 |
From Boomers to Millennials: A Modern US History PodcastAuthor: Logan Rogers
A modern U.S. history podcast about the events that spanned the Baby Boomer generations lifespan & that are still relevant to people today, especially to Millennials. Unlike some history podcasts, this podcast follows the national story in a chronological manner, starting in 1946. Most episodes are around a half-hour to 45 minutes in length. Each episode covers one year, possibly going all the way up to the present. You can e-mail the show here, we would love your feedback!: boomertomillennial@outlook.com Language: en-us Genres: History, Society & Culture Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it Trailer: |
Listen Now...
Episode 22 – 1963 Part II: A Year of Great Dreams
Episode 5
Monday, 31 August, 2026
By 1963, Rev. Martin Luther King Junior was concerned that the progress of the civil rights movement was losing momentum. So, he launched the Birmingham Campaign in Alabama, betting that the local segregationist sheriff Bull Connor would overreact. MLK was arrested during the protests he was leading, and he then wrote his famed "Letter from Birmingham Jail." In May, Sheriff Connor allowed Birmingham cops to behave brutally toward women & children who were protesting, leading to scenes that shocked the nation. Shortly afterward, Attorney General Bobby Kennedy had a meeting with Black leaders that gave him a new appreciation of their militant determination. Meanwhile, the inflammatory rhetoric of Dixiecrat politicians like Alabama Governor George Wallace disturbed people in the North. President John F. Kennedy assessed the national mood & decided it was time for his administration to back a federal Civil Rights Act. The night Kennedy announced this bill, an NAACP leader in Mississippi named Medgar Evers was murdered in cold blood. Jim Crow supporters in Congress used procedural tactics in Congress to block the civil rights bill during the summer, so civil rights leaders responded by holding the legendary March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom to press for its passage. This massive Washington DC rally featured King's "I Have a Dream" speech. The Civil Rights Act nevertheless remained stalled in Congress, but advocates of gender equality had more legislative success in Summer 1963, as Assistant Secretary of Labor Esther Peterson shepherded through the passage of the Equal Pay Act. Activists' hopeful mood would soon be shaken by the unsettling events of Fall 1963, however.Support the show
