Birmingham, 1963: Three Witnesses to the Struggle for Civil Rights | Uncommon Knowledge

Recorded on December 12, 2023.
Mary Bush, Freeman Hrabowski, and Condoleezza Rice grew up and were classmates together in segregated Birmingham, Alabama, in the late 1950s and early ’60s. We reunited them for a conversation in Birmingham’s Westminster Presbyterian Church, where Rice’s father was pastor during that period. The three lifelong friends recount what life was like for Blacks in Jim Crow Alabama and the deep bonds that formed in the Black community at the time in order to support one another and to give the children a good education. They also recall the events they saw-and in some cases participated in-during the spring, summer, and fall of 1963, when Birmingham was racked with racial violence, witnessed marches and protests led by Dr. Martin Luther King, and was shocked by the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church. The latter event resulted in the deaths of four little girls, whom all three knew. The show concludes with a visit to a statue of Martin Luther King Jr. erected in Kelly Ingram Park-where in 1963 Birmingham’s commissioner for public safety Bull Connor ordered that fire hoses and attack dogs be used on protestors. There, Condoleezza Rice discusses Dr. King’s legacy and his impact on her life.
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Пікірлер: 44

  • @ryancampbell2192
    @ryancampbell21923 ай бұрын

    "Since when was it said that democracy was a finished product?" Boom! I love Condoleezza Rice & she has always been a great voice for American & Americans.

  • @circotribecirco3366

    @circotribecirco3366

    3 ай бұрын

    Excellent quote!

  • @grahamcombs4752

    @grahamcombs4752

    3 ай бұрын

    @@circotribecirco3366 And that's all it is -- a quote. It has no connection with the America of today.

  • @x0rn312

    @x0rn312

    3 ай бұрын

    ​@grahamcombs4752 it has everything to do with America today. Are you not hearing all the voices calling for an end to Classical liberalism, an end to Liberal democracy? The point of this quote, similar to the point of another famous quote: "A Republic... IF You Can Keep It." Is to remind us that Liberty is something you have to continually strive for. And it will never be perfect, but if we claimed it was perfect we would be utopians. I'd say in an era where people are losing faith in liberal democracy and simultaneously embracing utopian ideologies, quotes like these are very prescient.

  • @tictacdude3468
    @tictacdude34683 ай бұрын

    What a treasure. We need more conversations like this to remember what unites us: our shared values.

  • @vatraveler2704
    @vatraveler27043 ай бұрын

    What a powerful presentation! If there is one item to take away from this, Ms. Rice mentioned about giving back, especially to those who are less fortunate. Only then can we actually see how privileged we may be. When we lend a helping hand to our community, we all rise together.

  • @marymccauley2637
    @marymccauley26373 ай бұрын

    Such a great conversation. We need more discussions like this where we can see intelligent men and women agree on points, disagree on others, yet with respect and admiration for the others beliefs and views. So powerful.

  • @ordrellsmith5899
    @ordrellsmith58993 ай бұрын

    Thankful that i was allowed to sit in during the production. Thanks to the crew, Freeman,Mary, and Condoleezza for allowing me to witness this dialogue. I also, as a young teenager, was involved and witnessed this haunting era and am now reliving via this documentary. But of all the retelling of this pivotal time in our Civil Rights history, this has been the Most stimulating and refreshing that i have actually witnessed. Again, I'm Thankful to you Freeman,my double kinship, life-long friend and my Titusville neighbors,Mary and Condoleezza for this "Positive" documentary that assess where we've been,and what we need to do to continue our forward progress. I Salute and Love ❤️ you, Ordrell

  • @tombrown1906
    @tombrown19063 ай бұрын

    This has to be the best production by Common Knowledge of the last three years. Great job.

  • @nathanngumi8467
    @nathanngumi84673 ай бұрын

    Wow, excellent episode, can't wait for Part II! These are the kind of interviews to make! How many elderly people still alive in the South are gold mines of information about how ordinary people navigated the complexities of the Civil Rights Movement? Too often, unfortunately, the story of the movement is told focusing on the leaders like Rev. MLK and prominent personalities like Rosa Parks. But it was the ordinary obscure individuals and families, the foot soldiers in the trenches of Birmingham, Mississippi and other cities that carried the torch all the way through from start to the finish line. Their stories are still untold.

  • @garyragan2864
    @garyragan28643 ай бұрын

    It is people like Mary, Freeman and Condoleezza who helped change the world I grew up in so that I never saw the things that happened in Birmingham. I grew up in the 80s in the southeast and the southwest and I never saw, anywhere at any time, even the remnants of segregation and the racism of the south. I appreciate these people, and listening to this discussion made me sad, it didn't make me feel guilty for being white, it made me sad that it ever happened. Which is why it makes me furious to see the political left (the same people who threw firebombs and bombed that church) and people like Sharpton and Jackson work so hard to bring these things back today.

  • @carljessop8040
    @carljessop80403 ай бұрын

    Very fascinating. This brings the reality a lot closer to home.

  • @margotbw4660
    @margotbw46603 ай бұрын

    Every middle and high school history class should watch and discuss this immediately. Thank you for a very honest and inspiring discussion!! ❤

  • @teejin669
    @teejin6693 ай бұрын

    The hoover institute continues to impress. Thank you immensely to the three interviewees.

