civil rights

Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. (Ep 6, 2022)

This week on In Black America, producer and host John L. Hanson, Jr. presents a tribute to the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on the 93rd anniversary of his birth, with excerpts from Dr. King’s speeches and commentary from the Honorable Andrew Young, the late Robert F. Kennedy, and President Barack Obama.

The Late John Hope Franklin (Ep. 5, 2022)

This week on In Black America, producer and host John L. Hanson, Jr. presents a tribute to the late John Hope Franklin, a native of Oklahoma and alumnus of Fisk University and Harvard, and the James B. Duke Professor Emeritus of History and Professor of Legal History at Duke University Law School.

Texas Standard: November 9, 2021

More lawsuits pour in as officials continue to investigate how a concert crowd turned deadly, we’ll have the latest. Also, Texas is worse off now than a year ago. At least that’s one takeaway from the latest University of Texas / Texas Tribune Poll… We’ll have a look deeper into the data. Also a celebration of Jewish religion and culture on screen, even as the community has faced recent attacks. The mission of the Austin Jewish Film Festival. Plus we’ll explore a new book that highlights some underrepresented voices in the historic record on civil rights. And a tiny Texas town adjusts to unprecedented growth and explores how it might maintain what’s made it unique. Those stories and so much more today on the Texas Standard:

Greg A. Francis, pt. 1 (Ep. 40, 2021)

On this week’s edition one In Black America, producer and host John L. Hanson, Jr. begins a conversation with Greg A. Francis, the attorney whose work  on behalf of African American farmers is chronicled in his book, Just Harvest: The Story of How Black Farmers Won the Largest Civil Rights Case against the U.S. Government.

Rawn James, Jr. (Ep. 31, 2021)

On this week’s edition of In Black America, producer and host John L. Hanson, Jr. examines the historical precedent of U.S. Presidents manipulating the Supreme Court with attorney Rawn James, Jr., former Assistant Attorney General  for the District of Columbia, and author of The Truman Court: Law and the Limits of Loyalty.

Lyndon Johnson’s Gifts To Texas

For me, Lyndon Johnson did more for Texas in his lifetime than any other politician, except for Sam Houston. And Houston’s greatest gift was given to Texas in the form of a resounding victory at San Jacinto, before he began his political years as president. Two of Johnson’s most enduring gifts to Texas are NASA, and the electricity for rural Texas, especially for the inaccessible hinterlands of the Hill Country. LBJ said, in 1959, that “nothing had ever given him as much satisfaction as” bringing electricity to the rural people of his region.  

By the end of his life he had a new achievement he was proudest of and believed would be his greatest legacy. That was the founding of the LBJ School of Public Affairs in tandem with dedicating his Presidential Library at the University of Texas at Austin.   In this academic year the LBJ School of Public Affairs and the Library are both celebrating the 50th anniversary of their founding. The school welcomed its first class in 1970 and the library was dedicated in May of ‘71. These separate institutions represent a fitting legacy.. After all, he said when he was president, quote —At the desk where I sit, I have learned one great truth. The answer for all our national problems – the answer for all the problems of the world – come to a single word. That word is ‘education.’”  

Johnson also believed in the education provided by the school of hard knocks. He liked to quote his father who told him that quote — “You should brush yourself up against the grindstone of life and that will give you a polish that Harvard and Yale can’t give you.”  

LBJ did not have the eloquence of King or Kennedy, but he was a master of personal persuasion. When he had a congressman in the corner of a room at a political breakfast, and a lawmaker’s hand firmly enveloped by his, Johnson could sell abstinence to an alcoholic and even civil rights to a segregationist. No President ever pushed more legislation through Congress than he did, not even FDR. And his focus was on equality for all, in education, in economics, in voting, in opportunity, and in life as a whole.     

He was a complicated man. He said some racist things in his life, but he was simultaneously an iconic force in the Civil Rights Movement.

He passed the Civil Rights Act of ‘64 and the Medicare and Medicaid Act of 65 as well as the Voting Rights Act of ‘65.

Consequently, years later,  LBJ saw the founding of his school of Public Affairs as the greatest chance he had at fostering the continuation of good works for mankind through government. Unlike many today, he believed that government could in fact do the big things that the little guy couldn’t do for himself – like deliver electricity to rural farms and make sure the color of your skin didn’t determine where you could eat or sleep. 

When he spoke to a group of students at his School of Public Affairs in Austin about a month before he died.  LBJ told them that a life in public affairs, one of helping your fellow man, is the most rewarding of all paths one could take in life.  He said, “The greatest known satisfaction for human beings is knowing – and if you are the only one that knows it, it’s there and that’s what’s important – that you’ve made life more just, more equal, and more opportune for your fellow man – and that’s what this school is all about.”

