Podcasts about aram goudsouzian

We're all on a quest to discover ourselves, internalizing what we witness through experimenting, learning, and reflecting as we go along. To find real freedom, we must enter our interior world's gates. One person who mastered the ability to self-reflect and operate from a place of authenticity is Sidney Poitier. The legendary Bahamian American actor, director, and producer broke the color barrier in the U.S. motion-picture industry by becoming the first African American to win an Academy Award for Best Actor in 1964 for Lilies of the Field. He came to defy the odds against him thanks not only to his extraordinary acting talent but also to his ability to successfully cultivate an inner world that sustained him during the trials and tribulations he faced during his long career in Hollywood. To discuss the life of this pioneer in entertainment and the wisdom we can glean from his life when it comes to cultivating a rich interiority that can serve us, I invited Aram Goudsouzian. Aram is the Bizot Family Professor of History at the University of Memphis, where he teaches courses on the civil rights movement, the modern United States, and the history of American sports, as well as survey courses on African American History. He has written several books in his area of expertise, including a biography of Sidney Poitier.  * Pre-order or learn more about Seline's new book “The Nomadic Soul: A Seeker's Guide to Finding a Sense of Self and Belonging in the Modern World”: https://www.thenomadicsoulbook.com/

On this episode of Our American Stories, Sidney Poitier: Man, Actor, Icon was the first full biography of legendary actor Sidney Poitier written by Aram Goudsouzian, professor of history at the University of Memphis. Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode of Our American Stories, Sidney Poitier: Man, Actor, Icon was the first full biography of legendary actor Sidney Poitier written by Aram Goudsouzian, professor of history at the University of Memphis. Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967) tackled inter-racial relationships. In the Heat of the Night won the Best Picture Oscar in 1967. For Love of Ivy (1968) satirised white liberal attitudes and treated audiences to the indelibly suave image of Poitier eating sushi and talking Japanese. A new play at the Kiln Theatre in London explores the decisions Poitier had to make in his film career. The playwright Ryan Calais Cameron joins Matthew Sweet with film critic Jan Asante and biographer Aram Goudsouzian to look at the acting career of Sidney Poitier, the first Black actor to win the Best Actor Academy Award. Producer: Torquil MacLeod Retrograde is at the Kiln Theatre, London until May 27th 2023 - a Sidney Poitier film season runs alongside. You can find other Free Thinking episodes exploring actors including Cary Grant, Audrey Hepburn, Jean-Paul Belmondo, Asta Nielsen, Marlene Dietrich all available on BBC Sounds and as the Arts & Ideas podcast.

Chris Herrington joins the show in studio to discuss another blown lead during the fourth quarter for the Grizzlies and the causes of the Grizzlies woes. Dr. Aram Goudsouzian also joins the show to discuss the impact that the 1973 Tigers had on the city.  

Tori and Nicole discuss new books coming to library shelves, as well as graphic novels and their current reads. The hosts also announce that Worth Reading Wednesdays will be moving to a monthly schedule! The resources discussed in this episode are listed below: Sun!: One in A Billion by Stacy McAnulty, illustrated by Stevie Lewis; Moon!: Earth's Best Friend by Stacy McAnulty, illustrated by Stevie Lewis; Mars!: Earthlings Welcome by Stacy McAnulty, illustrated by Stevie Lewis; Ocean: Waves for All by Stacy McAnulty, illustrated by David Litchfield; Earth!: My First 4.54 Billion Years by Stacy McAnulty, illustrated by David Litchfield; No, David! by David Shannon; The Healing Garden: Cultivating and Handcrafting Herbal Remedies by Juliet Blankspoor; A Dude's Guide to Baby Size: What to Expect and How to Prep for Dads-To-Be by Taylor Calmus; Scenes from My Life: A Memoir by Michael K. Williams; From Scratch: A Memoir of Love, Sicily, and Finding Home by Tembi Locke; Bones of Holly by Carolyn Haines; Home Sweet Christmas by Susan Mallery; The Twelve Topsy-Turvy, Very Messy Days of Christmas by James Patterson and Tad Safran; Her Name is Knight by Yasmin Angoe; They Come at Knight by Yasmin Angoe; Hollow by Shannon Watters, Brandon Boyer-White, and Berenice Nell; Man on A Mission: James Meredith and the Battle of Ole Miss by Aram Goudsouzian, illustrations by Bill Murray, edited by Vijay Shaw; Three Years in Mississippi by James Meredith; Stranger Things: Suspicious Minds by Gwenda Bond

