Shelley’s Plumbline

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From time to time, Shelley would conduct an open forum during his show, and listeners would call in. Today’s episode features a discussion from 1996 with Shelley and a listener regarding a speech given by William Raspberry, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist for the Washington Post. The discussion focuses on how racism is often used as an excuse or crutch against progress.

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Today we continue our exploration of one of the many organizers in the Movement who had great influence but were not as well-known. This episode features an interview from January of 1998 when Shelley sat down with Tommy Wrenn.

Active in the movement in both Birmingham and Selma, Wrenn worked as a field staffer for the Dr King's Southern Christian Leadership Conference.

Wrenn would go into towns to set up routes for protest marchers before King would arrive, doing the groundwork to make the event a success.

He expresses his frustration at the lack of support he received and how many people believed in the mission of the movement but stayed in the background.

Even after retiring as a dental technician, he remained active in politics and the movement until his death in 2010.

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Today’s episode features an interview from 1998 with the author of The Boy Who Didn’t Want to Be Black, Yvonne Willie.

She and Shelley discuss the role of racial identity and self-worth, revealing that internalized racism is a learned behavior.

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Today we continue to share little-known stories of the struggle during the early 60s with an interview with James Armstrong. He recounts the many artificial obstacles city officials presented him when he attempted to enroll his children in Graymont School in Birmingham, Alabama, at a time when it was segregated. 

He prevailed, however, and his sons Floyd and Dwight were the first students to integrate the school. 

This interview, conducted by Ron January, first aired on Shelley’s program “Open Mic” in 1993.

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Today, we feature an interview with author and historian Dr. Vincent Harding. A social activist, he was perhaps best known for his work with and writings about Martin Luther King Jr., whom Harding knew personally. 

In this episode, Dr Harding sits down with Shelley and talks about not only the Black struggle – but how several different vectors of society then, as now, are engaged in a struggle for freedom.

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Today, we share an interview with Johnny Ford, the first African-American mayor of Tuskegee, Alabama. He served five terms from 1972 to 1996 when he won a seat in the Alabama House of Representatives. He was re-elected mayor of Tuskegee in 2004, and he served until 2008. This interview touches on the issues of gerrymandering and how it unfairly affects the representation of the population.

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In this episode, Shelley shares an interview from January 1993 with Rev. Nelson H. Smith, also known as "Fireball" Smith. Smith was another unknown yet highly influential foot soldier in the fight for human rights for all, participating in The Movement before the 1960s and marching side by side with Dr. King during the '60s.

Throughout his ministry, Smith preached the importance of higher education, financial management, and economics. He founded the New Pilgrim Credit Union in 1965 and led his church in the development of a bookstore and the New Pilgrim Towers apartments, to name a few of his accomplishments.

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Happy 89th Birthday to Shelley Stewart!

Today, we celebrate Shelley's 89th birthday with a recording of a speech Shelley made when he was 63 years old at Friendship Baptist Church.

This Church plays a special role in Shelley's life. As a boy of five, he saw his mother murdered just a few blocks away. In spite of growing up without his parents, he would celebrate his graduation in this same Church. 

Without a doubt, the Friendship Baptist Church has held a special place in Shelley's heart. In today's podcast, he shares a message that he's shared all his life.

A message that tells hard truths but also triumphs love, mutual respect, and human rights for ALL people and that faith is the power that enables the unlikely to accomplish the impossible.

Today's episode is a heartfelt message from Shelley, one of faith. What we know is if you lose faith, you lose all. 

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This week, Shelley continues to explore some of the lesser-known yet powerful foot soldiers in the Movement. 

One such person is Yvonne Turner.

Who is Yvonne Turner? Well, well before the Human Rights Movement of the 60s, the true Movement began in the mid-1950s, and people like Yvonne Turner, Georgia Price, and others were instrumental in organizing voter education drives and meetings. Visit shelleysplumbline.com to see one of the voter education documents Yvonne created and shared so Blacks could be prepared to answer questions in order to vote.

She was often referred to as the most loved and hated woman in Birmingham because she helped the Movement so much but also spoke to a truth that many would rather not hear.

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To kick off Season 3 of Shelley's Plumbline, we went through his archives, and Shelley rediscovered some rare recordings of #MLK that he had forgotten about. 

These are speeches MLK made in Birmingham! Why are they rare? Because for his protection and to keep Bull Conner guessing, Dr. King would often show up to churches unannounced to make speeches. 

Shelley Stewart was in attendance recording the choir when Dr. King showed up. They left the recorder running when he made these speeches. You can hear them both in this week's podcast.

Very timely given that September 15 is the anniversary of bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church.

In Season 3, Shelley sets the record straight on the "Movement" and how only the media called it the "Civil Rights Movement." It was, and is, a Movement for the freedom of all people.

Please listen, and if you are so moved, share it with others.

#civilrightsmovement #shelleysplumbline #humanrights

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