Witness History: Archive 2011 Podcast
1) Ruby Bridges Attends an all-White School
In November 1960, Ruby Bridges became one of the first black children in New Orleans to be educated at a white elementary school. It began the desegregation of the education system in the Southern Sta...Show More
2) Mixed race marriage victory in US
In 1958, a mixed-race couple, Mildred and Richard Loving, were arrested and then banished from the US state of Virginia for breaking its laws against inter-racial marriage. Nine years later, Mildred...Show More
3) Greensboro Lunch Counter Sit-ins
On 1 February 1960, four young black men began a protest in Greensboro, North Carolina against the racial segregation of shops and restaurants in the US southern states. The men, who became known as ...Show More
4) The Freedom Riders
The Freedom Riders were civil rights activists who rode on buses, testing out whether bus stations were complying with the Supreme Court ruling that banned segregation. Listen to Bernard Lafayette J...Show More
5) Nelson Mandela's Autobiography
*** This programme was first broadcast on 25 October, 2011 *** In the mid 1970s Nelson Mandela began writing his autobiography in prison, on Robben Island. Mac Maharaj was one of the prisoners who ...Show More
6) ANC Bomb
The armed wing of the ANC party took its first violent action in 1961, when a bomb was planted at municipal offices in Durban. Ronnie Kasrils explained what happened that day. (Image: Ronnie Kasril...Show More
7) Apartheid in the 1950s
A snapshot of the attitudes and emotions on both sides of the racial divide as the South Africa authorites cemented the foundations of Apartheid in 1957.
8) The Voyage of the Empire Windrush
In 1948 nearly 500 pioneers travelled from the Caribbean on the Empire Windrush. The passage cost £28, 10 shillings. Passenger Sam King describes the conditions on board and the concerns people had ...Show More
9) The Brixton Riots
In April 1981 the streets of Brixton, south London, erupted into violence. The fighting took part between young members of the black community and the Metropolitan police. A former rioter, Sheldon T...Show More
10) US troops in Iraq
US troops left Iraq earlier this month, well before their deadline of 31 December. We hear from one American soldier who remembers when they first invaded the country, almost nine years ago. Photo:...Show More