The Context of White Supremacy (C.O.W.S.) Radio Program welcomes Suspected Racist, Dr. Aram Goudsouzian. A Professor of History at the University of Memphis, Dr. Goudsouzian's research examines 20th century American history, with a particular focus on race, politics, and culture. He is classified as a White Man. William Felton Russell passed away in July 2022 at the age of 88. The Boston Celtics legend was a COINTELPRO victim and an 11-time NBA champion. We'll discuss Dr. Goudsouzian biography, King of the Court: Bill Russell and the Basketball Revolution. The work details Russell life and path to revolutionizing the way professional basketball is played. More importantly, it examines how the System of White Supremacy dominated all aspects of Mr. Russell's live from his Louisiana beginnings to his later years in Washington state. We'll discuss the Celtics's opening season tribute to their legendary center. His number 6 is being retired by every team in the league. #LetsGoCeltics #COINTELPRO INVEST in The COWS – http://paypal.me/TheCOWS Cash App: https://cash.app/$TheCOWS CALL IN NUMBER: 720.716.7300 CODE 564943#

Aram Goudsouzian is a professor and the chair of the history department at the University of Memphis. He's appeared on Book Talk before to discuss his books, King of the Court about NBA legend Bill Russell, Down to the Crossroads: Civil Rights, Black Power, and the Meredith March Against Fear, and The Men and the Moment: The Election of 1968 and the Rise of Partisan Politics in America. Today we'll be talking about his latest project, Man on a Mission:James Meredith and the Battle of Ole Miss, an illustrated graphic history of James Meredith's attempts to attend The University of Mississippi in the early 1960s during Jim Crow. The illustrator for the book is Bill Murray, and the editor is Vijay Shah, and it is published by The University of Arkansas Press.   

Certain people can change the game they play all by themselves. Aram Goudsouzian, professor of history at the University of Memphis, considers the life of one such player. Aram Goudsouzian is the Bizot Family Professor of History at the University of Memphis, where he teaches courses on modern American history, with a particular focus on […]

On this episode of Our American Stories, Sidney Poitier: Man, Actor, Icon was the first full biography of legendary actor Sidney Poitier written by Aram Goudsouzian, professor of history at the University of Memphis. In it, he explores the hard, but admirable journey Poitier travelled, and why we view him today as a legend. Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The greatest winner in the history of team sports, BILL RUSSELL died this week at 88. Russell's Celtics won 11 NBA championships in his 13 years. He was voted MVP 5 times by his peers, was the first Black head coach in a major US sport, and his legacy as a man of principle may be even greater than as an athlete. Here's my 2010 conversation with ARAM GOUDSOUZIAN on his book, KING OF THE COURT: BILL RUSSELL AND THE BASKETBALL REVOLUTION. In the second half, you'll hear my 2009 conversation with CORNEL WEST, teacher, philosopher, author, activist, and public intellectual on his memoir, BROTHER WEST. One of my favorite all-time guests. West entered Harvard College a few months after Russell's retirement from the NBA.

On this episode of Our American Stories, Sidney Poitier's elegant bearing and principled onscreen characters made him Hollywood's first black movie star and the first Black man to win the best actor Oscar. Sidney Poitier: Man, Actor, Icon was the first full biography of legendary actor Sidney Poitier written by Aram Goudsouzian, professor of history at the University of Memphis. Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A discussion with Aram Goudsouzian, Professor of History at University of Memphis, and Charles McKinney, Professor of Africana Studies at Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee. McKinney is the author of numerous essays on African American history and the book Greater Freedom: The Evolution of the Civil Rights Struggle in Wilson, North Carolina, published in 2010, and is currently at work on a book titled Losing the Party of Lincoln: George Washington Lee and the Struggle for the Soul of the Republican Party, which explores the life and work of George Washington Lee, an African American Republican operative and civil rights activist who lived in Memphis in the middle of the twentieth century. Goudsouzian is the author of five books, including most recently Down to the Crossroads: Civil Rights, Black Power, and the Meredith March Against Fear, published in 2014, and 2019's The Men and the Moment: The Election of 1968 and the Rise of Partisan Politics in America.Together, Goudsouzian and McKinney edited the 2018 collection An Unseen Light: Black Struggles for Freedom in Memphis, Tennessee, published by University of Kentucky Press, which we discuss in this episode. 

This time Eric marks the passing of legendary actor and civil rights icon Sidney Poitier with a conversation with Aram Goudsouzian, Professor of History at the University of Memphis and author of Sidney Poitier: Man, Actor, Icon. The discussion touches on everything from Poitier's early life and training as an actor to his tenuous relationship with Black radical politics in the 1960s. The second half of the conversation explores Poitier's lasting impact and relevance to today. More The post Aram Goudsouzian appeared first on CounterPunch.org.

