Stephen Drury Smith – författare

A vivid, moving portrait of how black Americans have sounded the charge against injustice, exhorting the country to live up to its democratic principles. This unique anthology collects the transcribed speeches of the 20th century's leading African American cultural, literary and political figures, many of them never before available in printed form. Includes the text of each speech along with an introduction placing it in its historical context.

Say it Plain, the celebrated companion to the American RadioWorks® documentary which documented the great tradition of African American political speech in the twentieth century, collected the transcribed speeches of the twentieth century’s leading African American cultural, literary, and political figures, many of them never before available in printed form.Following the success of that path-breaking volume, Say It Loud adds new depth to the oral and audio history of the modern struggle for racial equality and civil rights—focusing directly on the pivotal questions black America grappled with during the past three decades of struggle. With recordings made widely available here for the first time, Say It Loud includes powerful speeches by Malcolm X, Fred Hampton, Angela Davis, Bayard Rustin, Martin Luther King Jr., James Cone, Toni Morrison, Cornel West, and many others.

Published to mark the tenth anniversary of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, After the Fall is a landmark oral history drawn from the celebrated collection of 9/11 interviews at Columbia University.Within days of 9/11, Columbia’s Oral History Research Office deployed interviewers across the city to begin collecting the accounts and observations of hundreds of people from a diverse mix of New York neighborhoods and backgrounds. Over subsequent months and years, follow-up interviews produced a deep and revealing look at how the attacks changed individual lives and communities in New York City.After the Fall presents a selection of these fascinating testimonies, with heartbreaking and enlightening stories from a broad range of New Yorkers. The interviews include first-responders, taxi drivers, school teachers, artists, religious leaders, immigrants, and others who were interviewed at intervals since the 2001 attacks. The result is a remarkable time-lapse account of the city as it changed in the wake of 9/11, one that will resonate powerfully with New Yorkers and millions of others who continue to feel the impact of the most damaging attack on American soil in history.

A moving portrait of how black Americans have spoken out against injustice—with speeches by Thurgood Marshall, Shirley Chisholm, Jesse Jackson, and more.   In “full-throated public oratory, the kind that can stir the soul”, this unique anthology collects the transcribed speeches of the twentieth century’s leading African American cultural, literary, and political figures, many never before available in printed form (Minneapolis Star-Tribune).   From an 1895 speech by Booker T. Washington to Julian Bond’s sharp assessment of school segregation on the fiftieth anniversary of Brown v. Board in 2004, the collection captures a powerful tradition of oratory—by political activists, civil rights organizers, celebrities, and religious leaders—going back more than a century.   Including the text of each speech with an introduction placing it in historical context, Say It Plain is a remarkable record—from the back-to-Africa movement to the civil rights era and the rise of black nationalism and beyond—conveying a struggle for freedom and a challenge to America to live up to its democratic principles.   Includes speeches by: Mary McLeod BethuneJulian BondStokely CarmichaelShirley ChisholmLouis FarrakhanMarcus GarveyJesse JacksonMartin Luther King Jr.Thurgood MarshallBooker T. WashingtonWalter White

New Yorkers remember 9/11 in this landmark volume of oral history commemorating the tenth anniversary of the attacks—A “staggering book of living memory” (Booklist, starred review).   Within days of September 11, 2001, Columbia’s Oral History Research Office deployed interviewers across the city to collect the accounts and observations of hundreds of people from a diverse mix of New York neighborhoods and backgrounds. With follow-up interviews spanning years, the project produced a deep and revealing look at how the attacks changed individual lives and communities in New York City.  After the Fall presents a selection of these fascinating testimonies, with heartbreaking and enlightening stories from a broad range of New Yorkers. The interviews include first-responders, taxi drivers, school teachers, artists, religious leaders, immigrants, and others who were interviewed numerous times since the 2001 attacks. The result is a remarkable time-lapse account of the city as it changed in the wake of 9/11, one that will resonate powerfully with New Yorkers and millions of others who continue to feel the impact of the most damaging foreign attack to ever occur inside the United States.