  • @lizgichora6472
    @lizgichora64723 ай бұрын

    Better than this: " Encouragement, democracy is an act and is always an ongoing process." Thank you Peter Robinson, Dr Condoleezza Rice, Freeman Hrabowski and Mary Bush.We can redeem ourselves.

  • @TimGeorge-dp7wb
    @TimGeorge-dp7wb3 ай бұрын

    i could have watched many more hrs of their insight- thank you for sharing your stories- what amazing Americans

  • @dpcrn
    @dpcrn2 ай бұрын

    “But you taught me to think!” Freeman’s recollections are amazing. His parents were amazing. I haven’t finished, I’m only about halfway through and this has been an incredible video. I can think of so many young Internet savvy kids who so desperately need to hear this.

  • @rondelljohnson3111
    @rondelljohnson31113 ай бұрын

    What a great story!!!

  • @lamh5265
    @lamh52653 ай бұрын

    That was wonderful.....

  • @benjiradach347
    @benjiradach3472 ай бұрын

    This is a must watch. Great job to Peter Robinson for putting this on--masterful interviewer. Grateful for each of the interviewees.

  • @vitomercedes3092
    @vitomercedes30923 ай бұрын

    This is simply great A story, being told in first person, is so much more powerful than other accounts that one might construct.

  • @michaelk5825
    @michaelk58253 ай бұрын

    I agree- they are geniuses!

  • @justinosmith2600
    @justinosmith26003 ай бұрын

    What an OUTSTANDING interview and discussion with fine, exemplary freedom-loving American patriots. Thank You for this.

  • @cshair1987
    @cshair19873 ай бұрын

    So powerful ! Everyone in this conversation ! What a great interview!

  • @weatherman667
    @weatherman6673 ай бұрын

    Had a flashback when Ms. Rice still used the teacher's surname all these years later. This is the respect we used to have for elders.

  • @carnakthemagnificent336
    @carnakthemagnificent3363 ай бұрын

    The bravery and family commitment to hard work and excellence, despite the circumstances, strikes me throughout the discussion. Lovely.

  • @elbedregal
    @elbedregal3 ай бұрын

    Another extraordinary hour!!

  • @user-rr8yl1nc9d
    @user-rr8yl1nc9d3 ай бұрын

    Birmingham, Alabama was the most segregated city in the United States in 1963. Earning the nickname Bombingham, it was dangerous for Blacks and whites that demanded change by peaceful or violent means. The courage, discipline, and expectations of the parents cast the successful destinies of these three American leaders. The parents committed their total physical, intellectual, and spiritual energies as an investment of love, essential for that success. A love that enabled the strength, foundation, and protection from the dangers the world would hurl to their children as they navigated the world. We need more of that today.

  • @ladydove5895
    @ladydove58953 ай бұрын

    I was not born in America. But, this very intellectual discussion really endorsed my thoughts about America. Everyone needs to do their part and rise above. Victimhood is too overrated.

  • @nathanbeal6615
    @nathanbeal66153 ай бұрын

    Great interview

  • @jayes12
    @jayes123 ай бұрын

    Republicans, you need to be listening to those like Condelesa Rice. Doing so will provide a wider path to victory.

  • @roblangsdorf8758
    @roblangsdorf87583 ай бұрын

    In 1965, I was being trained to be a helicopter pilot at Ft. Rucker, Alabama. One Sunday, I decided to attend an all-black Presbyterian somewhere out in the country. I was the only white in the congregation of a couple 100 people. They made me feel very welcomed. In Viet Nam I flew medical evacuation helicopters. The second time I got shot down, as we free fell, I cried out, "God, if you exist, do something." All 6 of us walked away with a few minor injuries. This led me to become a Christian. It would be interesting to hear the thoughts of these 3 about why America has gone downhill since the fall of the Soviet Union. As a nation, we seem about to fall to pieces. What are their thoughts about how we got here and where we are going?

  • @b.alexanderjohnstone9774
    @b.alexanderjohnstone97743 ай бұрын

    If you don’t like Captain James Cook, I suggest you investigate the alternatives. Spanish conquistadors? The Japanese, we saw their approach circa 1941. The French, look at Algeria, Morocco etc.

  • @GLORIAJEANEZEKIELMDPHDLONG120
    @GLORIAJEANEZEKIELMDPHDLONG120Ай бұрын

    The Four Young Girls: CAROLE ROBERTSON ADDIE MAE COLLINS CAROL DENISE MCNAIR CYNTHIA DIANNE WESLEY

  • @0HOON0
    @0HOON03 ай бұрын

    Over a long enough timeline, even the most conservative institutions eventually go woke.

  • @tracyhadley5710

    @tracyhadley5710

    3 ай бұрын

    Please expand on that? Seems too cryptic to provide any sustenance.

  • @revolution2847
    @revolution28473 ай бұрын

    From this to Iraq, Ms. Rice you are a disappointment

  • @roblangsdorf8758

    @roblangsdorf8758

    3 ай бұрын

    But since she left the Bush administration she has been doing great things. It would be great to hear an Uncommon Knowledge program that looks at how the first Bush administration invited Iraq to invade Kuwait and how we really didn't have a valid reason for invading Iraq as a result of the towers going down. What part did these wars play in getting us to our current situation?

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