Today we're traveling to Nixon's America with Dick! Join us for a discussion of Checkers and other presidential dogs, Rose Mary Woods, "win a date with. . . " contests, as well as a fun digression into what exactly counts as a "lifetime supply" of tampons. Sources: Win a Date With. . .  Alanna Nash, "My Date WIth Davy Jones," Rolling Stone (8 March 2012). https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/my-date-with-davy-jones-113220/amp/ Sharon Marcus, "Intimacy," The Drama of Celebrity (Princeton University Press, 2019). https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctvc772z0.7 Perry Nodelman, "Teaching Girls about Men: Attitudes Toward Maleness in Teen Magazines," Studies in Popular Culture 9:1 (1986): 103-118. https://www.jstor.org/stable/23412904 Melissa Loseby, "That time I entered a contest to win a date with John Stamos," HelloGiggles (13 October 2016). https://hellogiggles.com/lifestyle/nostalgia/win-a-date-with-john-stamos/ Alison Martino, "KHJ, L.A.'s Coolest AM Radio Station, Is Basically a Background Actor in "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood"" Los Angeles Magazine (29 July 2019). https://www.lamag.com/culturefiles/khj-radio-once-upon-a-time-in-hollywood/ Checkers: David Williams, "Inappropriate/d Others or, The Difficulty of Being a Dog," TDR 51:1 (Spring 2007): 92-118. https://www.jstor.org/stable/4492737 Diana C. Mutz, "The Dog that Didn't Bark: the Role of Canines in the 2008 Campaign," PS: Political Science and Politics 43:4 (October 2010): 707-712. https://www.jstor.org/stable/40927039 Thomas Hauser, Thomas Hauser on Sports: Remembering the Journey (University of Arkansas Press, 2013). https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt1ffjhwf.21 Aram Goudsouzian, "The Loser," The Men and the Moment: The Election of 1968 and the Rise of Partisan Politics in America p. 15-28 (University of North Carolina Press, 2019). https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5149/9781469651118_goudsouzian Joshua M. Glasser, The Eighteen-Day Running Mate: McGovern, Eagleton, and a Campaign in Crisis (Yale University Press, 2012). https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt5vkqgb.18 Stephen F. Knott, "The Road to Degradation," The Lost Soul of the American Presidency: The Decline into Demagoguery and the Prospects for Renewal p.175-205 (University Press of Kansas, 2019). https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctvxbpfcr.12 Ann-Janine Morey, "The Gaze Outside the Frame," Picturing Dogs, Seeing Ourselves: Vintage American Photographs p.77-102 (Penn State University Press, 2014). https://doi.org/10.5325/j.ctv14gp9pj.8 Rick Perlstein (ed.), "The "Checkers Speech" (September 23, 1952)" Richard Nixon: Speeches, Writings, Documents (Princeton University Press, 2008). https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt7sg9w.12 "Nixon's dogs" picture https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/photos-and-video/photos/nixons-dogs "Top Dogs at the White House" https://www.whitehousehistory.org/white-house-pets/top-dogs-at-the-white-house Laddie Boy picture: https://library.whitehousehistory.org/fotoweb/cache/5017/Main%20Index/Events/1603.t56d0927d.m1200.tif.pv.xHdx6j-_JGIfu6T1n.jpg Yuki picture: https://library.whitehousehistory.org/fotoweb/cache/5017/Main%20Index/Presidents/Lyndon%20B%20Johnson/1198.t578cd2a1.m1200.tif.pv.x6gXmPhumm5B2GOwx.jpg Timeline of the Watergate Scandal https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_the_Watergate_scandal IMDB https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0144168/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1 The 18 1/2 Minute Gap: Alison Lynn and Lauren Effron, "The Watergate Tapes' Infamous 18.5 Minute Gap and Nixon Secretary's Unusual Explanation for It." ABC News. Available at https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/watergate-tapes-infamous-185-minute-gap-nixons-secretarys/story?id=47926329 Photo of Rose Mary Woods, The Watergate Files, Gerald R Ford Presidential Library. Available at https://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov/museum/exhibits/watergate_files/content.php?section=3&page=a&zoom=2 David Kopel, "The Missing 18 1/2 Minutes: Presidential Destruction of Incriminating Evidence," Washington Post. Available at https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2014/06/16/the-missing-18-12-minutes-presidential-destruction-of-incriminating-evidence/ Rose Mary Woods: Francis Wilkinson, "Nixon's Real Enforcer," New York Times Magazine. Available at https://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/25/magazine/nixons-real-enforcer.html Film Background: Sharon Waxman, "Generation X's Tricky Dick," Washington Post, available at https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/style/1999/08/01/generation-xs-tricky-dick/b5b70d4d-b50d-453d-b9ef-ea3af28dacac/ Dick, IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0144168/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1 Woodward and Bernstein: Todd S. Purdum, "Three Decades Later, "Woodstein" Takes a Victory Lap," New York Times, 2005, available at https://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/03/politics/three-decades-later-woodstein-takes-a-victory-lap.html  

