American Women — Women of Color and discrimination

  • The Velvet Sledgehammer: June 30, 1982

    Production reel for the June 30, 1982 episode of The Velvet Sledgehammer, produced by Donna Allegra. Program includes tapes from the 1979 1st Third World Lesbian and Gay Conference in Washington, D.C., featuring 1) segments from the Combahee River Collective workshop on racism with Barbara Smith and Damita Frazier, and audience remarks from Zhane Gray…

  • The Lesbian Show – October 23, 1978: Varied Voices of Black Women

    This episode of The Lesbian Show features a conversation among three of the four women from “Varied Voices of Black Women,” a poetry and music production touring the north East Coast, produced by Mud Productions. The guests are pianist Mary Watkins (b. 1939), singer and percussionist Linda Tillery (b.1948), and poet Pat Parker (1944-1989). Gwen…

  • Ntozake Shange: Sassafrass, Cypress & Indigo

    Author Ntozake Shange reads from her novel, Sassafrass, Cypress & Indigo (St. Martin’s Press, 1982) at Cody’s bookstore in Berkeley, CA in September 1982. Shange describes the book before reading excerpts from it and is then interviewed by KPFA’s Ginny Z. Berson. Reading at Cody’s recorded by Pam Scola. This recording is identical to AZ0675.

  • Sonia Sanchez / interviewed by David Henderson. (Episode 4 of 4)

    Sonia Sanchez (1934 – ), poet and co-founder of the Black Studies department at San Francisco State College, reads some of her poems and discusses her work with David Henderson, poet and editor of the 1967-68 anthology series Umbra. She reads Homecoming, Summary, The final solution/the leaders speak, To a jealous cat, Sonia’s blues, and…

  • Alice Walker : the color purple / produced by Laurie Udesky and Corless Smith.

    This program contains an interview, a speech, and readings from Alice Walker’s book, “The Color Purple.” In the interview, Walker talks about God, faith, lesbians, publishers and writing as healing. Walker also talks about writing in dialect. The readings are intermixed with music. Walker’s talks were recorded at Old Wives’ Tales in San Francisco and…

  • Tribute to Ella Baker

    The Southern Conference Education Fund’s annual dinner held in April at the Roosevelt Hotel in New York to honor Miss Ella Baker, who has worked for many years behind the scenes in the Civil Rights Movement. Speakers Anne Braden, Bob Zellner, Stokely Carmichael (Kwame Turé), H. Rap Brown (Jamil Al-Amin), Karen Mulloy, Howard Zinn (who…

  • Odetta / interviewed by Celestine Ware.

    African American folk, blues, jazz and spirituals singer Odetta (1930-2008) discusses her life in America, and her experiences in the music industry. An easy going interview held just before the closing of New York’s Fillmore East. She talks about Black musicians in America, her childhood, being a woman in the performing world, her metaphysical view…

  • Kathleen Cleaver on Black Panther politics / interviewed by Yolanda de Freitas, Cheryl Johnson and Jean Wiley.

    KPFA’s Yolanda de Freitas, Jean Wiley of Third World Media News, and Cheryl Johnson of the Third World Women’s Alliance interviews Black Panther Party communications secretary Kathleen Cleaver (1945 – ) upon her return to the United States after having spent three years in Algeria. She begins with an explanation of the situation in Algeria,…

  • The trial of New York Panther 21 / interviews by Margot Adler and Jackie Friedrich (Part 1 only)

    Margo Adler and Jackie Friedrich talk with four members of the jury on May 15, 1971, following the verdict for acquittal of the Black Panther defendants in the Panther 21 trial. This is Part 1, Part 2 is missing.

  • Conversation with Kathleen Cleaver / interviewed by Julius Lester.

    Kathleen Cleaver, Communications Secretary of the Black Panther Party, State Assembly candidate on the Peace & Freedom Party platform and wife of Black Panther Party Minister of Information Eldridge Cleaver, discusses Black activism and her husband’s activities and persecution with host Julius Lester. Cleaver talks about the origins of the Black Panther Party and describes…