From the Vault 489: Dorothy Day

In this episode of From the Vault we feature a rare recording of journalist, activist, and Catholic Worker Movement co-founder Dorothy Day. In 1927, thirty years after her birth, Day converted to Catholicism, and a few years later started The Catholic Worker, a popular newspaper promoting Catholic teachings. Leaning on the success of this publication, Day created the Catholic Worker Movement, which to this day addresses a wide range of social justice issues, guided by Catholic principles. Today, four decades after her passing in 1980, Day remains a revered figure in the modern Catholic Church, widely regarded as one of the most influential and important figures in the American Catholicism; indeed, Pope Francis himself highlighted the legacy of Dorothy Day and the Catholic Worker Movement in his 2015 address to the United States Congress.

In this interview, conducted for KPFA by Eugene Boyle on May 3rd, 1960 (and being rebroadcast for the first time now), Day discusses the Catholic Worker's Movement's campaign for world peace since its inception in the 1930's. We'll also speak with Blase Bonpane, host of the radio show World Focus (KPFK) and director of the Los Angeles-based Office of the Americas, which focuses on human rights issues and the identification of illegal and immoral aspects of United States government policy. Bonpane and Day worked side by side on many issues over the years.

From the Vault is presented as part of the Pacifica Radio Archives Preservation and Access Project, funded in part by an award from the GRAMMY Foundation and the National Historical Publications and Records Commission at the National Archives and Records Administration, and past grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Ford Foundation, and the American Archive funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, along with the generous support of Pacifica Radio Listeners. We also thank our partners and collaborators at the Pop-Up Archive, Amara, Other Minds Archives, George Blood Audio, and the California Audio Visual Preservation Project.