The endlessly fascinating 1968 presidential race transformed American politics in ways that are still being felt. Aram Goudsouzian explores the characters who shaped that race in The Men and the Moment: The Election of 1968 and the Rise of Partisan Politics in America (UNC Press, 2019). Goudsouzian argues the campaign marked the end of the “Old Politics” of party machines, and the rise of the “New Politics” in which candidates more robustly engaged voters. And it marked the decline of the Democratic coalition of white Southerners and northern urbanites, setting back progressivism and buoying conservatism. Goudsouzian gives readers in-depth portrayals of the motley collection of politicians who clashed that year, including Lyndon Johnson, Eugene McCarthy, Robert Kennedy, Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, Nelson Rockefeller and George Wallace. As you read about the political and cultural divisions that rocked American in 1968, it won't be hard to detect parallels in our politics today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The endlessly fascinating 1968 presidential race transformed American politics in ways that are still being felt. Aram Goudsouzian explores the characters who shaped that race in The Men and the Moment: The Election of 1968 and the Rise of Partisan Politics in America (UNC Press, 2019). Goudsouzian argues the campaign marked the end of the “Old Politics” of party machines, and the rise of the “New Politics” in which candidates more robustly engaged voters. And it marked the decline of the Democratic coalition of white Southerners and northern urbanites, setting back progressivism and buoying conservatism. Goudsouzian gives readers in-depth portrayals of the motley collection of politicians who clashed that year, including Lyndon Johnson, Eugene McCarthy, Robert Kennedy, Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, Nelson Rockefeller and George Wallace. As you read about the political and cultural divisions that rocked American in 1968, it won't be hard to detect parallels in our politics today.

The endlessly fascinating 1968 presidential race transformed American politics in ways that are still being felt. Aram Goudsouzian explores the characters who shaped that race in The Men and the Moment: The Election of 1968 and the Rise of Partisan Politics in America (UNC Press, 2019). Goudsouzian argues the campaign marked the end of the “Old Politics” of party machines, and the rise of the “New Politics” in which candidates more robustly engaged voters. And it marked the decline of the Democratic coalition of white Southerners and northern urbanites, setting back progressivism and buoying conservatism. Goudsouzian gives readers in-depth portrayals of the motley collection of politicians who clashed that year, including Lyndon Johnson, Eugene McCarthy, Robert Kennedy, Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, Nelson Rockefeller and George Wallace. As you read about the political and cultural divisions that rocked American in 1968, it won’t be hard to detect parallels in our politics today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The endlessly fascinating 1968 presidential race transformed American politics in ways that are still being felt. Aram Goudsouzian explores the characters who shaped that race in The Men and the Moment: The Election of 1968 and the Rise of Partisan Politics in America (UNC Press, 2019). Goudsouzian argues the campaign marked the end of the “Old Politics” of party machines, and the rise of the “New Politics” in which candidates more robustly engaged voters. And it marked the decline of the Democratic coalition of white Southerners and northern urbanites, setting back progressivism and buoying conservatism. Goudsouzian gives readers in-depth portrayals of the motley collection of politicians who clashed that year, including Lyndon Johnson, Eugene McCarthy, Robert Kennedy, Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, Nelson Rockefeller and George Wallace. As you read about the political and cultural divisions that rocked American in 1968, it won’t be hard to detect parallels in our politics today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The endlessly fascinating 1968 presidential race transformed American politics in ways that are still being felt. Aram Goudsouzian explores the characters who shaped that race in The Men and the Moment: The Election of 1968 and the Rise of Partisan Politics in America (UNC Press, 2019). Goudsouzian argues the campaign marked the end of the “Old Politics” of party machines, and the rise of the “New Politics” in which candidates more robustly engaged voters. And it marked the decline of the Democratic coalition of white Southerners and northern urbanites, setting back progressivism and buoying conservatism. Goudsouzian gives readers in-depth portrayals of the motley collection of politicians who clashed that year, including Lyndon Johnson, Eugene McCarthy, Robert Kennedy, Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, Nelson Rockefeller and George Wallace. As you read about the political and cultural divisions that rocked American in 1968, it won’t be hard to detect parallels in our politics today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The endlessly fascinating 1968 presidential race transformed American politics in ways that are still being felt. Aram Goudsouzian explores the characters who shaped that race in The Men and the Moment: The Election of 1968 and the Rise of Partisan Politics in America (UNC Press, 2019). Goudsouzian argues the campaign marked the end of the “Old Politics” of party machines, and the rise of the “New Politics” in which candidates more robustly engaged voters. And it marked the decline of the Democratic coalition of white Southerners and northern urbanites, setting back progressivism and buoying conservatism. Goudsouzian gives readers in-depth portrayals of the motley collection of politicians who clashed that year, including Lyndon Johnson, Eugene McCarthy, Robert Kennedy, Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, Nelson Rockefeller and George Wallace. As you read about the political and cultural divisions that rocked American in 1968, it won’t be hard to detect parallels in our politics today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The endlessly fascinating 1968 presidential race transformed American politics in ways that are still being felt. Aram Goudsouzian explores the characters who shaped that race in The Men and the Moment: The Election of 1968 and the Rise of Partisan Politics in America (UNC Press, 2019). Goudsouzian argues the campaign marked the end of the “Old Politics” of party machines, and the rise of the “New Politics” in which candidates more robustly engaged voters. And it marked the decline of the Democratic coalition of white Southerners and northern urbanites, setting back progressivism and buoying conservatism. Goudsouzian gives readers in-depth portrayals of the motley collection of politicians who clashed that year, including Lyndon Johnson, Eugene McCarthy, Robert Kennedy, Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, Nelson Rockefeller and George Wallace. As you read about the political and cultural divisions that rocked American in 1968, it won’t be hard to detect parallels in our politics today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dr. Aram Goudsouzian is a professor of history at the University of Memphis. He has written biographies of Sidney Poitier and Bill Russell, as well as an in-depth look at the Civil Rights landmark Meredith March Against Fear. We have the second of our two part interview about his latest book, The Men and the Moment: The Election of 1968 and the Rise of Partisan Politics in America, which is published by University of North Carolina Press. Today we'll be looking at the Democratic Party primaries and the path up to the general election.

