Chapter Seventeen: The Fall Of Ole Miss

SNCC office attacked, the struggle of registering people to vote, more church burning, King attacked, all the and more and the sage of James Meredith and Old Miss

In this chapter we learn:

-Who says “they should point their guns at us and then we could step aside.”

-What is the Council of Federated Organizations?

-Another example of Bob Moses acting calm as always.

-if it’s easy or difficult to register black people to vote in mississippi.

-what the capitalist class of Birmingham want from King and the SCLC

-more of Rockefeller trolling JFK

-what does the concept “remove the office, instead of the man” refer to.

-how MLK responds when he’s assaulted by a Nazi.

-the James Meredith Ole Miss registration saga / riot.

In this special episode with Josh and Sean, we hear the historic archival conversation between JFK and Governor of Mississippi Ross Barnett discuss the confrontation around black student James Meredith trying to register at the University of Mississippi.

Chapter 16 The Fireman’s Last Reprieve

My birthday show! Albany Part II.

We go back to Albany, it's the summer of 1962. King is in Albany Georgia, fighting segregation. What we learn:

-Why does King get let out of jail but is upset about it, and wants to stay in!

-Someone pees their pants and says “Nobody but the laundry man will know how scared I was.”

-Incident of King jumping out a window… and running away.

-I like avant garde jazz, but I do not like avant garde legal theory when it’s supporting white supremacy, but Gabe disagrees and says it’s common legal theory.

-King gets yelled at by SNCC leaders, how does it go, who is right, King or the youth? We’ll discuss.

-Is Governor Nelson Rockefeller trolling Kennedy?

-my favorite title of a chapter, and Branch’s writing last line!

-a character like a young Paul Cooley causes a problem.

Chapter 15 Hoover’s Triangle and King’s Machine

Old Sourpuss gets a mention (WEB DuBois), Kennedy and Hoover battle, Mob and Sex Scandal, Shuttlesworth in jail, triple church bombing, King gives a negative speech, we learn more about who Jack O’Dell is, more on the tension and rivalry in the Civil Rights movement organizations, Who is Harry Wachtel, Wiretapping of Stanley Levison, NAACP Convention, a racist coroner acts as a psychiatrist, does King go back to jail?

Intro Music: The Staple Singers “Freedom Highway” (1965).

Albany Georgia, mass arrests! Youth lead the charge, SNCC. We learn about the Albany Movement to end segregation, and it’s origin. Tension between King, SNCC, NAACP. We are introduced to a smart sophisticated police officer, Laurie Pritchett, non brutal. Is King a distraction to the Albany Movement? Does he help or hurt? And do we have victory or failure in Albany, and how does this compare to Montgomery? All that and more in another great episode, and several short musical breaks by original music by Paul!

Chapter 13 Moses in McComb, King in Kansas City

We go deeper into the south, the deep deep south and try to do some voter registration. It does not go well. There is a debacle at the black National Baptist Convention which stains King’s reputation, and tragically there is violence in Mississippi resulting in a murder.

Intro music by the Staple Singers “Freedom Highway” 1965.

Chapter 12 The Summer of Freedom Rides

Maybe our best episode yet!

More details on the Freedom rides, but thankfully less violent, back and forth contention between MLK and RFK!! Who says “they don’t even believe in the atom bomb,” we see a showdown between State Government and Federal Government, we learn about challenges to Martin Luther King from students, and maybe some disappointments, possibly the funniest line in the book about genitals, what liberal Republican rich white political figure lavishes King with praise and assistance, and makes a movie about King. Is Gabe sympathetic to Governor Patterson? No, he is not. Heroic effort from Fred Shuttlesworth, parting the crowd!

Chapter Eleven: Baptism on Wheels

This is a sad and violent chapter, and exhibits both the best and worst of humanity. A chapter without King, but about SNCC activists and the Freedom Rides in May of 1961. Tidbits we learn in this chapter: Who used the excuse that he had to help a friend move furniture and avoid a major civil rights action (Freedom Ride)! What city has the worst hospital in the world at this time! Was there a conspiracy by a local government, Ku Klux Klan, to beat civil rights activists for 15 minutes. What does Japan think of white supremacy violence?

What minor character could I see myself being. All that and more, and shout outs too John Seignthaler, James Farmer, James Bevel, John Lewis, Albert Bigelow, Simeon Booker, James Peck, Genevieve Hughes, Herbert Harris, Selyn McCollum, Susan Wilbur, Sue Harmon, Jim Zerg and and all the Freedom Riders and of course Diane Nash!

Intro music by the Staples Singers “Freedom Highway” 1965.

JFK is the president. We start with a terrible fumigating incident to civil rights activists. King goes on TV to debate a segregationist dumb newsman. We learn about another great Pennsylvania civil rights leader, from Uniontown PA, what was the name Journey of Reconciliation’s name is changed too…(this is an easy one), why does Daddy King get booed, learn about the The Bathroom Incident, and a good discussion about why this highlights the lie of racism. John Lewis leadership. We go over more on John Doar and voting rights, and why it’s so difficult to prove legal discrimination, also what famous civil war’s grandson who fought for the union side, is not great on civil rights or as he would put it “Racial Matters.” MLK doing some organizing some jujitsu! All that and more on another great episode. Sorry no musical break this episode.

Intro music by The Staples Singers “Freedom Highway” 1965.

Chapter 8 Shades of Politics

Who almost get's blackmailed, who I think is a slimy, but on the right side of history, we meet DSA founder Michael Harrington, we are going to learn about another saint type figure who is not religious, but is spiritual, and another Robert Graetz type character, a man doesn’t know what he’s getting into, and some NBC corruption, not the TV network, the National Baptist Convention.

Intro music by The Staples Singers “Freedom Highway” 1965.

Chapter Seven: The Quickening

SNCC! Back to some action after the slog of chapter six.

We are going to learn what is a “Sit in.” What is SNCC and who really started it?What Mayor in the South actually, comes across as good? King’s Legal Troubles.

Who Paul thinks is the best looking civil rights activist, and who is also a fearless an unsung hero! What celebrity introduces JFK to MLK. All that and more and spend the year 1960 with us in this episode.

Intro music by The Staples Singers “Freedom Highway” 1965.