The Sixties,” (Essays, History Resources, The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History)
“Stokely Carmichael - Speech at University of California, Berkeley,” (Black Speech, American Radioworks, American Public Media)
“The Tet Offensive,” (Primary Source Sets, American Archive of Public Broadcasting)
“The Zoot Suit: An All-American Fashion That Changed History,” (Penn Today, University of Pennsylvania)
Other
”A Time For Change” from WJZ-TV (Archive.org, 1965)
CBS Evening News Report from Vietnam (February 27, 1968)
CBS News Special Report (January 31, 1968)
“The March on Washington” (National Archives and Records Administration, Archive.org, 1963)
"New Mood" (National Educational Television and Radio Center, Archive.org, 1965)
Robert F. Kennedy announcing the Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. (Archive.org, April 4, 1968)
Support
It’s free, it’s fast, and it tells the algorithm overlords this work matters. Supporting The Persistence means supporting all of it: the podcast, the posts, the zine, the whole enchilada.
Send a post or an episode to a friend, a professor, or that cousin who loves debating politics at dinner.
One quick Apple Podcasts review does more than any marketing budget I don’t have.
Every coffee, every donation (and paid subscription) literally keeps the mic on and the stories flowing.
Collaborate (let’s dream bigger): Educators? Creative? Filmmaker/Podcaster? Org with a mission? Let’s talk.
Follow us on Instagram, TikTok, and share your thoughts with Angélica by emailing [email protected].
Don’t forget to sign up for host Angélica Cordero’s newsletter, Obsessively Curious!! It includes short insights that connect unlikely histories, recommendations, and details about other ways to interact with the show.
Get full access to Obsessively Curious at obsessivelycurious.substack.com/subscribe
View all episodes
By Angélica CorderoIn this episode of The Persistence, Angélica Cordero examines the breaking point of the 1960s, when the promises of the Civil Rights Movement collided with the reality of the Vietnam War, political violence, and a growing crisis of trust in American institutions.
By the mid-1960s, landmark legislation like the Civil Rights Act suggested progress. But on the ground, racial inequality, police violence, and economic injustice persisted. Then 1968 reshaped everything.
The Tet Offensive exposed the gap between government messaging and the reality of the Vietnam War. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated while organizing for labor and economic justice. Weeks later, Robert F. Kennedy was killed. Across the country, protests, uprisings, and political fractures revealed a deeper truth: the system wasn’t failing. It was functioning as designed.
Through the rise of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), the emergence of Black Power, and the tensions within coalition politics, this episode explores how movements shift from demanding civil rights to confronting power itself.
This is a story about the 1960s, but it is also about how people recognize when the official narrative stops making sense and what happens next.
This episode was written by and produced by Angélica Cordero, with a little help from ChatGPT.
Our theme song is Don’t Kid Yourself Baby by Fold, used with their blessings. Podcast artwork for The Persistence features Mexican-American activist Jovita Idar and was created by Tamra Collins of Sunroot Studio.
Resources For Fellow Wascally Wabbits
Books
The Day They Marched: 1963 March on Washington Booklet edited by Doris E. Saunders
Jane Crow and the Law: Sex Discrimination and Title VII by Pauli Murray and Mary Eastwood (George Washington Law Review 34, No. 2 December 1965: 232-56p) (How and Why Was Feminist Legal Strategy Transformed, 1960-1973?, Women and Social Movements, Alexander Street)
The Power of the Zoot: Youth Culture and Resistance during World War II by Luis Alvarez
“Zoot Suit” performance and play full text
Links
“A Million Vietnam Wars,” (Blogs, Folklife Today, American Folklife Center & Veterans History Project, Library of Congress)
“An Invisible Giant: The Legacy of Pauli Murray (J.D. ’44, H. ’17), Trailblazing Civil Rights Lawyer,” (The Dig, Howard University)
“America Sees the Truth,” (Stories, National Museum of African American History & Culture, Smithsonian)
“Baptist Street Church Bombing,” (Famous Cases and Criminals, History, FBI)
“The Civil Rights Movement and the March on Washington, 60 Years Later,” (Library Guides, Libraries, University of Minnesota)
“History, Heartbreak, and Hope: Robert F. Kennedy and 1968,” Dr. Wesley Arden Dick, (News, Albion College)
“Historical Profile: Rev. Dr. Pauli Murray ’65 JSD,” (Yale Law School Today, Yale University)
“In Previously Unseen Interview, Ruth Bader Ginsburg Shares How Legal Pioneer Pauli Murray Shaped Her Work on Sex Discrimination,” (Time Magazine)
“Jane Crow & the Story of Pauli Murray,” (Stories, National Museum of African American History & Culture, Smithsonian)
“July 2, 1964: Remarks upon Signing the Civil Rights Bill,” (The Presidency, Presidential Speeches, Miller Center, University of Virginia)
“Pachuco,” (Subcultures and Scenes, Grinnell College)
“The Sixties,” (Essays, History Resources, The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History)
“Stokely Carmichael - Speech at University of California, Berkeley,” (Black Speech, American Radioworks, American Public Media)
“The Tet Offensive,” (Primary Source Sets, American Archive of Public Broadcasting)
“The Zoot Suit: An All-American Fashion That Changed History,” (Penn Today, University of Pennsylvania)
Other
”A Time For Change” from WJZ-TV (Archive.org, 1965)
CBS Evening News Report from Vietnam (February 27, 1968)
CBS News Special Report (January 31, 1968)
“The March on Washington” (National Archives and Records Administration, Archive.org, 1963)
"New Mood" (National Educational Television and Radio Center, Archive.org, 1965)
Robert F. Kennedy announcing the Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. (Archive.org, April 4, 1968)
Support
It’s free, it’s fast, and it tells the algorithm overlords this work matters. Supporting The Persistence means supporting all of it: the podcast, the posts, the zine, the whole enchilada.
Send a post or an episode to a friend, a professor, or that cousin who loves debating politics at dinner.
One quick Apple Podcasts review does more than any marketing budget I don’t have.
Every coffee, every donation (and paid subscription) literally keeps the mic on and the stories flowing.
Collaborate (let’s dream bigger): Educators? Creative? Filmmaker/Podcaster? Org with a mission? Let’s talk.
Follow us on Instagram, TikTok, and share your thoughts with Angélica by emailing [email protected].
Don’t forget to sign up for host Angélica Cordero’s newsletter, Obsessively Curious!! It includes short insights that connect unlikely histories, recommendations, and details about other ways to interact with the show.
Get full access to Obsessively Curious at obsessivelycurious.substack.com/subscribe