Dr. Aram Goudsouzian is a professor of history at the University of Memphis. He has written biographies of Sidney Poitier and Bill Russell, as well as an in-depth look at the Civil Rights landmark Meredith March Against Fear. Today, we have the first of two part interview about his latest book, The Men and the Moment: The Election of 1968 and the Rise of Partisan Politics in America, which is published by University of North Carolina Press.

Most people will know that Memphis, Tennessee is where Dr. Martin Luther King was assassinated in 1968. That's too bad, because Memphis played an important role in the struggle for civil rights both before and after King was murdered.  Drs. Aram Goudsouzian and Charles McKinney's reclaim this history in their excellent edited volume An Unseen Light: Black Struggles for Freedom in Memphis, Tennessee (University Press of Kentucky, 2018). Listen in. Adam McNeil is a PhD student in the Department of History at the University of Delaware. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/african-american-studies

Most people will know that Memphis, Tennessee is where Dr. Martin Luther King was assassinated in 1968. That's too bad, because Memphis played an important role in the struggle for civil rights both before and after King was murdered.  Drs. Aram Goudsouzian and Charles McKinney’s reclaim this history in their excellent edited volume An Unseen Light: Black Struggles for Freedom in Memphis, Tennessee (University Press of Kentucky, 2018). Listen in. Adam McNeil is a PhD student in the Department of History at the University of Delaware. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Most people will know that Memphis, Tennessee is where Dr. Martin Luther King was assassinated in 1968. That's too bad, because Memphis played an important role in the struggle for civil rights both before and after King was murdered.  Drs. Aram Goudsouzian and Charles McKinney’s reclaim this history in their excellent edited volume An Unseen Light: Black Struggles for Freedom in Memphis, Tennessee (University Press of Kentucky, 2018). Listen in. Adam McNeil is a PhD student in the Department of History at the University of Delaware. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Most people will know that Memphis, Tennessee is where Dr. Martin Luther King was assassinated in 1968. That's too bad, because Memphis played an important role in the struggle for civil rights both before and after King was murdered.  Drs. Aram Goudsouzian and Charles McKinney’s reclaim this history in their excellent edited volume An Unseen Light: Black Struggles for Freedom in Memphis, Tennessee (University Press of Kentucky, 2018). Listen in. Adam McNeil is a PhD student in the Department of History at the University of Delaware. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We discuss Bill Russell's childhood, college career, life off the court, post-playing career and his extensive civil rights activism with Dr. Aram Goudsouzian, author of “King of the Court: Bill Russell and the Basketball Revolution.” We discuss the events of Russell's childhood that shaped his life including his mother's death when he was 12, the unique way he developed his game on defensive, his time at the University of San Francisco, the significance of him rejecting the Harlem Globetrotters and blazing a trail for black NBA superstars, how he dealt with racism among fans and media members, speaking out against NBA quotas of black players, visiting Mississippi during the Freedom Summer in 1964, his views on Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, writing a Sports Illustrated article in support of Muhammad Ali, his work to support integration in Boston schools, why he opposed signing autographs and rejected the Basketball Hall of Fame, his post-playing life trying to break into Hollywood, and his stints coaching the Seattle Supersonics in the 1970s and Sacramento Kings in the late 1980s, and much more. Original airdate: 4/25/16 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The recent debate and court challenge to the Voting Rights Act of 1965 reminds us of what was the once and future fragility of registering black voters in the south. Back in 1966, a year after the passage of the Voting Rights Act, James Meredith, who became the first African American student at University of Mississippi, set out on an almost solitary march from Memphis to Jackson Mississippi to register black voters.At the end of that march, which started on June 5 1966, the civil rights movement would be forever transformed.  The movement's twin goals of the dream of integration and of nonviolence, would be replaced by black power and impatience.It's a story that's not as famous as the Selma to Montgomery march a year earlier, but its impact was everlasting and its tensions still relevant today. This is the story that Aram Goudsouzian tells in Down to the Crossroads: Civil Rights, Black Power, and the Meredith March Against Fear. My conversation with Aram Goudsouzian:

