Justice and the Citizen: A Celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Featuring Maya Angelou, Scott Bear-Don't-Walk, Odetta Rogers Clark, Rita Dove, N. Scott Momaday and William Sessions, this one-hour program celebrates the achievements of the civil rights movement. Even though black Americans had come out of slavery, which was abolished in 1863, they continued to suffer the effects of racial segregation well into the middle of the 20th century. In every sense they were second-class citizens: they couldn't eat in the same restaurants as whites, couldn't use the same restrooms, couldn't drink water from the same fountains. Prejudice and bigotry existed throughout the country to varying degrees, especially in the South, and their effects went largely unchallenged until 1955, when the leadership of Martin Luther King, Jr., emerged in the quiet town of Montgomery, Alabama. This is a celebration of his work and achievements.