Democracy Now: Pioneering African American Actress, Singer and Civil Rights Activist Lena Horne, 92, Dies

(This is from May 11th, I was listening to this episode on my walk to work today and was very moved by it)

Democracy Now

Pioneering African American Actress, Singer and Civil Rights Activist Lena Horne, 92, Dies

Lena Horne enjoyed a six-decade singing career on stage, television and in film. She was the first black woman to be signed to a long-term contract by a major Hollywood studio. She helped break racial boundaries by acting alongside white entertainers, but she was segregated on screen so producers could clip out her singing when the movies ran in the South. In the 1950s, she was blacklisted in part because of her friendship with Paul Robeson and W.E.B. Du Bois. In 1963, Lena Horne took part in the March on Washington alongside Harry Belafonte and Dick Gregory and was part of a group, which included authors James Baldwin and Lorraine Hansberry, that met with Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy to urge a more active approach to desegregation. We air a rare 1966 interview with Lena Horne from the Pacifica Radio Archives and speak to her biographer, James Gavin.

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Part II: Singer and Civil Rights Activist Lena Horne Remembered

The pioneering African-American actress, singer, and civil rights activist has died at the age of 91. We speak with James Gavin, author of, Stormy Weather: The Life of Lena Horne, about her activism, her friendship with Harry Belafonte, President Obama’s remarks after her passing, and more.

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Democracy Now: A Tribute to Yip Harburg -- The Man Who Put the Rainbow in The Wizard of Oz and Songwriter of "Brother Can You Spare a Dime"

A Tribute to Yip Harburg: The Man Who Put the Rainbow in The Wizard of Oz
Democracy Now



His name might not be familiar to many, but his songs are sung by millions around the world. Today, a journey through the life and work of Yip Harburg, the Broadway lyricist who wrote such hits as “Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?” and who put the music into The Wizard of Oz. Born into poverty on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, Yip always included a strong social and political component to his work, fighting racism and poverty. A lifelong socialist, Yip was blacklisted and hounded throughout much of his life.

Taking us on today’s trip through the music and politics of Yip is his son, Ernie Harburg. First, we’re going to go through Yip’s early life, his collaboration with the Gershwin’s, through “Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?” Then we’re going to take an in-depth look at The Wizard of Oz. And finally, we’ll hear a medley of Yip Harburg’s Broadway songs and the politics of the times in which they were created.

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