When I was a kid in the 1970s, I really didn’t know anything about the “Civil Rights Movement.” I knew who Martin Luther King was, and that he had been assassinated by white racists (I knew quite a few of those). But to me all that was old history. The issue of the day–at least as it concerned African Americans–was something called the “Black Power Movement.” Of Rosa Parks, the Freedom Riders, and the Little Rock Nine I knew nothing. At the forefront of my mind were Stokley Carmichael, Huey Newton, and Bobby Seale. I followed the exploits of the Black Panthers. I read Eldridge Cleaver’s Soul on Ice. I really understood none of it. I was a suburban white kid in the Midwest. The world these angry men described was foreign to me, but nonetheless fascinating. At what point did the Civil Rights Movement become the the Black Power Movement?  Aram Goudsouzian tries to answer this question in his terrific, readable book Down to the Crossroads: Civil Rights, Black Power, and the Meredith March Against Fear (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2014). Goudsouzian has a sharp eye for ironies, and the story he tells is full of them. James Meredith, the leader of the “march,” didn’t desire or plan a march at all; rather, he wanted to walk across Mississippi and thereby launch his political career. Martin Luther King never intended to take part in the “march” but was compelled to do so after Meredith was shot and his erstwhile political stunt morphed into a national spectacle. Stokely Carmichael was a regional black leader who was, much to his surprise, catapulted into the spotlight by a slogan he could not control–“Black Power.” It’s a fascinating story. Listen in. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When I was a kid in the 1970s, I really didn’t know anything about the “Civil Rights Movement.” I knew who Martin Luther King was, and that he had been assassinated by white racists (I knew quite a few of those). But to me all that was old history. The issue of the day–at least as it concerned African Americans–was something called the “Black Power Movement.” Of Rosa Parks, the Freedom Riders, and the Little Rock Nine I knew nothing. At the forefront of my mind were Stokley Carmichael, Huey Newton, and Bobby Seale. I followed the exploits of the Black Panthers. I read Eldridge Cleaver’s Soul on Ice. I really understood none of it. I was a suburban white kid in the Midwest. The world these angry men described was foreign to me, but nonetheless fascinating. At what point did the Civil Rights Movement become the the Black Power Movement?  Aram Goudsouzian tries to answer this question in his terrific, readable book Down to the Crossroads: Civil Rights, Black Power, and the Meredith March Against Fear (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2014). Goudsouzian has a sharp eye for ironies, and the story he tells is full of them. James Meredith, the leader of the “march,” didn’t desire or plan a march at all; rather, he wanted to walk across Mississippi and thereby launch his political career. Martin Luther King never intended to take part in the “march” but was compelled to do so after Meredith was shot and his erstwhile political stunt morphed into a national spectacle. Stokely Carmichael was a regional black leader who was, much to his surprise, catapulted into the spotlight by a slogan he could not control–“Black Power.” It’s a fascinating story. Listen in. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When I was a kid in the 1970s, I really didn’t know anything about the “Civil Rights Movement.” I knew who Martin Luther King was, and that he had been assassinated by white racists (I knew quite a few of those). But to me all that was old history. The issue of the day–at least as it concerned African Americans–was something called the “Black Power Movement.” Of Rosa Parks, the Freedom Riders, and the Little Rock Nine I knew nothing. At the forefront of my mind were Stokley Carmichael, Huey Newton, and Bobby Seale. I followed the exploits of the Black Panthers. I read Eldridge Cleaver’s Soul on Ice. I really understood none of it. I was a suburban white kid in the Midwest. The world these angry men described was foreign to me, but nonetheless fascinating. At what point did the Civil Rights Movement become the the Black Power Movement?  Aram Goudsouzian tries to answer this question in his terrific, readable book Down to the Crossroads: Civil Rights, Black Power, and the Meredith March Against Fear (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2014). Goudsouzian has a sharp eye for ironies, and the story he tells is full of them. James Meredith, the leader of the “march,” didn’t desire or plan a march at all; rather, he wanted to walk across Mississippi and thereby launch his political career. Martin Luther King never intended to take part in the “march” but was compelled to do so after Meredith was shot and his erstwhile political stunt morphed into a national spectacle. Stokely Carmichael was a regional black leader who was, much to his surprise, catapulted into the spotlight by a slogan he could not control–“Black Power.” It’s a fascinating story. Listen in. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When I was a kid in the 1970s, I really didn't know anything about the “Civil Rights Movement.” I knew who Martin Luther King was, and that he had been assassinated by white racists (I knew quite a few of those). But to me all that was old history. The issue of the day–at least as it concerned African Americans–was something called the “Black Power Movement.” Of Rosa Parks, the Freedom Riders, and the Little Rock Nine I knew nothing. At the forefront of my mind were Stokley Carmichael, Huey Newton, and Bobby Seale. I followed the exploits of the Black Panthers. I read Eldridge Cleaver's Soul on Ice. I really understood none of it. I was a suburban white kid in the Midwest. The world these angry men described was foreign to me, but nonetheless fascinating. At what point did the Civil Rights Movement become the the Black Power Movement?  Aram Goudsouzian tries to answer this question in his terrific, readable book Down to the Crossroads: Civil Rights, Black Power, and the Meredith March Against Fear (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2014). Goudsouzian has a sharp eye for ironies, and the story he tells is full of them. James Meredith, the leader of the “march,” didn't desire or plan a march at all; rather, he wanted to walk across Mississippi and thereby launch his political career. Martin Luther King never intended to take part in the “march” but was compelled to do so after Meredith was shot and his erstwhile political stunt morphed into a national spectacle. Stokely Carmichael was a regional black leader who was, much to his surprise, catapulted into the spotlight by a slogan he could not control–“Black Power.” It's a fascinating story. Listen in. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/african-american-studies