Texas Standard: January 18, 2021

Is there a doctor in the House? At least one COVID-19 case reported among Texas lawmakers and what that may mean for getting back to business at the Texas capitol, we’ll have the latest. Also, President elect Joe Biden says one of the first things he’ll do after inauguration is rejoin the Paris Climate accords but new research from Texas A&M suggests one of the targets for temperature limits is already on track to being exceeded. Game over? Not quite. We’ll hear why and what comes next. And federal officials approve new standards of health care in a crisis for people with disabilities. So what changes in Texas? Also, amid a new reckoning on race, remembering Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. All of those stories and more today on the Texas Standard:

Texas Standard: December 25, 2020

How many times must it be said that 2020 was not the happiest of years? Today we have some reasons to smile on this special edition of the Texas standard. Do you want the good news first or the bad? For once, we’re spending an entire hour on the former, as we use this moment to turn our attention to the sunnier side: the stories that captured our attention, sparked the imagination, and reminded us of the good that remains all around us. In a year of struggle and heartache, there are still reasons to celebrate. Our producers have made their lists, checked em out twice….and it’s all about the nice on this special Christmas Day edition of the Texas Standard:

Texas Standard: November 12, 2020

Texas crosses a critical 1 million mark in COVID-19 cases, and the governor sends help to Lubbock as hospitals reach capacity, we’ll have the latest. Other stories we are tracking: a post-election push to update voting machines in Texas’ biggest county. What’s wrong with the old ones? We’ll follow the paper trail, or lack thereof. Also the top vote getter in Texas history and what it says about the intersection of politics and how top judges get picked in Texas. Plus he was a Texas sharecroppers son in a Jim Crow Navy. Now a super carrier will bear his name. 8 decades after his heroics at Pearl Harbor, Dorie Miller gets his due. Those stories and so much more today on the Texas Standard:

Texas Standard: June 10, 2020

As George Floyd is laid to rest in Pearland, a remembrance and calls never to forget. We’ll have more on the funeral of a man whose Killing sparked a new chapter in a long running struggle. Also, another death of a black man, repeatedly tased by police after he failed to dim his headlights at an oncoming police car. And the first African American ever elected to serve in public office in the Texas capital city reflects on then and now. Plus debunking an ugly conspiracy theory making the rounds in Texas. Those stories and more today on the Texas Standard:

Texas Standard: February 17, 2020

More Americans potentials exposed to the Coronavirus coming to Texas. Amid concerns the disease could affect the Texas economy, we’ll have the latest. Also, some may think the opioid crisis is receding, Bexar county is stepping up efforts to help treat those with addictions. We’ll hear why. And The Trump administration calls for additional millions for quantum computing…what does it all add up to? A Texas expert does the math. Plus the story behind Cird City Texas… all four of them. Those stories and more today on the Texas Standard:

Benjamin Crump (Ep. 7, 2019)

On this week’s program, In Black America producer and host John L. Hanson, Jr. speaks with Benjamin Crump, an award-winning Civil Rights attorney and advocate who successfully represented the families of Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, and Robbie Tolan.

Texas Standard: November 8, 2018

Lost in large part in the immediate aftermath of the midterms: do you really know what’s changed in the Texas legislature? We’ll get you up to speed. Lt. Governor Dan Patrick may have held on to his partisan supermajority, but he may have a tougher fight over issues of social conservatism. Two state lawmakers, a Democrat and a Republican offer a reality check. Also, a gut check when it comes to probiotics. They’re all the rage, promising better digestion and better health, but a Texas researcher raises serious new questions. And did Texas shut down the world biggest marketplace for human trafficking? A politifact check and more today on the Texas Standard:

Judge Harriet M. Murphy, pt. 2 (Ep, 42, 2018)

In Black America producer and host John L. Hanson, Jr. concludes a conversation with The Honorable Dr. Harriet M. Murphy, retired Municipal Court Judge, civil rights activist, former college professor and department head, and author of There All The Honor Lies: A Memoir.

Judge Harriet M. Murphy, pt. 1 (Ep. 41, 2018)

In Black America producer and host John L. Hanson, Jr. begins a conversation with The Honorable Dr. Harriet M. Murphy, retired Municipal Court Judge, civil rights activist, former college professor and department head, and author of There All The Honor Lies: A Memoir.

Texas Standard: March 14, 2018

One of the most controversial laws to pass the Texas legislature in years: being upheld by a 5th circuit panel. What’s next for so-called sanctuary cities? We’ll explore. Also, Texas counties racing to join lawsuits challenging pharmaceutical companies over the opioid crisis. Why the race to the courthouse? And how Texas could make motherhood safer, and why the need is especially urgent. Plus, along the Harvey hit Gulf Coast this spring break, how’s business? We’ll check in with some bar, restaurants and other hot spots to hear whether the crowds are back and what’s changed. Those stories and a whole lot more today on the Texas Standard:

A Tribute to Alex Haley (Ep. 09, 2016)

In Black America presents a 1988 interview with the late Alex Haley, the acclaimed writer best known as the author of “Roots: The Saga of an American Family,” and “The Autobiography of Malcolm X.”

Remembering The Late Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (Ep. 05, 2016)

In Black America presents a tribute to the life and works of the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., on the 87th anniversary of his birth. Featured are addresses and comments by Dr. King, the Honorable Andrew Young, the late Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, and President Barack Obama.

Civil Rights with Peter J. Hammer (Ep. 52, 2015)

Peter J. Hammer, Director of the Damon J. Keith Center for Civil Rights and co-author of “Crusader for Justice: Federal Judge Damon J. Keith” talks courts, civil rights, judges, segregation, discrimination and affirmative action on In Black America.