My
century considers the power of political oratory and song last
century.
The
Promised Land Listen
The
American civil rights leader Dr Martin Luther King made his
last speech at the Mason Temple in Memphis, Tennessee in 1968.
Luther Ivory was a teenager, and went to the Temple to hear
him that night. The next day Dr King was assassinated, and Luther
Ivory's life changed forever.
Singing
For Bangladesh
Listen In 1971 Naila Zaman Khan joined a singing
troupe to travel round India and raise the spirits of millions
of refugees fleeing the war in her own country. She says she
made a modest contribution to the birth of Bangladesh.
Passion
Flower
Listen Simon Hirshman fought against Franco in the Spanish
Civil War of 1937 in the international brigade. He met La Pasionaria
- the Passion Flower - otherwise known as Dolores Ibarruri,
the extraordinary woman who won her name with her fiery oratory
rallying the anti-fascist forces during the war.
Music
Against Apartheid Listen
Hugh Masekela was given his first trumpet by
Bishop Trevor Huddlestone in the townships of South Africa.
He went on to play with Dizzy Gillespie and Miles Davies, and
in exile he fought against apartheid with his music. Here he
talks about the inspiration for his famous song Stimela - about
the train taking migrant workers to South Africa's coal mines.
The
Cuban Revolution Listen
Andres
Castillo Bernal was born in 1945 at Sancti Spiritus, which
is the geographical centre of Cuba. He studied history at
the University of Havana - and as a student remembers taking
President Fidel Castro to a coffee shop where they talked
until one in the morning. Andres is a journalist and author
of several books about the revolution. His friend Oswaldo
Torres (on the right of the photograph) was Andres' translator
for his My Century.