I imagine the guys who first faced Bill Russell felt like I did when I had to guard Antoine Carr in high school. I “held” Carr to 32 points. But no dunks! Russell’s opponents in college and the NBA rarely fared any better. Sports talk is full of hyperbole, but... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I imagine the guys who first faced Bill Russell felt like I did when I had to guard Antoine Carr in high school. I “held” Carr to 32 points. But no dunks! Russell’s opponents in college and the NBA rarely fared any better. Sports talk is full of hyperbole, but in Russell’s case most of it is true. In his time, he was far and away the best player to ever step on the court and, for most of his career, he completely owned every court he stepped on. He was so dominant that they changed the rules so less gifted players would have a chance. Bill Russell, however, was not only a surpassingly great basketball player, he was also an African American star in an era in which being an African American star (or just being an African American) was very complicated. Today we are used to seeing outstandingly successful blacks in all (or almost all) spheres of life. In the mid-1950s that just wasn’t true. The American ruling elite was lily white, and that’s the way most white Americans thought it should be. Bill Russell (and Jackie Robinson, Althea Gibson, Willie Mays, Cassius Clay, Jim Brown, among others) were anomalies: they were black, but they were both extraordinarily accomplished and remarkably famous. They couldn’t just be athletes; they had to be symbols of some promising (or frightening) new world as well. That’s quite a burden to bear. In King of the Court: Bill Russell and the Basketball Revolution (University of California Press, 2010), Aram Goudsouzian has done a great service by detailing the ways Russell bore this weight, and the ways in which he fought to throw it off. Aram makes clear that Russell was a conflicted soul. He lacked self-confidence, but he was brusk and even arrogant. He was friendly and gregarious to some, but often simply rude to others. He was hot tempered, but he affected a cool, distant demeanor. He believed he was a man of principle (and convinced others he was), but he periodically abandoned his family for a playboy lifestyle. If Russell couldn’t be honest about himself, he insisted on being honest about everything and everyone around him. He meant what he said and said what he meant–about race, about sports, about anything that bothered him. He was a sort of athletic Socrates, always questioning and never fully accepting the way things were. And, like Socrates, Russell was willing to suffer for his beliefs. As Aram points out, he did in many ways. But in the process he gained the respect of almost everyone he encountered. He was a hard man to like, but he was an easy man to admire. I should add that if you like white-hot game narratives, this book is full of them. Remember this?: “Greer is putting the ball in play. He gets it out deep and Havlicek steals it! Over to Sam Jones… Havlicek stole the ball! It’s all over… It’s all-l-l-l over!” Johnny Most, RIP. Please become a fan of “New Books in History” on Facebook if you haven’t already. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I imagine the guys who first faced Bill Russell felt like I did when I had to guard Antoine Carr in high school. I “held” Carr to 32 points. But no dunks! Russell’s opponents in college and the NBA rarely fared any better. Sports talk is full of hyperbole, but in Russell’s case most of it is true. In his time, he was far and away the best player to ever step on the court and, for most of his career, he completely owned every court he stepped on. He was so dominant that they changed the rules so less gifted players would have a chance. Bill Russell, however, was not only a surpassingly great basketball player, he was also an African American star in an era in which being an African American star (or just being an African American) was very complicated. Today we are used to seeing outstandingly successful blacks in all (or almost all) spheres of life. In the mid-1950s that just wasn’t true. The American ruling elite was lily white, and that’s the way most white Americans thought it should be. Bill Russell (and Jackie Robinson, Althea Gibson, Willie Mays, Cassius Clay, Jim Brown, among others) were anomalies: they were black, but they were both extraordinarily accomplished and remarkably famous. They couldn’t just be athletes; they had to be symbols of some promising (or frightening) new world as well. That’s quite a burden to bear. In King of the Court: Bill Russell and the Basketball Revolution (University of California Press, 2010), Aram Goudsouzian has done a great service by detailing the ways Russell bore this weight, and the ways in which he fought to throw it off. Aram makes clear that Russell was a conflicted soul. He lacked self-confidence, but he was brusk and even arrogant. He was friendly and gregarious to some, but often simply rude to others. He was hot tempered, but he affected a cool, distant demeanor. He believed he was a man of principle (and convinced others he was), but he periodically abandoned his family for a playboy lifestyle. If Russell couldn’t be honest about himself, he insisted on being honest about everything and everyone around him. He meant what he said and said what he meant–about race, about sports, about anything that bothered him. He was a sort of athletic Socrates, always questioning and never fully accepting the way things were. And, like Socrates, Russell was willing to suffer for his beliefs. As Aram points out, he did in many ways. But in the process he gained the respect of almost everyone he encountered. He was a hard man to like, but he was an easy man to admire. I should add that if you like white-hot game narratives, this book is full of them. Remember this?: “Greer is putting the ball in play. He gets it out deep and Havlicek steals it! Over to Sam Jones… Havlicek stole the ball! It’s all over… It’s all-l-l-l over!” Johnny Most, RIP. Please become a fan of “New Books in History” on Facebook if you haven’t already. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I imagine the guys who first faced Bill Russell felt like I did when I had to guard Antoine Carr in high school. I “held” Carr to 32 points. But no dunks! Russell’s opponents in college and the NBA rarely fared any better. Sports talk is full of hyperbole, but in Russell’s case most of it is true. In his time, he was far and away the best player to ever step on the court and, for most of his career, he completely owned every court he stepped on. He was so dominant that they changed the rules so less gifted players would have a chance. Bill Russell, however, was not only a surpassingly great basketball player, he was also an African American star in an era in which being an African American star (or just being an African American) was very complicated. Today we are used to seeing outstandingly successful blacks in all (or almost all) spheres of life. In the mid-1950s that just wasn’t true. The American ruling elite was lily white, and that’s the way most white Americans thought it should be. Bill Russell (and Jackie Robinson, Althea Gibson, Willie Mays, Cassius Clay, Jim Brown, among others) were anomalies: they were black, but they were both extraordinarily accomplished and remarkably famous. They couldn’t just be athletes; they had to be symbols of some promising (or frightening) new world as well. That’s quite a burden to bear. In King of the Court: Bill Russell and the Basketball Revolution (University of California Press, 2010), Aram Goudsouzian has done a great service by detailing the ways Russell bore this weight, and the ways in which he fought to throw it off. Aram makes clear that Russell was a conflicted soul. He lacked self-confidence, but he was brusk and even arrogant. He was friendly and gregarious to some, but often simply rude to others. He was hot tempered, but he affected a cool, distant demeanor. He believed he was a man of principle (and convinced others he was), but he periodically abandoned his family for a playboy lifestyle. If Russell couldn’t be honest about himself, he insisted on being honest about everything and everyone around him. He meant what he said and said what he meant–about race, about sports, about anything that bothered him. He was a sort of athletic Socrates, always questioning and never fully accepting the way things were. And, like Socrates, Russell was willing to suffer for his beliefs. As Aram points out, he did in many ways. But in the process he gained the respect of almost everyone he encountered. He was a hard man to like, but he was an easy man to admire. I should add that if you like white-hot game narratives, this book is full of them. Remember this?: “Greer is putting the ball in play. He gets it out deep and Havlicek steals it! Over to Sam Jones… Havlicek stole the ball! It’s all over… It’s all-l-l-l over!” Johnny Most, RIP. Please become a fan of “New Books in History” on Facebook if you haven’t already. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I imagine the guys who first faced Bill Russell felt like I did when I had to guard Antoine Carr in high school. I “held” Carr to 32 points. But no dunks! Russell's opponents in college and the NBA rarely fared any better. Sports talk is full of hyperbole, but in Russell's case most of it is true. In his time, he was far and away the best player to ever step on the court and, for most of his career, he completely owned every court he stepped on. He was so dominant that they changed the rules so less gifted players would have a chance. Bill Russell, however, was not only a surpassingly great basketball player, he was also an African American star in an era in which being an African American star (or just being an African American) was very complicated. Today we are used to seeing outstandingly successful blacks in all (or almost all) spheres of life. In the mid-1950s that just wasn't true. The American ruling elite was lily white, and that's the way most white Americans thought it should be. Bill Russell (and Jackie Robinson, Althea Gibson, Willie Mays, Cassius Clay, Jim Brown, among others) were anomalies: they were black, but they were both extraordinarily accomplished and remarkably famous. They couldn't just be athletes; they had to be symbols of some promising (or frightening) new world as well. That's quite a burden to bear. In King of the Court: Bill Russell and the Basketball Revolution (University of California Press, 2010), Aram Goudsouzian has done a great service by detailing the ways Russell bore this weight, and the ways in which he fought to throw it off. Aram makes clear that Russell was a conflicted soul. He lacked self-confidence, but he was brusk and even arrogant. He was friendly and gregarious to some, but often simply rude to others. He was hot tempered, but he affected a cool, distant demeanor. He believed he was a man of principle (and convinced others he was), but he periodically abandoned his family for a playboy lifestyle. If Russell couldn't be honest about himself, he insisted on being honest about everything and everyone around him. He meant what he said and said what he meant–about race, about sports, about anything that bothered him. He was a sort of athletic Socrates, always questioning and never fully accepting the way things were. And, like Socrates, Russell was willing to suffer for his beliefs. As Aram points out, he did in many ways. But in the process he gained the respect of almost everyone he encountered. He was a hard man to like, but he was an easy man to admire. I should add that if you like white-hot game narratives, this book is full of them. Remember this?: “Greer is putting the ball in play. He gets it out deep and Havlicek steals it! Over to Sam Jones… Havlicek stole the ball! It's all over… It's all-l-l-l over!” Johnny Most, RIP. Please become a fan of “New Books in History” on Facebook if you haven't already. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/african-american-studies